North Carolina’s Diversity Universities

Via Bernhard

From Business North Carolina Magazine, April 2016:

“On February 9, current and former trustees, students and local leaders gathered on the UNC Asheville campus to celebrate the rechristening of New Hall.  “Our students believed our buildings’ names were missing diversity,” says Chancellor Mary Grant.  “At the same time, our board of trustees was discussing how we should recognize people who have contributed to the university.”

When combined, those two factors produced an obvious namesake for the academic building:  Alfred Whitesides, Jr.  Al serves as a connector between the city and the university,” Grant said. “He’s just a very special guy.”

Whitesides, who grew up in the city in the 1950s, recalls a time when African-Americans weren’t so celebrated.  At segregated Stephens-Lee High School, he joined the Asheville Student Committee on Racial Equality, and while attending historically black North Carolina Central University in Durham, Whitesides was arrested multiple times for participating in sit-ins.

In Whitesides Hall, built in 2006, students learn about history, literature and philosophy. Grant hopes the name will inspire them to build on Whitesides’ legacy. The chancellor plans to bolster that effort with scholarships for students who otherwise couldn’t afford a college education.

Whiteside, 71, wants that, too, but he also hopes his name continues to connect students with the tragedies of the civil Rights Movement: “A lot of people had to die to get my name on the building.  We can’t forget them.”

(NC Trend, “Plaudits for a Protestor,” Business North Carolina, April 2016, excerpts, pg. 40)

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From High Point University Magazine, Winter 2016 (excerpts):

“Roxy Daneman, Madison Jordan and Ashley Siebeneichen danced, sang and shared their talents in the San Jose National Theater and several other venues in Costa Rica after receiving an exclusive invitation to perform there.” (page 49)

“Brokaw Delivers Bold Challenge to Class of 2015.  “Don’t be afraid to be disruptive,” Brokaw said to the nearly 1,000 graduates and a crowd of 10,000 at HPU. “Find new ways to do the conventional and the useful; and don’t run from big and bold challenges.” (page 59)

“Every aspect of the campus has been engineered to teach and inspire, including outdoor spaces surrounding the academic buildings. For example, assistant professor of political science Dr. Martin Kifer frames an entire class on civil rights history around the bronze figures [on park benches].  He takes students on a guided walk around the Promenade, stopping at the sculptures of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, Mahatma Ghandi, and more. It engages students on an intellectual, out-of-classroom discussion about how these leaders changed the course of history.” (page 73)

“The class, “College Writing and Public Life” with Dr. Karen Summers, was a service learning course focused on enhancing students’ understanding of the immigrants and refugee population. Through reading and writing, students learned history and theory, but through volunteerism at the nearby Macedonia Family Resource Center, they put names and faces to the people they read about by tutoring children of immigrant and refugee families.

The sense of care, responsibility and leadership through service is exactly what our caring community at High Point University is all about.” (page 93)

“Students collected 2,000 pounds of food to honor fallen Muslim students from UNC-Chapel Hill. (page 97)