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Video and Photo Recap: Spring Reunions Weekend

Take a Look Back on Spring Reunions Weekend

We had a Heel of a good time, May 9-12, 2019, in Chapel Hill. We dove into five fantastic topics during our enrichment sessions and heard from Dr. William “Bill” Leuchtenburg at the Old Students Club Luncheon. We reunited, we celebrated and those in the 50th class enjoyed a Commencement processional before Jonathan T.M. Reckford ’84, Habitat for Humanity CEO, took the stage as the Commencement speaker. See for yourself through our video and photo recap of the weekend.

Not Your Grandmother’s Library: UNC Libraries in the Digital Age
Friday, May 10, 9 – 10 a.m.

Featuring Elaine Westbrooks, vice provost of University Libraries and University librarian. 
Although libraries are fully committed to preserving knowledge and the rich and complex history of the state, we are in the midst of a transformation. University Libraries is increasingly poised to provide new kinds of services (we will always have books) so that students, faculty and staff have inspirational spaces that are quiet, communal but also energizing and engaging with new kinds of technologies. Hear about how UNC Libraries provides virtual reality tools, Makerspaces for design and prototyping and data visualization classes, while also providing collections of books, digital health devices and data sets for our campus community.

Morphing Skin Into Stem Cells That Kill Cancer
Friday, May 10, 10:10 – 11:10 a.m.

Featuring Dr. Shawn Hingtgen, UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center member and assistant professor at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. Dr. Hingtgen, a translational scientist who specializes in gene and cell therapy, discusses the exciting breakthrough he and his team are working on at UNC: morphing your skin into stem cells that seek out and kill cancer. With a little bit of skin and a little bit of time, this will become a remarkable therapy. Using a strong interdisciplinary team of basic scientists and clinicians, they are testing this novel treatment against many of the most aggressive types of cancer. The ultimate goal is to translate this therapy into the clinical setting, where they can provide clinicians with a powerful new therapy capable of fighting these diseases and bringing hope to patients.

Old Students Club Luncheon
Friday, May 10, 11:30 a.m.

James Lee Love (class of 1884) donated an endowment to the General Alumni Association to fund an annual gathering of the “Old Students Club” for all who have reached or passed the 50th anniversary of their graduation year. Dr. William “Bill” Leuchtenburg, William Rand Kenan Jr. Professor Emeritus of history and a renowned scholar of American political history, was the featured speaker. He is the author of more than a dozen books and the recipient of numerous honors, including the Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. Award for historical writing of enduring public significance. Leuchtenburg has recently served as a consultant for the major renovation of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum at Hyde Park. He has worked with documentary filmmaker Ken Burns on his films for more than 30 years, including “The Roosevelts,” in which he appears several times on camera. He wrote the presidential election analysis for NBC on election nights and covered presidential inaugurations for three other networks. For Bill Clinton’s first inaugural address in 1993, he was at the CBS anchor desk with Dan Rather and Charles Kuralt. Leuchtenburg has most recently published “The American President: From Teddy Roosevelt to Bill Clinton.”

Historical Reflections: America’s First Public University
Friday, May 10, 1:30 – 2:30 p.m.

Featuring James Leloudis ’77 (’89 PhD), associate professor of history, Peter T. Grauer associate dean for Honors Carolina and director of the James M. Johnston Center for Undergraduate Excellence.
 Carolina is America’s first public university. Make note of where the emphasis falls. For more than two centuries, that word “public” has been the University’s guide star. But its meaning has never been static. The word has been defined and redefined, sometimes radically, as successive generations have rethought the relationship between the University and the larger society that gives it life. In this session, Jim takes a historical look at UNC and its role as American’s first public university.


Saturday Morning in Chapel Hill: Carolina Across the Generations
Saturday, May 11, 9 – 10 a.m.

Featuring Dick Baddour ’66, retired after 45 years of service as a University administrator in student affairs, undergraduate admissions, the School of Law and athletics
. This session has been a favorite one for reunion participants going back over a decade. What’s it like to be a student today compared to undergraduates in the 1960s? Dick Baddour leads a lively discussion on this topic. He will pose questions to a panel of four current students and four graduates from the class of 1969. Audience participation is encouraged.


The History of Argyle and Carolina Style
Saturday, May 11, 10 – 11:10 a.m.

Featuring internationally acclaimed, five-time Coty award-winning fashion and furniture designer Alexander Julian ’69.
 Alex commentated and illustrated with archival photos the rich visual history of Chapel Hill’s incredible legacy that transcends from Franklin Street to the playing fields.

Commencement
Sunday, May 12, 9 a.m.

Jonathan T.M. Reckford ’84, Habitat for Humanity CEO, delivered the Commencement address. In 2003, Reckford had been a successful business executive at some of the nation’s major corporations when he felt a calling to serve others in a deeper way. He left the corporate world behind to become a pastor and now leads the world’s foremost global nonprofit housing organization.

Class of 1969

We celebrated the golden anniversary of Carolina’s class of 1969 as they returned to campus for Spring Reunions Weekend. Their Commencement processional in Kenan Stadium was one of many of our favorite moments.

Spring Reunions Weekend Photos We reunited. We celebrated. We had a Heel of a good time. See the photo recap on Facebook.