News Release

Photo note: To download photo of the Evans family, please see end of release.

CHAPEL HILL— The Crown family of Chicago has pledged a gift to establish an endowed professorship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in honor of the late Sara and E.J. Evans of Durham, N.C., longtime leaders of civic and Jewish causes.

The Sara and E.J. Evans Distinguished Professorship, based in the College of Arts and Sciences’ department of political science, will enhance the university’s study of Israel and the Middle East in conjunction with the work of the new Carolina Center for Jewish Studies. The interdisciplinary center, established last year in the College, offers an undergraduate minor in Jewish studies. Its faculty experts engage in teaching, research and special programs to enhance public understanding of Jewish history, culture and religion in the United States and abroad.

The Evans professor, who will be chosen in a competitive search process, will also contribute to the work of the new interdisciplinary Carolina Center for the Study of the Middle East and Muslim Civilizations.

Lester Crown, chairman of Henry Crown and Company, serves on the boards of the Jewish Theological Seminary and the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. He is actively involved in the American Jewish Committee and The Jewish Federation of Chicago.

Susan Crown, president of the Arie and Ida Crown Memorial, also is vice president of Henry Crown and Company, founder and board member of The Covenant Foundation and chairman of the Shoah Visual History Foundation.

Sara Crown Star, a 1982 UNC graduate, serves as a trustee of the Crown Memorial, governor of the Hebrew Union College Board of Governors and advisory board member of the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies.

"The Sara and E.J. Evans Distinguished Professorship honors a 50-year friendship between the Crown family and one of the extraordinary Jewish families in North Carolina history," said Sara Crown Star. "The Evans’ contributions to the Jewish and civic culture of their city and state, the university and the nation have been legendary. In particular, we are thrilled to be able to honor the passion the Evans family has to support the furtherance of Jewish education at UNC-Chapel Hill."  

E.J. Evans, owner of Evans United Department Stores, was mayor of Durham for 12 years (1951-1963), and played an important nationally recognized leadership role in improving race relations in the city. Bringing together groups in the community to work together, he helped Durham eventually to desegregate its public accommodations, city agencies and schools. He also gave his time and energy to Jewish affairs, serving at least a decade in each of the following roles: president of the Beth El congregation in Durham, chairman of the statewide Bonds for Israel campaign and president of the statewide United Jewish Appeal.

Originally from Fayetteville, N.C., Evans graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill (’28), where he was active in campus affairs and was a member of the basketball and track teams. He later was president of the university’s General Alumni Association and received the Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1972.

Sara Nachamson Evans also was a leader in the Jewish community locally, regionally and nationally. She served on the national board of Hadassah for more than 45 years and she spoke all across the south on its behalf. Her mother Jennie Nachamson founded the first Hadassah chapter in the South in 1919.

The Evans’ sons, Eli and Bob, are also UNC-Chapel Hill alumni. Bob Evans, who was a special assistant to CBS news legend Edward R. Murrow, is a former CBS bureau chief who covered the South from Atlanta and the Soviet Union in Moscow.

Eli Evans, the former president of the Charles H. Revson Foundation in New York City, is an author of three books on Jews in the South and chairs the advisory board for the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies.

"Our family is deeply grateful to our old friends, who now span two generations of the Crown family, for this generous gift that enables our parents’ memory to be associated with Jewish studies at our Dad’s beloved alma mater," said Eli Evans.

Dr. Bernadette Gray-Little, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said, "We are most grateful to the Crowns for their generous gift and to the Evans family for their extraordinary service to the university and to Jewish and civic affairs over several generations. The Evans professorship will further strengthen our faculty expertise and outreach programs in Jewish studies, advancing our goal of making Carolina a national leader in the field."

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

For more information about the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies, see www.unc.edu/ccjs/, or about the Carolina Center for the Study of the Middle East and Muslim Civilizations, www.unc.edu/mideast/.

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Photo URL: http://www.unc.edu/news/pics/alum/evans_family.jpg

Carolina Center for Jewish Studies contacts: Eli Evans, (212) 935-3340; Dr. Jonathan Hess, (919) 843-9160

College of Arts and Sciences contact: Dee Reid, (919) 843-6339