5 selected for Distinguished Alumni Awards

Each year on University Day, Carolina celebrates and honors alumni for their outstanding contributions to humankind. Drawn from nominations from various groups across campus, including the General Alumni Association Board of Directors, recipients are recommended by the faculty’s Committee on Honorary Degrees and Special Awards and are approved by the Faculty Council and the Board of Trustees.

Here are this year’s winners:

James W. Clark Jr. ’65

James Clark ’65 has distinguished himself in the humanities by combining exceptional knowledge of North Carolina’s literary and cultural history with a commitment to public service and scholarship. A native of Warren County, North Carolina, he majored in English at Carolina before earning a doctorate from Duke University. During his 38 years as a faculty member at NC State University, Clark led the Humanities Extension and Publications Program, which helped generations of public school students learn about North Carolina’s multicultural history, writers and conflicts.

Thomas F. Darden ’76, ’92 (MRP)

Tom Darden is the founder and chief executive officer of Cherokee, a Raleigh-based company that builds environmental technology businesses and remediates environmentally contaminated real estate. He also co-founded and chairs the board of Industrial Heat, a fusion energy research initiative. A successful entrepreneur, Darden is renowned for applying his business acumen toward philanthropy by serving in leadership roles on several boards and donating to educational and environmental causes.

Amy L. Greeson ’90

Amy L. Greeson is an award-winning documentarian, accomplished author, dedicated pharmacist, world explorer and avid volunteer. A native of High Point, North Carolina, she earned her bachelor’s degree from the Eshelman School of Pharmacy at UNC-Chapel Hill. After graduation, she completed an externship with the Public Health Service in Alaska before returning home to join her family’s business, an independent pharmacy, until its sale in 2010.

Jenny Han ’02

Jenny Han is a best-selling author of young adult novels whose work has touched the hearts of young people worldwide, while simultaneously raising the popular profile of Carolina — the university her most famous literary heroine chooses to attend. Han’s body of work to date has resulted in remarkable literary and filmmaking success, while demonstrating deeply compassionate insight into a new generation.

Adolph L. Reed Jr. ’71

Adolph Reed, a professor of political science emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania, is a renowned scholar whose work has been described by other eminent scholars as offering “counterintuitive insights and wit” while inspiring readers to “think anew about the prospects for building a more humane world.”