Light on the Hill Society Scholarship Program
During the 2005 Black Alumni Reunion, a group of alumni leaders and reunion participants challenged alumni to contribute $1,952 each – representing the 1952 class year of Harvey Beech, Carolina’s first Black graduate – to become founding members of the Light on the Hill Society Scholarship fund.
Since that time, Carolina alumni and friends have annually made tax-deductible gifts to the fund, ranging from a few dollars to several thousand, the largest being a $350,000 gift from NFL star Julius Peppers ’02.
This initiative serves as a tribute to Carolina’s Black graduates of the 1950s and 60s by providing scholarships to Black graduate and current first-year undergraduate students. These talented scholars demonstrate academic excellence, outstanding leadership abilities, community service dedication and have great potential to become involved and informed alumni.