We look forward to celebrating our 50th anniversary during Spring Reunions Weekend in Chapel Hill, May 5-8, 2022. Stay tuned to this page for updated event information. In the meantime, connect with the class of 1972 on Facebook.
Miss the spirit of this place? Watch these videos: Carolina Is and Tar Heel Voices. We think they will bring you right back to the Southern Part of Heaven, before you really come back for your 50th reunion.
We look forward to seeing you in Chapel Hill to celebrate Spring Reunions Weekend, May 5-8, 2022. Registration closes on Wednesday, April 20, at 11:59 p.m. Dress for all events is casual unless alternate recommendations are given.
Notes:
Thursday, May 5
3 -4:45 p.m. | Special Basketball Museum Tour
For those attending the reunion and will be in Chapel Hill on Thursday afternoon, May 5, the Basketball Museum will be open for tours. As a special treat, Roy Williams ’72, Bill Chamberlain ’72 and Bill Chambers ’72 will be at the Basketball Museum from 3-4:45 p.m., and will be available to talk about our class’s very successful basketball teams (winner of the ’71 NIT and players in the ’72 NCAA Final Four) and our three National Championship teams (’05, ’09 and ’17) under former Coach Williams. Following the Basketball Museum activities, we can all gather at the Blue Zone to pick up our reunion check-in packets and enjoy a reception at which time our classmate, former quarterback Paul Miller ’72, will introduce our classmate, Coach Williams, who will provide us some insight on Carolina Basketball.
5:30-7 p.m. | 50th Reunion Opening Reception, An Evening with Roy Williams ’72 and Wanda Williams ’72
Upper Club (5th Floor), Kenan Stadium
Begin Spring Reunions Weekend at a reception overlooking Kenan Stadium. Roy Williams ’72 and Wanda Williams ’72 will bring greetings to the classes of ’70 and ’72. Enjoy light hors d’oeuvres and good conversation. Casual attire. Registration includes one (1) drink ticket, good for beer or wine. Purchase unlimited beer/wine for an additional $12. Reunion packets will be available for pick up at check in. This event is sponsored by Galloway Ridge at Fearrington and 50th Reunion Patrons.
Friday, May 6
9 a.m. – 4 p.m. | Reunion Check In and Information Desk Open
Lobby, George Watts Hill Alumni Center
10 – 11:10 a.m. | FEATURED ENRICHMENT SESSION
Inclusion and Diversity at UNC
Blue Zone (Concourse Level), Kenan Stadium
While UNC strives to emphasize and celebrate diversity and has made many strides in this area, those efforts are not always viewed as successful by some within the community. This panel will look at diversity from the lens of attracting and retaining diverse students, staff and faculty, as well as whether the UNC environment encourages people to express their opinions without fear of censure or ridicule. The panel will also discuss how UNC can move forward to create a more diverse and inclusive environment for all faculty, staff and students. Panelists include:
Moderator: Deborah Potter ’72, former correspondent for CBS News, CNN and PBS. Founder of NewsLab, journalism site now affiliated with the University of Mississippi. Co-author of Advancing the Story: Quality Journalism in a Digital World, now in its 4th edition.
10 – 11:10 a.m. | Walking Tour of Campus
Departs from the George Watts Hill Alumni Center
The walking tour is a pleasant way to revisit the older sections of main campus, although there are plenty of new sites to see along the way.
11:30 a.m. | Old Students Club Luncheon (Friday Seating) for Class Milestones: ’55, ’56, ’57, ’60, ’61, ’62, ’65, ’66, ’67, ’70, ’71, ’72
The Carolina Club, George Watts Hill Alumni Center
James Lee Love (class of 1884) donated an endowment to the UNC General Alumni Association to fund an annual gathering of the “Old Students Club” for milestone class years that have reached or passed the 50th anniversary of their graduation year. Speaker TBD. Each graduate from 1970 and earlier, along with one guest, are welcome to attend the luncheon at no cost. Space is limited, registration required.
1:30 – 2:30 p.m. | Guided Walking or Bus Tours of Campus
Both tours depart from the George Watts Hill Alumni Center
The walking tour revisits the older sections of main campus, although there are plenty of new sites to see along the way. The bus tour is the best way to see the new and familiar of main campus while also learning about the ever-expanding southern edges of UNC. All tours are complimentary. Tickets for bus tours will be given on a first-come, first-served basis as limited seats are available.
1:30 – 2:45 p.m. | FEATURED ENRICHMENT SESSION
Carolina Men’s Basketball, As Experienced by the Classes of ’70 and ’72
Blue Zone (Concourse Level), Kenan Stadium
Jim Delany ’70 (’73 JD), Eddie Fogler ’70 (’73 MAT), Charles Scott ’70, Bill Chamberlain ’72 and Billy Chambers ’72 share their walk down memory lane (with no turnovers) – including three Final Fours and the ’71 team NIT Championship. Led by future Naismith Hall of Fame Coach Dean Smith, this dynamic group of players and their teammates included many future professional players, including Naismith Hall of Fame inductee Scott, as well as many who went on to coach or serve as administrators at college and professional levels. Similar to all undergraduates during the 1966-72 period, these players were keenly aware of and buffeted by the times and the associated social experiences. Many of these teammates had children who went on to play college sports and graduate from Vanderbilt, Ohio State and UNC. Hear their perceptions of how their children’s experiences were similar to and different from their own experiences 50 years ago.
1:30 – 5:30 p.m. | GAA Vintage Slideshow Narrated by Andy Griffith ’49 and Charles Kuralt ’55 (continuous showings)
The Carolina Club, George Watts Hill Alumni Center
Andy Griffith ’49 narrated an award-winning slideshow used by the GAA during the 1970s. Charles Kuralt ’55 narrated another award-winning slideshow used by the GAA during the 1980s. Both shows feature beautiful and historic photographs and entertaining narrations that make them fun to view even decades later. Drop in and out at any time throughout the day to view as much of these vintage shows as you wish.
3 – 4 p.m. | FEATURED ENRICHMENT SESSION
UNC Medical Research Overview
Blue Zone (Concourse Level), Kenan Stadium
Dr. Myron S. Cohen, Yeargan-Bate Eminent Professor of Medicine, Microbiology and Immunology and Epidemiology; Director of UNC Division of Infectious Disease and the UNC Institute for Global Health and Infectious Disease; Associate Vice Chancellor for Global Health will discuss, “Living Through Pandemics: HIV, SARs, COVID-19 … What’s Next?”
Dr. H. Shelley Earp ’70 (MD, ’72 MS), Distinguished Lineberger Professor of Cancer Research, Director of UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and Director of UNC Cancer Care will discuss, “How UNC Lineberger Turns Top-Notch Science Into Cancer Therapy Advances.”
Moderator: Dr. P. Kay Wagoner ’70 (’78 MSN, ’86 PhD), UNC Distinguished Alumna for Science and Business, President of Discovery and Development, LLC; Associate Professor, UNC Cell Biology and Physiology, former founder and CEO of Icagen, Inc., a public biopharmaceutical company.
3 – 4 p.m. | Guided Bus Tour of Campus
See 1:30 p.m. tour description.
4:15 – 5:15 p.m. | Guided Bus Tour of Campus
See 1:30 p.m. tour description.
5:30 p.m. | Class Reunion Photographs, ’70 and ’72
George Watts Hill Alumni Center
6 – 7:30 p.m. | Reunion Check In Reopens
Chase Dining Hall (site of Jubilee on the Hill)
6 – 8 p.m. | Jubilee on the Hill
Chase Dining Hall
Class Milestones (’55, ’56, ’57, ’60, ’61, ’62, ’65, ’66, ’67, ’70, ’71, ’72) and your guests are invited to relive your dining hall days with laughter, conversation and a delicious Southern meal. Menu will feature barbecue, fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, slaw, collard greens, baked beans, assorted bread and desserts. Casual attire.
Saturday, May 7
8 – 9 a.m. | AFROTC Detachment 590 Commissioning Ceremony and Open House
Naval Armory
Attend this ceremony and support the newest class of second lieutenants as they begin their Air Force journey. Afterward, enjoy refreshments with the detachment. Come out and share your stories with our future military leaders. Following the ceremony and reception, head over to the ROTC Naval Armory to continue the conversation and see the historic building. Contact Kendrick Fitzgerald, USAF and assistant professor of aerospace studies, AFROTC Detachment 590, at (919) 962-7367 or by email at afrotc@unc.edu for questions and to RSVP.
9 – 9:50 a.m. | FEATURED ENRICHMENT SESSION
Saturday Morning in Chapel Hill: Carolina Across the Generations
Blue Zone (Concourse Level), Kenan Stadium
This session will be a discussion of Carolina experiences by members of the classes of ’70, ’72 and ’22. Panelists will describe what it was like to be on campus in the late 60s and early 70s and how that compares to campus life today. The session will be moderated by Richard Stevens ’70, who worked in student affairs after graduation and is currently an attorney in Raleigh. He served five terms in the N.C. State Senate and 12 years on the UNC Board of Trustees, including four terms as chair.
10 – 10:50 a.m. | FEATURED ENRICHMENT SESSION
Psychology and Neuroscience: Ground-Breaking Work Improving People’s Lives
Blue Zone, (Concourse Level), Kenan Stadium
Carolina continues to be at the forefront of psychology and neuroscience. This panel will consider two of today’s groundbreaking areas of research: the power of positive emotions and improvements in the treatment of addictions with:
Moderator: Dr. Stephen LaTour ’72 (’74 MA, ’76 PhD), retired CEO of Calder LaTour Inc., an international healthcare consultancy; former Professor, Northwestern University.
11 a.m. – 2 p.m. | Reunion Check In and Information Desk Open
Lobby, George Watts Hill Alumni Center
11 – 11:50 a.m. | FEATURED ENRICHMENT SESSION
Artificial Intelligence, Social Media: Promise or Peril?
Blue Zone (Concourse Level, Kenan Stadium)
Join our panel of researchers from UNC’s Center for Information, Technology and Public Life for a discussion of two critical issues for modern technology: how artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms can go wrong and how we can reduce manipulation of reality by social media.
AI algorithms affect much of our daily lives. For example, they determine which news and ads appear in your social media stream, your movie and video recommendations, whether you are offered credit, employer scoring of your resume and facial recognition. This panel explains how algorithms can fail in ways we don’t expect and what can be done about it.
Moderator: Buck Goldstein ’70 (’76 JD), University Entrepreneur in Residence and Professor of the Practice, UNC Graduate School
12:15 p.m. | Annual Alumni Luncheon
The Carolina Club, George Watts Hill Alumni Center
The GAA’s 2022 Distinguished Service Medals will be presented to Terry Ellen Rhodes ’78 and Patricia Ann Timmons-Goodson ’76 (’79 JD). Greetings from UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz and a performance by the UNC Clef Hangers. Dress is business casual. Price is $40.
5 – 11 p.m. | Class of ’72 50th Reunion Dinner and Dancing With The Holiday Band
Dinner at the Blue Zone, Kenan Stadium from 5 – 7:30 p.m.; Music and dancing at The Carolina Club, George Watts Hill Alumni Center from 8:30 – 11 p.m.
Gather with your classmates for hors d’oeuvres, a delicious buffet dinner, conversation and spectacular views of Kenan Stadium. Menu includes grilled pork tenderloin, oven-roasted salmon, haricot vert amandine, bruschetta macaroni and cheese, fresh greens salad, artisan rolls and dessert. After dinner, meet up with the class of ’70 at The Carolina Club for live music from The Holiday Band and dancing. Dress is coat and tie for men and dresses or evening pantsuits for women. Price includes one (1) drink ticket, good for beer or wine. Purchase unlimited beer/wine for an additional $12. Cash bar available at the dance. This event is sponsored by 50th Reunion Patrons.
Sunday, May 8
8 – 9:30 a.m. | 50th Commencement Processional
Kenan Football Center, Fifth Floor
Don’t miss this opportunity to participate in a wonderful Carolina tradition. Process into Kenan Stadium for Spring Commencement 2022. This event is consistently rated by past 50th reunion participants as a favorite event of the weekend. Parking instructions and all necessary details will be provided in reunion packets for those who RSVP. Spouses and guests are welcome to join the fun in our gathering spot and will have a perfect vantage point to watch the procession. Following the procession, which should end before 9:30 a.m., you may depart or enjoy the rest of the Commencement program.
9 a.m. | Commencement
Kenan Stadium
Acclaimed journalist and bestselling author Frank Bruni ’86 launched his journalism career as a student reporter at Carolina. Now, Bruni is returning to his alma mater to be the keynote speaker for the Spring Commencement 2022.
Bruni was a reporter for The New York Post and then the Detroit Free Press, where he covered the first Persian Gulf War and was named a Pulitzer Prize finalist in feature writing. From 1995 to 2021, Bruni wrote for The New York Times as a columnist, White House correspondent and chief restaurant critic. He now contributes opinion pieces and a weekly newsletter.
Bruni recently moved back to North Carolina to become the Eugene C. Patterson Professor of the Practice of Journalism and Public Policy at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy.
View the list of Spring Reunions Weekend hotels.
Become a 50th Reunion Patron – Join Our Growing Patron List!
Celebrate the holidays, the New Year and your 50th graduation anniversary by becoming a Class of ‘72 Patron. We need your memories. We need your support as a class patron to assure an accessible and affordable Golden Reunion for all of our classmates and to create another unrivaled class legacy. To become a ‘72 Golden Reunion Patron contribute online You may also donate by printing and mailing this form.
Our goal is to make returning to Chapel Hill possible for all of our classmates … and we also want to build upon our class culture and legacy with another class gift for worthy students of need to attend UNC.
The class of ’72 broke new ground when we were undergraduates. During our 4 years, we strove to make student government more reflective of the student body; we worked to establish an organization for women and minority students; we fought for the rights of cafeteria workers; the brutal Kent State slayings challenged and motivated us to become activists; we helped remedy some of our racist past by retiring the playing of “Dixie” at athletic events. We won the national debating championship, we played in the Gator Bowl, and we won an NIT Championship and a slot in the Final Four. We’ve all had 50 years to reflect on what we were able to accomplish together. But … we’re not finished.
We propose to break new ground once again for our 50th class reunion. With your help, and that of our families and friends, we would like to raise at least $272,000. $72,000 will augment reunion costs mentioned in my Dec. 3rd email to you, and $200,000 will be contributed to scholarships for deserving students to live and learn from the Carolina experience. This idea is something that has never been achieved by an alumni reunion class. Let it be ours and let it be us.
We have created flexible naming levels of patronage in honor and memory of some of the greatest figures and events of our time at Carolina. You can choose a particular individual in the category you wish to honor, or simply honor all those in the category. Your patron selection is needed now so reunion registrant costs can be finalized and distributed to classmates by late January 2022.
We want every classmate to be a part of our lasting legacy to Carolina. Already one of our classmates has donated the largest single gift to the University and another has led our Heels to two NCAA Championships. Again, we need not be finished.
Each of you as patrons will be honored during our May 5-8, 2022 Golden Reunion Celebration and will be acknowledged by the UNC General Alumni Association.
Class Patrons and Reunion Support Tiers:
REUNION SUPERSTAR $72,072
This amount, with the exception of travel and lodging, will reduce reunion registration cost to less than $72 per registrant to attend.
PRESIDENT PATRON $25,072
Honoring presidents Dr. Frank Porter Graham ’09 (who died our senior year) and William C. Friday ’48.
CHANCELLOR PATRON $15,072
Honoring Dr. J. Carlyle Sitterson ’31, Ferebee Taylor ’42 and retired chancellor Robert B. House ’16 or__________________.
ATHLETIC EXCELLENCE PATRON $15,072
Honoring Coach Smith, Coach Guthridge, Coach Dooley, Coach Rabb ’41 (MAED), Coach Skakle ‘78, and all the coaches who helped make our Carolina experience exceptional.
DEAN’S LIST PATRON $10,072
Honoring C.O. Cathy, Katherine Kennedy Carmichael, Don Boulton, Fred Schroeder, John Adams and the many others who made sure the train stayed on the tracks.
TOWN & GOWN PATRON $8,072
Honoring those Chapel Hill folk who were such an important part of our time on the Hill: Howard Lee ’66 (MSW), Billy Arthur ’33, Maurice ’38 & Milton ’39 Julian, Mrs. Danziger ’46, Harry’s, Poor Richards’, Jeff, Vic Huggins ’25, Mama Dip and the flower ladies.
PROFESSOR PATRON $6,072
Honoring the great teachers who shaped and molded our academic progress: Bill Geer ’38, Bill Powell ’40, Doris Betts ’54, Ruel Tyson, Wes Wallace ’54 (MA), Bernie Boyd, Fred Brooks, E. Maynard Adams, Gerald Unks and Mark Appelbaum to name a few. Who was your favorite?
SORORITY & FRATERNITY PATRON $4,072
Honor your Greek connection with a group or individual donation.
RESIDENCE HALL PATRON $2,072
Everyone was required to stay on campus our Freshman year. Where did you land? Some of us stayed and became dorm rats! From the USA’s oldest dormitory rooms in Old East, to the high rises on South Campus, we made them home.
JUBILEE PATRON $1,072
What a tradition! Chicago, Joe Cocker, The Allman Brothers, Blood Sweat & Tears, Grand Funk Railroad, Sweetwater, J. Geils Band, The Chambers Brothers, Muddy Waters, BB King, Pacific Gas & Electric, Sweet Baby James.
BEAT DUKE PATRON $720
Here’s to the College in Durham. May they be great but second best!
THE ASSIST PATRON $272
Coach Dean Smith law: If you make the score, thank the teammate who passed you the ball. Thank you for helping us make it happen for our 50th Reunion.
THE NON-CONFORMIST PATRON $ (your choice)
The King Nyle Frank, class of ‘72 spirit gift.
Now, please take your pick and join us or call us.
If you want additional reunion data or to become more involved, please contact Jennifer Guy ‘09 (jennifer_guy@unc.edu), coordinator of alumni reunions and special events, or me.
Together we will make our 50th the largest, most representative 50th class reunion ever. Oh, by the way, the class of ‘70 is joining us. And, we have initiated an increasingly active class Facebook group site, facebook.com/groups/UNC1972.
Go Tar Heels! For our Golden Reunion Steering Committee,
Lee Hood Capps, class of ‘72 president
Chair of the Reunion Committee
72OCT12@alumni.unc.edu
804 761 4282
Our Growing 50th Reunion Steering Committee:
Annis Arthur, Ben Boykin, Kay Bullard, Lee Hood Capps, Frank Carter, Catherine Cauthorne, Bill Chamberlain, Cynthia Chanin, Jim Clayton, Gerry Cohen, Chris Daggett, Ashley Davis, Stephen Dedrick, George P. Doyle, David Fernandez, Frances Spransy Harper, Rusty Holderness, Don Ingalls, Dan Killian, Stephen LaTour, Bill Lathan, Cheryl Malloy, Paul F. Miller, Janis Bickett McMullen, Charles Franklin Miller, Deborah Potter, Frank Quinn, Joel Rathbone, Allen Reep, Pete Sommerfeld, Joe Stallings, Fred Williams
We invite you to join us! 👣
Dear Roaring ‘72 Classmates (and those of you not so roaring),
How many times in the last 50 years has our perspective changed, been challenged or transformed? Our ‘72 classmate, Fred Eshelman delivered the 2017 UNC Commencement address, to wit he stated, “Don’t take things at face value necessarily. Turn them around 180 degrees and see if you are missing something.” (He must have attended more than one of King Kyle’s Invisible Universe Carrboro gatherings). So, who among you took Math 15 or English 21 with Roy Williams and thought then that he would lead our TarHeels to three NCAA National Championships? Except perhaps for ‘72 classmate Wanda Jones Williams, likely none of us? Similarly, for those of you taking Chemistry 11 or 41 with Fred Eshelman, who thought you were sharing lab space with an innovator, philanthropist and entrepreneur? And now our School of Pharmacy is named The Eshelman School of Pharmacy in honor of your classmate. We, the Class of ‘72 are much more and we are not through, even though many of us are now 72. I invite you to return to Chapel Hill, May 5-8, 2022 for our 50th Reunion to share, learn, offer and exchange more of these journey stories. As well, if we can secure scheduling, experience dance and party time with another ‘72 luminary, Rick Dees as we create an original Class of ‘72 Top Forty.
Thursday, May 5, we’ll likely begin with a reception in Graham Memorial, near Davie Poplar, the Old Well and Franklin Street, and our celebration concludes Sunday morning in Carolina graduation gowns, processing into Kenan Stadium (we know many of you skipped commencement ceremonies on that wet May graduation day of 1972…now the Carolina cap and gown is again yours to wear) as you lead the 2022 ceremony.
AS Barney Fife once exclaimed, “This is big, Andy. The biggest thing to ever hit Mayberry.” To echo Barney’s words, it IS big. We have only this one opportunity to celebrate our Golden Anniversary Reunion. Still evolving, your ideas for the enrichment panels and related ideas and thoughts for the “must have” elements of our weekend are needed. Are you interested in editing our 50th anniversary digital Yackety Yack? Or would you join the group designing a spectacular Saturday evening gathering and the Friday programs? We will be sharing some events with the Class of ‘70 thereby creating an early ‘70’s UNC Celebration. Their reunion was cancelled due to Covid-19.
Between now and Reunion Weekend, perhaps monthly an invitation letter or short story will be shared with you by one of our classmates. Who would you like to hear from? Would you consider sending one of the letters? The first extra invite letter is from Frank G. Carter, Jr., author of Across The Tracks – Mostly True Stories. Follow Frank on Face Book. Frank is compiling a list of other Class of 72 authors and academicians for our Class Website and GAA Reunion page.
To enhance our participation and assure a fabulous Chapel Hill Reunion experience, I am sharing with you the outline and challenge which our distinguished GAA President Doug Dibbert wrote to his 1970 classmates.
“Most importantly, we need -and ask- your personal commitment to attend and encourage other classmates to attend. Only by personally reaching out (via an old fashion visit or a call, email, Google Meets, Zoom, Skype, messenger, etc) can you be certain that all those you most want to see will know that you are going and that you really want them to attend, too.
Even if it is your first return visit since graduation, NOW is the time to start making your personal plans to come to Chapel Hill. If you have friends who live in the Triangle, please don’t wait for them to reach out to you to stay with them. Contact them and invite yourself to be their guest. Yes, be bold, and if you live in the Triangle and have classmates with whom you really want to share this special weekend, reach out to them now and offer them your guest bedroom(s).
If you do not have friends in the Triangle but have classmates with whom you’d like to share the weekend, why not consider coming together at an area Airbnb? Many did just that in previous reunions and reported that they had had one grand, nostalgic renewed
Carolina Jubilee weekend experience.
Our individual journeys over the past 50 years have been varied – with joys and sorrows, successes and failure, dreams fulfilled and aspirations unmet. We will come together in 2022 because we are fortunate to able to travel again and are anxious to share this very special, once-in-a-lifetime occasion.
So for now, please simply affirm the following by emailing reunions@unc.edu. (Also, request to join our Facebook Group, UNC Class of 1972)
Let’s embrace our GAA President’s outline. Let’s roar and be bold for our 50th. No more Homecoming Mums to sale but many more homecomings to share and one awesome Reunion Golden Anniversary Weekend to experience next Spring.
I am anxious to hear from each and every one of you. Let’s get together to make this one of the most memorable events of our lives. We are the Class of ‘72 – We are not Through!
Go Tar Heels,
Lee Hood (a roaring ‘72)
Lee Hood Capps
President, Class of 1972
leehcapps@gmail
(804) 761-4282
Dear ’72 Classmate,
Can you believe that it will be 50 years in 2022 since we graduated from UNC? This is our golden anniversary. I am serving on the committee working to establish some memorable events for the weekend of May 5-8, 2022. A logo and keepsake pin have been designed specifically for our class. I am also currently a member of the General Alumni Association (GAA) Board of Directors.
Please save the date and return and join us in Chapel Hill for this exciting weekend which will culminate with us marching with our cap and gown into Kenan Stadium on Sunday, May 8, 2022.
Who am I writing you this letter after nearly 50 years? I was that young Black man from the farm in Garland, in the eastern part of N.C. I was in classes with many of you. It would be hard to miss me since I was the only person of color in most classes. I received my B. S. degree in business with an accounting concentration, graduating in the first summer session in 1972. I never marched as an undergraduate, so now, join me as the class of 1972 marches into Kenan Stadium. I obtained my MBA, with Distinction, from the Kellogg Business School, Northwestern University in 1981. My two daughters are UNC graduates, LaSandra ’00 and Nicole ’05.
Time has flown by and we have gone on to many successful careers in business, education, government or the non-profit sectors throughout the world. Many of you likely have retired; yet I know as ’72s you have not stopped.
You can get involved to help make this a golden event. To find out more about this awesome weekend, please call or email:
Lee Hood Capps ’72, (804) 761-4282 or leehcapps@gmail.com, class president/reunion chair
Jennifer Guy ’09, (919) 962-3576 or jennifer_guy@unc.edu, coordinator of alumni reunions and special events, GAA
Benjamin Boykin II ’72, (914) 830-9678 or benboy78@aol.com, GAA Board of Directors
I look forward to hearing from you and seeing you at our golden anniversary celebration May 5-8, 2022 in Chapel Hill.
Your ’72 classmate,
Benjamin Boykin II, MBA, CPA
A Capsule on Classmate Benjamin Boykin ll
Ben’s four years were in Alexander Dorm. On campus, he was an active member of the BSM (Black Student Movement). He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate that majored in business administration with an accounting concentration. Upon graduation, he joined Deloitte (formerly Haskins & Sells) in Greensboro as one of three Black CPA’s in N.C. After four years, he joined RJR Nabisco, where he held executive positions in Winston Salem, N.C., Atlanta, New York City and Parsippany, N.J. He transferred to Nabisco, Inc., Parsippany, N.J., where he served as assistant treasurer responsible for risk management and strategic modeling before retiring and creating Ben Boykin & Associates.
Intermingled with his business focus, between 1987-2005 Ben served as a trustee for Bennett College in Greensboro as well as seven years on the White Plains, N.Y. School Board, 14 years on the White Plains City Council and currently in his fourth term as a Westchester County, N.Y. legislator, where, on Jan. 6, 2020, he was re-elected chairman of the Board. UNC awarded the Harvey E. Beech Outstanding Alumni Award to Ben in 2013. He was elected to the GAA Board of Directors in 2020.
Ben is married to Carsandra Spearman of Clinton, N.C. Their two daughters are UNC graduates, LaSandra ’00, currently director, corporate giving and NS Foundation – Northfolk Southern Corp., Atlanta, and Nicole ’05, currently a licensed psychologist with Kings County Hospital, Brooklyn, N.Y. At Carolina, Nicole was a member of the cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field teams. Ben and Carsandra are looking forward to renewing old acquaintances and creating new friendships and relationships with classmates during our 50th Class Reunion, May 5-8, 2022.
Dear Classmates,
Nathaniel Hawthorne is quoted as saying, “Time flies over us, but leaves its shadow behind.”
And it was UNC’s own Thomas Wolfe who stated, “You Can’t Go Home Again.” We stand in the
shadow not only of passing time, but of the events that have made up our lives to this point.
We’re almost fifty years out and yet we are still a very positive force in the history of UNC. And
each of us, in our own way, wants so much to “go home again.”
It’s been fifty years since most of us walked to class accompanied by the welcoming sound of
the Bell Tower’s carillon; since we had lunch or a beer with a professor at the Rat; since we
rushed by The Scuttlebutt for a coffee on the way to class, stashing a copy of the DTH under our
arms as we hurried. It’s been fifty years since we marched against a seemingly endless war and
since we protested in favor of cafeteria workers. We cried with faculty members over the
deaths of Kent State students. We saw more and more brick sidewalks laid over foot-worn
paths in both McCorkle and Polk Place. Many of us have journeyed back to the Hill for
classmate Roy Williams’ basketball teams, football teams led by classmate and former player
John Bunting, baseball games, soccer matches and any number of sporting events that have
kept alive the spirit we shared as undergrads. Others made the trip back to observe the passing
of a loved one, a chance to meet old friends and former professors, the opportunity to attend
seminars, or graduation. My own trips back to Chapel Hill have included tailgating in crisp
autumn air at football games and screaming at the top of my voice at a couple of basketball
games each year. And I can’t forget that one trip to Houston in 2017 where our hearts beat
furiously and then broke all within about four seconds. We also make a yearly pilgrimage to the
“Bosh” for baseball and an evening meal downtown in our efforts to complete the Franklin
Street experience.
I majored in Radio, Television, and Motion Pictures. I remember those eight o’clock RTVMP 58
classes taught by department chair, Dr. Wesley Wallace. Over the years, I have watched
personalities Rick Dees, Deborah Potter and Bill Leslie ply their trades, pointing out to my kids
proudly that I knew these guys when they were students! Same with athletes, Kim Huband,
Dennis Wuycik, Bill Chamberlain, Paul Miller and Lewis Jolly. Like you, I take so much pride in
my university. Upon each trip to the Hill, I take time to gaze upon the once ivy-covered walls of
Gerrard or walk by the old well remembering the freedom we enjoyed having come this way in
our youths.
Now, please take the time to join us for the 50th reunion May 5-8, 2022. We will welcome the
class of ’70 and even some from ’71 to join us as their reunions were cancelled or postponed
due to COVID-19. The class of ’72 is unique as most of us will have turned seventy-two years of
age on this our 50th Reunion date. See you next May in Chapel Hill.
Sincerely,
Frank G. Carter, Jr.
Class of ‘72
A Southern Writer
To my Fellow ’72 Classmates,
Fifty years have flown by and all of us have had so many life experiences. My life choices were a direct function of my four years as an UNC undergraduate and then as a doctoral student. I remember my first day moving into the nurse’s dorm with all the bright-eyed and excited prospective nursing students. I thought I was destined to be a helper, but, little did I know, it would not be as a nurse. And then there were the boys, so many of them as compared to twelve years attending an all-female Episcopal school. And we the nursing students were housed far away from the boys and locked in the dorm at 10 o’clock at night. There were several nights of climbing through a window.
And then I met people who were politically active, and I became aware of the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights movement — taboo topics for a pristine, proper young southern woman from Richmond, Va. Remember the National Guard on the Lower Quad our junior year? I put daisies in the guns as I danced around as a hippy, trying to make the soldiers smile.
And before I knew it, I was president of the Association of Women’s Students and trying to make it a vital and active force. If I had gone to our Commencement, I would have been awarded in person the Algenon Sydney Sullivan award*, but I, like so many, didn’t attend. So now we can complete the circle. I hope you will join me and others, old and new friends, in our 2022 walk into Kenan Stadium in Carolina Blue robes and sashes (from Italy!). We also have medallions for all of you!
I look forward to seeing you again May 5-8, 2022. It will indeed be a weekend to remember.
Catherine Cauthorne
UNC Class of 1972 50th Reunion Committee
603-562-5799
*The Sullivan Foundation awards are considered the most prestigious award bestowed upon students, who are honored for their service to the campus community and beyond.
A Capsule on Classmate Catherine Cauthorne ‘72
Catherine resided in the nursing dorm for two years, Wilton dorm for one year and off-campus senior year. She pledged and joined Tri Delta sorority for one year but resigned when she became involved in protesting social injustice. She also transferred from nursing to psychology and loved, breathed, and, at times, slept in Davies Hall. These shifts in her attentions and passions led her ultimately to a doctorate in Psychology in 1979 from UNC and a pre-doctoral internship as a member of a multidisciplinary team treating abused and neglected children and their families in Albuquerque, NM. After a short marriage and a divorce from Alan Nagle, a ’72 classmate, she stayed in New Mexico and worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Indian Children’s Program, visiting reservations throughout New Mexico and Colorado, helping Native Americans learn about children’s emotional needs and what they could do on their own land with their own tribal members as service providers for their own children.
In 1981, she and her husband-to-be, David Closter, moved to Rhode Island and she established her own practice for children, adolescents and families with a specialty in trauma, abuse and neglect, and related conditions. She co-authored an article about Cinderella Syndrome which she presented to the annual American Psychiatric Conference in New York. After deciding to not follow the talking circuit, she decided to be a country doctor. After eight years in Rhode Island and giving birth to a daughter (Skidmore College graduate) and a son (Duke University graduate), she and her family moved to New Hampshire in 1990 where she has worked with trauma, dissociative identity disorders, and as a certified therapist and consultant in EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing). After forty plus years of clinical practice, teaching graduate students and supervising new practitioners in EMDR, she will retire on May 1, 2022 … and will be looking to greet you at our 50th Reunion Golden Celebration!
Dear Classmates,
What comes to mind when you think about your time in Chapel Hill? For me, it’s a kaleidoscope of impressions, from walks through the Arb to protests in the Pit to pitchers of beer at the Rat. I have memories of classes both enjoyed and endured (looking at you, ModCiv), of loud parties and quiet conversations, of energetic groups that got stuff done. I wouldn’t trade any of it.
Those four years shaped us and our University. Just one example: When we started, women students had a strict curfew. Dean Kitty Carmichael described us as “small, fragile and precious,” and forbade us from wearing slacks to class. By the time we left, UNC had its first co-ed dorm in Hinton James and the campus was awash in denim.
Since we graduated, some of us have been lucky enough to get back to the Hill on a regular basis. Others have returned rarely if at all. But if you’ve needed a good reason to make the trip, what better motivation than our 50th reunion? Some of us didn’t attend our own graduation ceremonies but we’ll get a do-over in 2022 when our class leads the walk into Kenan Stadium. Won’t you join us?
Put May 5-8 on your calendar, reserve a place to stay, request to join our private UNC Class of 1972 Facebook group and spread the word to your fellow ’72 grads. It’s going to be a weekend to remember. Hope to see you there.
Deborah Potter
Class of ‘72
Connect with Deborah on LinkedIn.
A Capsule on Classmate Deborah Potter
Deborah, aka Debbie during our undergraduate years, distinguished herself as a fixture of campuswide activities and particularly Swain Hall as a RTVMP major. She was one of the initial women inducted into the Golden Fleece. In addition to this classwide letter, Deborah is directly inviting our Washington, DC Metro Area classmates, other RTVMP graduates and members of the Valkyies Honor Society to join us for our Golden Celebration Reunion weekend.
Deborah is co-author with Debora Wenger of Advancing The Story, which is in its fourth printing, as well as Ready, Set, Lead: A Resource Guide for News Leaders and several other media centered books. She is founder of NewsLab, a journalism resource center, and veteran reporter and writer. Many of us likely recall Deborah as the White House reporter for CBS during the Reagan years or her CNN coverage of national politics and environment issues. After graduation, Deborah worked as a news producer and subsequently the news anchor for KYW Newsradio in Philadelphia where she met her husband, newsman Bob Witten. They have two adult children and two grandsons.
Make your reservations now to join Bob and Deborah for our 50th Class Reunion, May 5-8, 2022.
A Transformative Thanksgiving Tale for the Class of ‘72
It was back in late August, 1968. I believe it was.
My mother and my grandparents loaded me into the family station wagon and took this fat white boy from a little town in Western North Carolina to Chapel Hill.
To say I was scared was an understatement … my new home, Morrison Residence Hall, had a thousand people … more than lived in my hometown.
But, this trip was the beginning of a journey of a lifetime.
Almost every minute of every day was transformative for me. In the dorm, I met Yankees, I talked religion with Jews and Catholics and Muslims, and I met a gay person.
During orientation, I experienced the cattle herd … when busloads of girls were literally bussed in from UNC Greensboro, and whose main topic of conversation were George Carlin’s seven dirty words you can’t say on television. But, we got to see the Showmen in Carmichael … a live concert … another transformative first.
Orientation week ended and classes began. Wow! It was the start of an incredible four years as an undergraduate. I had phenomenal teachers like Bill Geer ‘38 for modern civ; Bill Powell ’40 for N.C. history; Bernie Boyd for religion; Gerald Unks for education; Wes Wallace ‘54 (MA) for RTVMP; and Daphne Athas ’43, Max Steele ‘46 and Doris Betts ‘54 for English. All challenged me to think, to examine, to question, to explore, to tolerate: all transformative for me because it opened my mind.
Change came in more mundane ways as well. Our first year was the last year of Saturday classes. You haven’t lived until you’ve been to an 8:00 a.m. Saturday class in your band uniform or had to sit in a 2:00 p.m. class in the spring with the windows open and people playing Frisbee on Polk Place … arrggghhh!
Everything about Chapel Hill was new and different. I had never tasted Lasagna or Beef Stroganoff until we piled into the back booth under the skylight at the Rat. A salad from the Porthole (along with lots of rolls) was a culinary experience, and after Marching Band practice, it was the order of life from the Carolina Grill — two hot dogs all the way with fries and tea. Didn’t know what a hoagie was until I experienced one in the basement of Lenoir.
Julian’s and Milton’s were also an education for a boy who had one sport coat and a white dress shirt. Maurice Julian ‘38 fitted and tailored my first basic blue blazer and then educated me on the meaning of the stripes inside my first Countess Mara tie. Bought my first topsiders from future Tar Heel drum major Corky Fulton ‘73 who imported them from his family’s store in Kings Mountain. I didn’t have to sneak to buy my first Playboy at Jeff’s Campus Confectionary and I did have my first draft beer at Troll’s…”whatdayasay!!!” I was definitely growing and transforming.
I was being transformed in so many ways. Have you ever stopped to think about the incredible talent we were able to experience? I’m talking musicians like Chicago, James Taylor, Tina Turner, Smokey Robinson, Jethro Tull, Jose Feliciano, Joe Cocker, Janis Joplin, Richie Havens, B.B King, Blood, Sweat & Tears … and many more.
And don’t forget the speakers: William F. Buckley, Jane Fonda, Norman Mailer, Ralph Nader, Richard Nixon, Stokely Carmichael, just to name a few.
We got to go to bowl games, ACC Championships, NIT games and NCAA Final Fours. We couldn’t help but be changed, challenged and transformed by what we were seeing, hearing and experiencing.
And for a more basic and primal change … visitation! For the first time, boys could visit girls in their rooms … and vice versa. Kitty Carmichael clutched her pearls and definitely worried about the potential for vice, but she had Ma V guarding the Parker girls, Louise Mixon doing the same in Cobb and Mrs. Ramsey in Henderson. But these wonderful ladies were also transitioning from house mothers to residence directors.
These changes and transformations were intensely personal for me, but I suspect I wasn’t very different from a whole lot of other people arriving in Chapel Hill in the fall of 1968.
Much bigger, transformative changes were in the air … changes regionally and nationally.
UNC cafeteria workers went on strike as national media covered the North Carolina National Guard outside Lenoir. I joined the demonstrations for the workers because I thought their demands were fair. I helped with the Soul Food Café set up in Manning Hall to support the workers. I listened to Joan Baez, who came to support their cause.
Another important change happened quietly. Charlie Scott ‘70 was the star varsity basketball player and an African American. In 1967, before Charlie started as a varsity player, Coach Smith called Major Y, the band director, into his office in Carmichael. Coach asked Major to not play “Dixie” at basketball games. Major agreed. It was never played in Carmichael again. But, playing “Dixie” to enter Kenan Stadium was an important tradition. In the spring of 1969, Major Y’s neighbor, Bill Dooley, came over and said he agreed with Coach Smith and didn’t want “Dixie” played in Kenan Stadium, either. It was disrespectful to our African American athletes. Major Y agreed. I was assistant librarian for the band and the Major told me to pull “Dixie” from the music books. Spring 1969 was when “Dixie” died at Carolina. Jesse Helms took us to task, but it didn’t matter. Here Comes Carolina” was a much better choice!
Later in our tenure, protests against the Vietnam War intensified, coming to a head in the spring of 1971 when student protesters at Kent State were killed by National Guardsmen.
Carolina erupted.
We protested against the war and for the senseless killing of our fellow students. Faculty and staff joined us.
And for the first time since the Civil War, the University was shut down.
When you stop and think about it, the class of ’72 was one of the most transformative classes of the 20th century. Think of how much you, the University, the nation and the world changed from August 1968 until May 1972.
Fifty years have passed. How is it possible? Wasn’t it just yesterday that we were at Sutton’s getting a milkshake or a beer at He’s Not Here?
We may be a little slower or creakier but I submit that the fire that burned in all of us is still there. That fire of determination to make a difference is still burning. Our motto for this reunion is that we’re not finished yet. There is more transformative work to be done. You can be a part of this effort in many different ways.
This year has certainly been transformative for all of us in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, so here’s wishing you a wonderful holiday season with the hopes of seeing you next May.
As Major Y always said… keep smiling and go Heels!
Allen Reep ‘72
Areep412@aol.com
919-946-2117
A Capsule on Classmate Allen Reep
See Allen Reep’s interview on YouTube in our UNC Class of 1972 Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=598748250805347, and read his epistle of personal transformation during his transactional time as an undergraduate. Allen wandered out of Western N.C.’s Burke County to attend The University of North Carolina in the fall 1968 and after his Chapel Hill experience neither the UNC Band or the Research Triangle were the same. Between our graduation year and 1990, Allen served as a mostly volunteer assistant for Band Director Major John Yesulaitis. With Major Y and the band, Allen traveled the world representing UNC and displaying the talents of our student musicians. Beyond the band and following his successful experience working with Hill Carrow ’77 in producing and coordinating the grand 1987 U.S. Olympic Festival in N.C., he founded Allen Reep’s Fundraising and Special Events Group which focuses on large scale special events, fundraising campaigns for nonprofits, consulting services and estate sales. Of our ‘72 graduating class of nearly 4,200, Allen was one of the nine Frank Porter Graham Award recipients recognizing his exemplary service to society and the greater university community. He was a member of the N.C. Student Legislature, governor of Scott College (Parker, Teague and Avery dorms), the Band-Symphonic Band Ensemble, Jubilee committee and the Bell Tower Ringers. Allen shares his Chapel Hill experience for you in his Class of ‘72 Outreach Epistle and invites you to join him for another Bell Tower Ringing experience May 5-8, 2022 as we celebrate our 50th Class Reunion. Allen can be reached directly at areep412@aol.com.
To My Fellow ’72 Classmates:
It is with great pleasure and much excitement that I invite each of you to our 50th Class Reunion on May 5-8! I am excited to celebrate our friendship and to revisit our fond memories. And, although our Tar Heel basketball team unfortunately was a few points short of the national championship, I also look forward to celebrating a team that in my mind is a true champion.
Many of our classmates have given a lot of time and energy to create an impressive array of activities for us to enjoy, beginning with a Thursday afternoon visit to the UNC Basketball Museum and an evening with classmates Roy and Wanda Williams, Paul Miller and others. Visit alumni.unc.edu/1972 for full details and registration information. I want to personally thank each of our Class Patrons who have contributed to our goal of $55,000. This fundraising effort has allowed reunion registration to be capped at $72, including our digital 50th Anniversary Revised Yackety Yack book.
It is difficult to believe that it was one-half a century ago that I stepped foot on our campus as a wide-eyed freshman. I am overwhelmed with the positive impacts my Carolina experience has had on my life — academically, socially and commitment to service, just to mention a few. What I have missed so much is the opportunity for way too long to reconnect with so many fun, interesting and caring classmates with whom I shared my UNC journey. Our Reunion in early May is just the opportunity I have been waiting for. Please show up, and let’s catch up!
Online registration ends midnight Wednesday, April 20, so I challenge you today to register online and to call at least one other classmate to join you in Chapel Hill for our 50th Commencement Reunion. I am particularly excited to get to march with you wearing Carolina Blue robes and our keepsake Alexander Julian-designed sash into Kenan Stadium on Sunday morning, May 8th.
Best to all of you,
Joseph Stallings
Class of ’72
jstallings@hsfh.com
PS. Please remember to enter your 50th Anniversary Revised Yackety Yack data even if your schedule prevents you from joining us in Chapel Hill.
A Capsule on Classmate Joseph Stallings: Joe was elected and served as our Student Body President. He was a Morehead Scholar and selected into the North Carolina Fellows Program and inducted into Phi Beta Kappa Honorary Society and Chi Phi social fraternity. After ’72 graduation, he attended UNC Law School, serving as Editor-in-Chief of the Law Review. He began his legal career as a Wall Street commercial litigator. However as a New Bern, N.C. native with extended North Carolina roots he returned the Tar Heel state. In 1991, Joe was elected by the North Carolina House of Representatives to serve on the UNC Board of Governors. Currently he is an owner/partner in the distinguished law firm of Howard, Stallings, From, Atkins, Angell & Davis, P.A. with offices in New Bern, Morehead City and Raleigh. He can be contacted directly @ 919-821-7700 or jstallings@hsfh.com, or by attending your 50th UNC Reunion Celebration, May 5-8 in Chapel Hill.
Allison joined the GAA staff in May 2022. She is excited to be back home at Carolina planning events for fellow Tar Heels to reunite in Chapel Hill. Allison enjoys live music, spending time at the beach, a good cup of tea, and playing with her cat, Alice.