News Release

Local angles:  Chapel Hill, Charlotte, Rocky Mount; Scotland Neck; Easton, Md.

Photo: For photos of Guthridge, Harrington, Kitchin and Schwab, click on:
http://www.unc.edu/news/pics/alum/DSM/Guthridge.JPG
http://www.unc.edu/news/pics/alum/DSM/Harrington.JPG
http://www.unc.edu/news/pics/alum/DSM/Kitchin.JPG
http://www.unc.edu/news/pics/alum/DSM/Schwab.JPG

Guthridge, Harrington, Kitchin, Schwab honored for service to UNC

CHAPEL HILL – The UNC General Alumni Association honored four individuals Saturday (May 12) for their commitment to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Recipients of the association’s 2007 Distinguished Service Medals were:

• William Guthridge of Chapel Hill, retired UNC men’s basketball coach;
• Anthony Harrington of Easton, Md., former chair of the association’s board of directors;
• Jean Almand Kitchin of Scotland Neck, vice chair of the UNC Board of Trustees and former chair of the association’s board of directors; and
• Nelson Schwab of Charlotte, chair of the UNC Board of Trustees.

“Like previous recipients, those recognized this year have provided outstanding service to our university and our alumni association,” said Doug Dibbert, association president. “We are grateful for their unselfish efforts and are inspired by their example.”

Beginning in 1967, Guthridge spent three decades as assistant coach alongside Dean Smith. He became head coach in 1997 and led the team to 80 wins and two Final Fours in the three years before he retired. In 1993, Guthridge and his wife, Leesie, created the William W. and Elise P. Guthridge Library Fund, which enabled the House Undergraduate Library to purchase much-needed humanities materials. The Guthridges also helped kick off the Undergraduate Library renovation campaign in 1998 by making a generous first donation toward the $2 million effort.

Harrington is founding president of Stonebridge International LLC, an international strategic advisory firm, and was a partner in the international law firm of Hogan & Hartson – both based in Washington, D.C. He was on three of President Clinton’s intelligence advisory boards and U.S. ambassador to Brazil from 1999 to 2001. A Morehead Scholar who graduated from UNC in 1963, Harrington is a trustee of the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise. He and his wife, Hope, endowed a distinguished visiting professorship and study abroad program focused on Latin America at UNC.

Kitchin is president and chief executive officer of Almand’s Drug Stores in Rocky Mount. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from UNC in 1970 with a bachelor’s degree in education. Kitchin has been a member of the UNC Board of Visitors and secretary of the UNC Board of Trustees, of which she is vice chair. Kitchin joined the board in 1999; her term ends this year. She produces and hosts “Tar Heel People,” an hour-long weekly show airing statewide on Saturdays on WRPX-TV in Raleigh and its sister stations. She is the former chair of the Nash-Rocky Mount Board of Education and the Rocky Mount Chamber of Commerce.

Schwab, co-founder and managing director of the Charlotte-based merchant banking firm Carousel Capital, graduated from UNC in 1967 and now chairs its board of trustees. He is the former chair and CEO of Paramount Parks, a developer and operator of regional theme parks. Schwab has been on the boards of visitors of UNC and its Kenan-Flagler Business School. He is on the steering committee for Carolina First, a multi-year private fund-raising campaign to support Carolina’s vision of becoming the nation’s leading public university. He has chaired the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce and the N.C. Outward Bound School.

The GAA has awarded the medals since 1978 to UNC alumni and others who have provided outstanding service to the association or the university. The association is a self-governed, nonprofit organization serving alumni and friends of UNC.

Past medal recipients are listed at: www.alumni.unc.edu/awards

GAA contact: Doug Dibbert, (919) 962-7050 or doug_dibbert@unc.edu
News Services contact: LJ Toler, (919) 962-8589