News Release

Gift from estate of School of Government leader
will benefit school, Ackland Art Museum

Photo note: See end of story for photo URL.

CHAPEL HILL -- Henry Wilkins Lewis devoted more than three decades of his career to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School of Government – and also was steadfast in helping shape UNC’s Ackland Art Museum.

Lewis died in December 2004, but a gift of close to $700,000 from his estate ensures that he will keep on giving to the two campus entities he valued most.

An expert in election law and property tax, Lewis received his undergraduate degree in history at UNC in 1937, then earned his law degree from Harvard Law School.

After a year of practicing law and five years in the U.S. Army, Lewis joined UNC’s Institute of Government. He was assistant director of the institute from 1946 to 1973 and director from 1973 until his retirement in 1978. Lewis also was research professor of public law and government from 1951 to 1978 and was appointed Kenan professor of public law and government in 1975.

He also was acting vice president of the University of North Carolina system from 1968 to 1969.

Lewis spent 21 years as a member of the advisory board of the Ackland Art Museum and 12 years on its visiting committee.

The income from the endowed funds created by his gift is to be used at the discretion of the leaders of the School of Government and the Ackland.

That stipulation is vintage Henry Lewis, said Mike Smith, dean of the School of Government.

"His gift was given in a way that was perfectly representative of his personality and style," Smith said. "He was a very prudent person, so of course he insisted that it be an endowment, so it would be a gift that would endure. And because he was a former director, of course he would leave it to the current dean to decide how to spend it."

The school hasn’t decided yet on specific uses for its portion of the gift, but the funds will support faculty in a variety of ways, Smith said. "I think he would particularly value the fact that we’re using it to support faculty, whom he supported and respected and admired so much."

Lewis’ gift to the Ackland was 11 European paintings and drawings, in addition to an endowment. Lewis will always be remembered as a longtime friend who supported the museum from its beginning in 1957, said Carolyn Wood, the Ackland’s assistant director for art and education.

His bequest of artwork "contributes significantly to an important area of the museum’s collection, while his trust will add much needed support to general operations, including the care and interpretation of the collection," she added.

During his career at UNC, Lewis received honors that included the N.C. League of Municipalities’ Distinguished Service Award, in 1979; and the UNC General Alumni Association’s Distinguished Service Medal, in 1993.

The Henry W. Lewis classroom in what is now the Knapp-Sanders Building, home of UNC’s School of Government, was named through a gift from his family in 2002.

But Smith said Lewis’ most enduring legacy will be the people whose lives he influenced during his long tenure on campus. And Smith should know: Lewis hired Smith right out of law school.

"He was a great role model for many people here in the way he went about doing his job. He was such a careful person; he led by example and young faculty really learned from him. I admired him enormously."

The Lewis gift counts toward the university’s Carolina First campaign goal of $1.8 billion. Carolina First is a comprehensive, multi-year, private fund-raising campaign to support Carolina’s vision of becoming the nation’s leading public university.

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Note: To download an image of one of the works included in the Lewis bequest, click on http://www.unc.edu/news/pics/obj/Breton.jpg. The following caption must accompany any reproduction of that image: Jules Adolphe Aimé Louis Breton, French, 1827-1906: Landscape with Peasants; oil on canvas. Bequest from the Estate of Henry W. Lewis. Ackland Art Museum, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Office of University Development contact: Scott Ragland, (919) 962-0027 or scott_ragland@unc.edu

UNC News Services contact: Deb Saine, (919) 962-8415 or deborah_saine@unc.edu