|
NEWS SERVICES |
NEWS
| For immediate use |
Feb 10, 2004 -- No. 68 |
Photo note: To download a photo, see end of the release.
Two former UNC faculty members
recognized for service to the university
CHAPEL HILL – For their accomplishments and dedication to colleagues and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Dr. Mary Turner Lane and Dr. Doug Eyre were honored in January with the General Alumni Association's Faculty Service Award.
Given annually since 1990, the award recognizes faculty members whose service has had a lasting impact on the university and the GAA.
"Although these valued scholars retired years ago, they continue to exemplify a precious Tar Heel value: a tireless commitment to service," said Doug Dibbert, GAA president.
Lane taught in UNC’s School of Education from 1954 to 1976 and created the women’s studies curriculum. A tireless advocate for the rights of women on campus, Lane established criteria for female faculty members to attain tenure and promotions.
She founded the Committee on the Status of Women and the Association for Women Faculty and Professionals, launched the Coalition for Women's Concerns at UNC and chaired the department of elementary education. She was an adviser to the dean of women's office, the Carolina Women's Center and the Panhellenic Council.
"Her commitment, persistence and just plain savvy played an enormous role in the beginning of the women's studies program at Carolina," said Dr. Beverly Long, Kenan professor of communications studies. "Her belief in the importance of the lives of women has continued, grown and been forcefully voiced in educational and political arenas. She has made and is making a tremendous difference at Carolina and beyond."
After earning a bachelor's degree from Salem College, Lane was widowed at the age of 29 and left to raise a young daughter. But with firm resolve, she went on to receive her master's degree in education from UNC in 1953, when women were not allowed to participate in all academic programs.
Lane earned a doctorate in education from Duke University. She was an education instructor before joining the UNC faculty.
"The volatile nature of many of the issues for which Lane fought required a steady demeanor," Dibbert said. "Unyielding in her principles, yet not argumentative or confrontational, she won over many detractors with her intelligence and disarming graciousness."
Eyre retired in 2001 after 44 years of teaching and service at UNC. He was the first chair of the geography department, in 1962, when it split from the geology department. He came to Carolina in 1957 after earning three degrees from the University of Michigan and teaching at the University of Washington for six years. He chaired the library's administrative board and founded Friends of the Library, serving as chair.
In 1984 Eyre set a goal of matching a $150,000 alumni bequest for the new Davis Library. He set out to ask 150 alumni to contribute $1,000 each. Eyre called on a former student of his, 1986 graduate Michael Jordan, who made the initial pledge.
"It is hard to imagine any other professor who would have been as willing to take on such a venture on behalf of the library," said Dr. Joe Hewitt, associate provost for university libraries.
In part because of Eyre's efforts, today the libraries enjoy a $34 million endowment that keeps them among the country's top 20 public libraries.
"Doug did a great job leading the raising of building support at a time when it wasn't easy to do," said Michele Fletcher, director of library development. "He was one of the first people to decide that the library needed its own fund-raising activity."
Eyre's fund-raising prowess also was demonstrated during the 1993 Bicentennial Campaign, when he co-chaired the Faculty-Staff Campus Campaign that raised some $9.9 million from about 34 percent of the university community.
Today, Eyre's cause celebre is supporting the Chapel Hill Museum. He also enjoys a personal interest in the library's map collections.
Previous winners of the GAA Faculty Service Award include English professor emerita Dr. Doris Betts; journalism professor Chuck Stone; retired Provost Richard Richardson; history professor emeritus Dr. William S. Powell; religious studies professor Dr. Ruel W. Tyson Jr., who also directs UNC's Institute for the Arts and Humanities; and history professor emeritus Dr. William E. Leuchtenburg.
The General Alumni Association is a self-governed, nonprofit organization serving alumni and friends of UNC.
- 30 -
Photo URL:
Contact: Doug Dibbert, General Alumni Association president, 919-962-7050
News Services contact: L.J. Toler, 919-962-8589, laura_toler@unc.edu
