Board of Trustees award Davie Awards, some students voice concerns around recipients

Four UNC alumni — Frank Dowd IV, Paul Newton, Virginia Foxx and Walter Hussman Jr. — were selected in October as recipients of the William Richardson Davie Award, the highest honor awarded by the Board of Trustees. 

The recipients were recognized at a Board of Trustees dinner on Nov. 6 and by BOT Chair John Preyer during a board meeting on Nov. 7.

The Davie Awards have been presented annually since 1984 to individuals who have shown extraordinary service to UNC or society. Former recipients include Dean Smith, the former UNC men's head basketball coach, William Friday, the first president of the UNC System and William Aycock, former UNC chancellor. 

Dowd, chair of Charlotte Pipe and Foundry Company and a former Morehead-Cain Scholar, was recognized for his work in philanthropy and with the Morehead-Cain Foundation. 

Newton is a Republican state senator and the current Senate majority leader for the North Carolina Senate, representing District 34 in Cabarrus County. 

Hussman is a media executive operating several newspaper companies. In 2019, the Hussman Family Foundation donated $25 million to establish the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media. 

Foxx, the fourth and final recipient, is a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives for North Carolina’s 5th Congressional District and was elected in November to her 11th term in office. Last spring as the chair of the House Education and Workforce Committee, Foxx led the charge to investigate antisemitism at college campuses during Pro-Palestine protests.

Unlike other honors, Preyer said to The Daily Tar Heel that the Davie Award was unique in that it is a BOT award that anyone in the UNC community can receive. 

To select nominees, Preyer said the BOT discusses names that have been provided by other trustees or people in the University. He said recipients have often included individuals who have performed volunteer work or other activities without compensation on the University’s behalf. 

The recipients, Preyer said, are "prominent alums that have done things like make major gifts to the University and have otherwise provided lots of benefit to the University in some way, shape or form."

Devin Duncan, a first-year student and member of UNC’s student government, said while he doesn't care about the political affiliation of recipients, their backgrounds must be considered when awarding a prestigious service award like the Davie Award. 

“If someone is getting this award, they are representing Carolina values,” Duncan said. “They are representing the type of people that Carolina wants to honor and I would say recruit and represent.”

Foxx, who Preyer said "literally devoted her life to education," in a November BOT meeting, has publicly expressed anti-LGBTQ+ stances, including opposing the 2009 Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act and speaking against the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court decision which legalized same-sex marriage. Additionally, Foxx voted against the Respect for Marriage Act in 2022, which aimed to federally formalize interracial and same-sex marriage rights.

Preyer said the political leanings of the recipients do not factor in being given a Davie Award. 

In a December Q&A with The DTH, Chancellor Lee Roberts spoke about Foxx's congressional experience and other life work when asked about her background in relation to institutional neutrality and Carolina values.

"When it comes to any award, whether it's the Davie Award, our Distinguished Alumni Awards, [or] our honorary degrees, that doesn't necessarily imply an endorsement by Carolina of everything that person has ever said and done," Roberts said. "We're really honoring them for their service to the University."

Foxx’s district office said the congresswoman was not available for an interview at the time of publication.

Duncan said choosing this year’s recipients was in contradiction to the values UNC has in being accepting to people of different groups such as the LGBTQ+ community or Black community. He said there needs to be more student and faculty input into determining the recipients for the awards. 

“It should be reflective of our community views and by having a committee where you have both students, faculty and staff speaking to award recipients, that would be more conducive to the values and the principles that this University stands for,” Duncan said. 

The BOT includes Student Body President Jaleah Taylor as a student perspective to the committee. Taylor did not respond to The DTH’s repeated requests for comment. 

Lauren Southwell, a student who said she identifies as gay and on the asexual spectrum, said she feels safe and welcome on campus due to resources such as the women and gender studies department, the UNC LGBTQ+ Center and various pride events. 

“For students who maybe previously were not in a place where being gay or part of the LGBTQ community was not talked about, or was looked down upon, this is an opportunity to see that this is just a part of normal everyday life here,” Southwell said. 

Richard Vinroot, former mayor of Charlotte and a 2022 recipient of the Davie Award, said he knew recipients Dowd and Foxx through his work in Charlotte and his political affiliation with the Republican Party.

“The people chosen this year are well deserving, from at least my perspective,” Vinroot said. “I’m honored to be associated with those people through their selection.”

Southwell said she thinks the award should be given to individuals whose work and life represents the University’s values.

“We should honor the people who really represent the University as it stands, for what it stands for and what it can do for us students,” Southwell said.

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