A Chronology Sampling Carolina's Major Events, April 2000 – September 2007
2000
April 14, 2000 UNC Board of Governors unanimously approves James Moeser as the ninth chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, effective August 15, 2000.
August 15, 2000 Chancellor Moeser spends part of his first day touring a medical research laboratory, a chemistry building, a classroom and a music library slated for improvements under the $3.1 billion Higher Education Bond Referendum in November.
August 22, 2000 Carolina becomes the nation's largest university and only major research campus requiring undergraduates to own laptop computers as part of the Carolina Computing Initiative.
August 31, 2000 Carolina ranks third among national public universities in U.S. News & World Report magazine's annual guidebook.
October 12, 2000 Carolina installs Chancellor Moeser in a University Day ceremony celebrating the 207th anniversary of the laying of the cornerstone of Old East, the nation's first state university building. Moeser shares his vision for Carolina: to become the leading public university. He pledges to triple the investment North Carolinians would make in the University by approving the bond referendum — about $515 million — with private funds raised through the Carolina First Campaign.
October 19, 2000 Chancellor Moeser and Chapel Hill Mayor Rosemary Waldorf unveil a new process to address town-gown issues. Plans include convening a joint panel to consider such topics as the central campus master plan, the Horace Williams tract, transportation and housing.
November 7, 2000 North Carolinians overwhelmingly approve the Higher Education Bond Referendum, clearing the way for $510 million to come to Carolina for improved facilities. Chancellor Moeser calls the voters' response "a tremendously powerful signal to policy-makers in Raleigh that higher education is important to the people of this state."
December 3, 2000 The women's soccer team rallies late in the game to defeat UCLA and secure its 16th NCAA Women's Soccer Championship.
2001
February 5, 2001 Construction begins on the Medical Biomolecular Research Building, the first major project made possible by passage of the Higher Education Bond Referendum.
February 22, 2001 Chancellor Moeser announces a $245 million public-private investment in a campus-wide genome sciences initiative over the next decade. A related $25 million anonymous gift launches a proteomics research center. Funding sources for the initiative include the bond referendum, gifts and federal research grants.
March 15, 2001 National Institutes of Health funding for research at Carolina jumps more than 20 percent in fiscal 2000 to $207 million.
May 7, 2001 Carolina and Duke announce the first class of Robertson Scholars, a joint merit-based scholarship program made possible by a $24 million gift from Julian and Josie Robertson.
June 19, 2001 Carolina finishes 15th in the final Sears Cup standings, based on individual schools' finishes at NCAA postseason competition.
September 5, 2001 Chancellor Moeser delivers his first "State of the University" speech, starting a new UNC tradition. He identifies three challenges: assessing funding needs, creating an academic plan and moving forward with an initial development plan for growth.
September 6, 2001 U.S. News & World Report magazine ranks UNC the nation's fifth best public university.
September 11, 2001 Chancellor Moeser suspends classes after the 9/11 tragedy and calls for the community to come together the next day on Polk Place for reflection.
September 12, 2001 More than 10,000 people gather to honor victims of the tragedy and to comfort each other in one of the largest events on campus since the Vietnam War.
September 16, 2001 Oliver Smithies, Excellence Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, receives the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research for developing the technology that led to the creation of animal models of human disease. The Lasker Awards are known as "America's Nobels."
October 3, 2001 The Chapel Hill Town Council approves the University's development plan, tying the vote to plans for a new zoning district emerging from the work of a joint town-gown panel.
October 12, 2001 The William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust pledges a challenge gift that could result in 10 professorships valued at $3 million each called Eminent Professorships – the largest endowed professorships in UNC history. The challenge grant is part of a $27 million lead gift from the Kenan Trust, the William R. Kenan Jr. Fund and the Kenan family to the Carolina First Campaign.
Nov. 5, 2001 A $10 million gift from alumnus Alston Gardner dramatically increases opportunities for students and faculty to immerse themselves in global studies and build strategic partnerships with key international universities.
November 30, 2001 The University celebrates 50 years of African-American student enrollment. In June 1951, the first black students ever enrolled at the University began law school. That fall also brought the medical school's first black student. The first three black freshmen enrolled in fall 1955.
Dec. 16, 2001 The men's soccer team wins its first national championship by defeating Indiana.
2002
March 6, 2002 William R. Ferris, former chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, becomes professor of history and associate director of the Center for the Study of the American South, effective July 1.
March 21, 2002 National Institutes of Health funding for UNC research jumps more than 14 percent in fiscal 2001, going to $236.8 million from $207 million in 2000. The National Science Foundation annual report on academic science and engineering funding places UNC 20th nationally for fiscal 2000.
April 19 – 21, 2002 The University hosts a series of "Curtain Closing" events at Memorial Hall before closing its doors for a long-anticipated renovation funded by the Higher Education Bond Referendum and private gifts.
June 19, 2002 A task force appointed by Chancellor Moeser completes its review of the student judicial system, producing proposals to instill "a culture of honor" at Carolina.
June 26, 2002 Carolina finishes fourth in the 2001-02 Division I Sears Cup standings released by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics. UNC is the only school other than Stanford to win the Division I title.
August 19, 2002 The University holds its annual summer reading program amid national controversy surrounding the book about the Qur'an selected for the voluntary program. Chancellor Moeser and Student Body President Jennifer Daum brief a sea of national and state media following a federal court's action permitting the program to be held as planned.
August 27, 2002 Chancellor Moeser takes on academic freedom and the role of a university in addressing controversial ideas in a National Press Club speech in Washington, D.C., in the wake of a federal lawsuit about the summer reading program book.
September 3, 2002 U.S. News & World Report magazine ranks Carolina the nation's fifth best public university.
September 4, 2002 Chancellor Moeser elaborates on the vision to become America's leading public university, challenging the campus to be both "great and good at the same time" in his "State of the University" address.
September 25, 2002 Fiscal 2002 becomes the best fund-raising year ever for the University with $180 million received in gifts and private grants — a 12 percent increase.
October 11, 2002 The Carolina First Campaign sets a goal of raising $1.8 billion to help make UNC the nation's leading public university. The campaign had already raised $866 million, nearly half the goal, since counting began.
2003
February 4-11, 2003 The University convenes advisory groups with campus and community members to provide input about the future development of Carolina North.
February 24, 2003 The University breaks ground with the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools for the new School of Education wing at the R.D. and Euzelle Smith Middle School.
February 26, 2003 Fred Eshelman of Wilmington commits $20 million to the School of Pharmacy in the largest gift ever to a U.S. pharmacy school and the third largest single gift from an individual in campus history.
May 27, 2003 NIH funding for research at UNC rises by nearly 12 percent in fiscal 2002.
May 23, 2003 The Carolina First Campaign tops the $1 billion mark.
April 22, 2003 UNC and Elizabeth City State University announce a pilot joint pharmacy program to help reverse a shortage of pharmacists.
June 2003 Tar Heel teams place eighth in the annual Director's Cup competition.
June 27, 2003 Chancellor Moeser and Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy announce a joint Town-University Committee to discuss issues about proposed modifications to the University's development plan.
August 29, 2003 Research funding increases 10 percent in fiscal 2003 to $537.4 million – up from $488.3 million in 2002.
October 1, 2003 Chancellor Moeser launches the Carolina Covenant to provide a debt-free education to qualified low-income students. The initiative, announced during the annual "State of the University" speech, marks a first for a major public university and is well-received by the higher education community and the public.
December 7, 2003 The top-ranked women's soccer team claims its 18th national championship by defeating Connecticut in Cary for the team's first national title since 2000.
December 18, 2003 Carolina records the highest rate of undergraduates studying abroad among public research universities nationwide, according to the Institute of International Education.
December 15, 2003 UNC joins seven other universities selected by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City, to receive a $3.5 million grant establishing entrepreneurship education across campus.
2004
January 12, 2004 Carolina expands the C. Knox Massey Distinguished Service Awards for contributions to the University, increasing the amount of the award to $6,000 and the number of recipients annually to six.
February 5, 2004 UNC unveils the final report of the Chancellor's Task Force for a Better Workplace, co-chaired by Chancellor Moeser and Employee Forum Chair Tommy Griffin. Creating an ombuds office is the top recommendation.
February 10, 2004 Carolina debuts a new TV half-time public spot featuring Coach Roy Williams promoting the Carolina Covenant. Future Carolina Covenant Scholars say seeing the spot helped them decide to pursue a Carolina education debt-free.
March 26, 2004 Chancellor Moeser discusses academic freedom and announces to the Faculty Council that the Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education, will conduct a compliance review resulting from a class e-mail sent by an English lecturer. The review concludes the University acted appropriately.
April 16, 2004 UNC showcases its role with the new Southern Astrophysical Research Telescope in Chile.
April 21, 2004 The University breaks ground for the first phase of the Carolina Physical Science Complex, a $205 million facility that is the largest construction project in campus history and includes funding from the Higher Education Bond Referendum.
May 27, 2004 Chancellor Moeser launches a new initiative, "Carolina Connects," to strengthen the University's connections with North Carolinians and their communities. He pledges to travel to all regions of the state to highlight the many ways the University serves citizens and to learn about new opportunities to make positive contributions.
June 29, 2004 Carolina finishes seventh nationally in the annual Directors Cup, a sport-by-sport competition sponsored by the National Association of College Directors of Athletics.
July 22, 2004 The University receives $190 million in gifts and private grants during fiscal 2004 – a school record for a single year.
August 5, 2004 Governor Mike Easley visits UNC Hospitals to sign the budget bill passed by the General Assembly to build the new North Carolina Cancer Hospital, which will serve as the clinical home of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.
August 20, 2004 The University's sponsored research funding rises 7.5 percent in fiscal 2004 to $577.6 million – up from $537.4 million in 2003.
August 20, 2004 Carolina ranks as the nation's fifth best public university and a leader in making education financially accessible to students, according to U.S. News & World Report magazine.
August 24, 2004 The first class of Carolina Covenant Scholars begins classes and starts pursuing their UNC diplomas debt-free.
September 29, 2004 Chancellor Moeser announces the expansion of the Carolina Covenant to cover students and families at 200 percent of the federal poverty level – up from 150 percent when the innovative initiative was announced in 2003.
October 27, 2004 Carolina ranks as the top national university for fostering entrepreneurship across campus and fifth among the 25 "most connected campuses," according to The Princeton Review and Forbes.com.
November 3, 2004 UNC's second and newest traveling science laboratory, Discovery, debuts during a trip to Asheville High School as part of Chancellor Moeser's "Carolina Connects" initiative.
December 1, 2004 The University fills two positions to staff a new ombuds office – the top recommendation of the Chancellor's Task Force for a Better Workplace. Chancellor Moeser announces the hirings of Wayne Blair and Laurie Mesibov at an Employee Forum meeting.
2005
February 4, 2005 UNC announces creation of the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity in the School of Law as a nonpartisan initiative to bring UNC faculty and national public policy experts together to examine poverty issues. Former U.S. Senator John Edwards is named center director.
February 21, 2005 The Carolina Covenant launches a new mentoring program to match volunteer faculty or staff member with students to support them in their day-to-day lives, help them further engage with the campus and promote academic success.
March 22, 2005 UNC receives the N.C. State Government Sustainability Award in recognition of environmental initiatives including becoming the state's first agency to introduce fare-free buses and Zipcars.
March 24, 2005 Carolina expands its existing merit-based scholarship program to help attract more top high school graduating seniors. The initiative results from trustee approval of a plan devoting 100 percent of all net revenue generated by the trademark licensing program to support general student scholarships.
April 4, 2005 Coach Roy Williams and the Carolina men's basketball team earn the Tar Heels' fourth NCAA national championship title with a victory over top-ranked Illinois. An estimated 45,000 people celebrate on Franklin Street.
April 5, 2005 Carolina welcomes the national champions home with a victory celebration in the Dean E. Smith Center.
April 29, 2005 UNC dedicates a $20 million addition for the School of Nursing's Carrington Hall that includes a "green" roof to manage stormwater. The primarily bond-funded project becomes the first in the UNC system to seek Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The project was later certified.
June 28, 2005 Carolina finishes ninth in the Sports Academy Directors Cup, an annual ranking that measures how Division I programs perform in postseason competition.
June 29, 2005 Chancellor Moeser arrives in Singapore with a campus delegation to visit University programs and participate in a university presidents' roundtable. Discussions with the National University of Singapore lead to a joint undergraduate degree program that formally launches in 2007.
September 8-11, 2005 Carolina celebrates the $18.1 million renovation and re-opening of Memorial Hall with a ribbon-cutting and three performances during a gala opening weekend. Now Memorial hosts world-class artists and performances that previously could not be staged in the 1931 campus landmark. The long-anticipated project combines bond funding and private gifts.
September 15, 2005 Chancellor Moeser announces a Task Force on Engagement with North Carolina to advise him on how the University can do an even better job for the state with a focus on education, health and economic development.
September 21, 2005 Carolina officially marks the half-way point with Higher Education Bond Referendum projects during the dedication of the Rams Head Center, a multi-purpose facility and a linchpin in the campus master plan.
2006
January 10, 2006 Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine lists the University first among the best values in public higher education for the fifth consecutive time.
January 12, 2006 Carolina, for the third straight year, posts a higher rate of students going abroad than any other American public research university.
March 29, 2006 The Carolina Student Transfer Excellence Program launches with goals of recruiting talented, low- and moderate-income high school students to pursue bachelor's degrees at three community colleges and UNC.
May 23, 2006 FedEx Corp. commits a $5 million gift to support a global education building that will bring several international activities under one roof and advance a major academic priority.
June 30, 2006 Carolina's runner-up finish at the College Baseball World Series clinches fourth place for the Tar Heels in the 2006 NACDA Directors Cup, the best finish since fourth in 2001-02.
July 27, 2006 The University receives a record $241.2 million in private gifts in fiscal 2006, marking the first time that UNC, in a single year, raises more than $200 million in cash and other assets.
July 27, 2006 Chancellor Moeser appoints John P. Evans, a longtime faculty member and administrator, as executive director of Carolina North, citing the need for one person to focus entirely on issues related to the planned mixed-use satellite campus.
August 18, 2006 Carolina ranks first among public campuses for the second consecutive year in U.S. News & World Report's "Great Schools, Great Prices" list, based on academic quality and the net cost of attendance for a student who receives the average level of need-based financial aid.
August 22, 2006 The University grows its total amount of research grants and contracts in fiscal year 2006 to a new high of $593 million – up 2.4 percent from 2005.
September 6, 2006 Chancellor Moeser calls for Carolina to reach $1 billion in research funding by 2015 and proposes increasing four- and six-year graduation rates.
September 10-13, 2006 The University hosts "The Politics of Inclusion: Higher Education at a Crossroads," a conference seeking national solutions to the complex issues surrounding access and affordability in American higher education.
September 20, 2006 Alumni Barbara and Pitt Hyde pledge $5 million to endow the Academic Leadership Program in the Institute for the Arts and Humanities and to name the program for Ruel W. Tyson, longtime institute director.
October 25, 2006 The Renaissance Computing Institute plans to expand its reach to western and eastern North Carolina by opening sites in Asheville and Greenville affiliated with UNC-Asheville and East Carolina University to focus on disaster research, including hurricanes and floods.
November 18, 2007 A $5 million gift to the College of Arts and Sciences from alumnus Max Chapman Jr. helps fund a new building named for the donor in the Carolina Physical Science Complex.
December 11-12, 2006 Chancellor Moeser leads a UNC delegation to China to co-sponsor a conference at Peking University as part of a forum that will include a similar event in Chapel Hill next year focusing on U.S. health-care issues.
December 15, 2006 A new $8 million gift from the William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust creates 16 full music scholarships for undergraduates and completes funding for a new music building called the Kenan Music Building. The gift is the largest ever received by an academic department in the College of Arts and Sciences.
2007
January 8, 2007 Carolina ranks first on the list of best values among the nation's top 100 public universities, according to Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine. That marks the sixth consecutive time UNC has topped the magazine's list since 1998.
February 12, 2007 The University dedicates the George Moses Horton Residence Hall to honor the slave and poet from Chatham County – the first time a UNC building has been named for a slave.
February 13, 2007 The American Council on Education honors Chancellor Moeser with the Reginald Wilson Diversity Leadership Award, a lifetime achievement honor recognizing leaders making major contributions to the advancement of diversity in American higher education.
February 15, 2007 The John Motley Morehead Program receives a $100 million gift from the Gordon and Mary Cain Foundation of Houston – the largest contribution ever given in support of UNC – to expand the number of Morehead Scholars and other enrichment opportunities. The Morehead Foundation and the Morehead Scholars Program are renamed as Morehead-Cain.
February 21, 2007 Dennis and Joan Gillings commit $50 million – the single largest pledge in the University's history – to the School of Public Health, pushing the Carolina First Campaign over its $2 billion goal nine months ahead of schedule.
February 26, 2007 UNC and the National University of Singapore formally launch an innovative joint undergraduate degree program that will begin in fall 2007 for students in Singapore and Chapel Hill.
March 7, 2007 The Public Service Scholars program enrolls its 1,000th active participant this year, marking a more than 10-fold increase since the program's inception in 2003.
March 21, 2007 The University joins nine other campuses and the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation in a $10 million partnership to create advising programs to help low-income students enroll in college. Carolina will house the new National College Advising Corps.
April 12, 2007 Carolina launches the Institute for the Environment by expanding the existing Carolina Environmental Program, adding new degree programs, research sites and outreach initiatives throughout North Carolina.
May 14, 2007 The Tar Heel Bus Tour marks its 10th anniversary of bringing faculty new to North Carolina across the state to learn about its people, economy, environment, culture and history.
June 27, 2007 Carolina finishes third in the nation in the 2006-07 U.S. Sports Academy Directors' Cup, UNC's sixth consecutive top 10 finish and the eighth top 5 finish in the 14-year history of the award.
July 26, 2007 UNC sets a new record for gifts in fiscal 2007, receiving $250.8 million.
July 26, 2007 The Board of Trustees reacts favorably to a draft concept plan for the first phase of Carolina North drawn in part from months of community feedback. Final approval is expected in September 2007, with submission later to the Town of Chapel Hill.
July 31, 2007 Governor Mike Easley signs the state budget bill approved by the General Assembly that creates North Carolina's first University Cancer Research Fund, established to accelerate the battle against cancer at the School of Medicine and Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.
August 3, 2007 Faculty research funding tops $610 million in fiscal 2007, up 2.9 percent from the prior year and more than twice as much as just a decade ago.
August 17, 2007 Carolina leads the nation's public universities in making higher education accessible for students, ranking first for the third straight year in U.S. News & World Report's "Great Schools, Great Prices" list.
August 21, 2007 The first class of Carolina Covenant Scholars begins its senior year and will graduate in May 2008.
September 26, 2007 Chancellor James Moeser announces his decision to leave office June 30, 2008, and return to campus life as a professor following a year's research leave. He is the longest-serving Carolina chancellor since Christopher Fordham, who retired in 1988.
October 8, 2007 Dr. Oliver Smithies, Excellence Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the School of Medicine, wins the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine. Smithies shares the prize with Mario R. Capecchi of the University of Utah's Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Sir Martin J. Evans of the United Kingdom "for their discoveries of principles for introducing specific gene modifications in mice by the use of embryonic stem cells."