New Dean Smith Fund Aims to Open Doors

Posted on April 28, 2015

The University, in consultation with the family of Dean Smith, has launched a fundraising campaign for student assistance to honor the life and legacy of legendary coach Dean Smith, who died Feb. 7.

The campaign will raise money for the Dean E. Smith Opening Doors Fund, designed to make college a reality for outstanding undergraduates from lower-income families and to let professionals in education and social work pursue advanced degrees.

To be funded by private gifts and matching University dollars, the fund is the first at UNC to support both undergraduate and graduate students. Recipients will be chosen from candidates who exemplify Smith’s qualities of leadership, service and excellence.

A teacher and humanitarian, Smith was an outspoken advocate for equality and fairness in collegiate athletics and civic affairs. On the court, he brought standout player Charles Scott ’70 to Chapel Hill in 1966 as the University’s first African-American scholarship athlete. Off the court, Smith was active in the local civil rights movement and pushed local business owners to desegregate. In 2013, he was chosen to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.

Smith was head coach of the Tar Heels from 1961 to 1997, retiring as the winningest coach in college basketball. He led the Tar Heels to national championships in 1982 and 1993, to 13 ACC Tournament titles, 11 Final Fours and an NIT championship. He directed the U.S. Olympic Team to a gold medal at the 1976 Summer Games. More than 95 percent of his lettermen graduated.

The campaign will solicit endowment gifts to generate revenue in perpetuity. Based on current attendance costs at UNC, the fund will provide annual $5,000 need-based scholarships for undergraduate students to help cover college expenses; graduate awards will be up to $30,000 annually for a full scholarship, although smaller amounts also will be awarded to provide a range of resources, such as funding for innovative research, travel and dissertation stipends. The campaign has no set goal or duration, but officials hope to award the first scholarships to students entering Carolina this fall.

Gifts to the fund will be divided evenly among the three areas targeted for support. The University will match all gifts dollar for dollar with nonstate funds that the chancellor can use at her discretion to meet a campus priority, further leveraging the impact of donor contributions. The matching dollars will support Dean E. Smith Scholars at the undergraduate level because of this population’s broad presence on campus.

Gifts can be made online to the fund at giving.unc.edu/opening-doors. For more, contact the UNC Office of University Development at openingdoors@unc.edu or (919) 962-4385.

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