A look back at 2018

Carolina continued to rack up national and global rankings throughout 2018.

• For the 18^th consecutive year, U.S. News and World Reportrated Carolina as the fifth best public school in the nation.
• UNC-Chapel Hill was designated the best value in public higher education by Times Higher Educationand The Wall Street Journal.
• Carolina also received top-tier ratings for its Graduate School programs, entrepreneurship education, sustainability, federal research funding and rates of students who study abroad, earn Fulbright awards and volunteer with the Peace Corps.

It was an exciting year for achievement in sports on the field and in the classroom.

• The Carolina women’s tennis team won the 2018 ITA Indoors National Championship.
• The field hockey claimed the 2018 NCAA Championship with a 2-0 victory against second-ranked Maryland.
• Kenny Selmon earned the title of national champion at the USATF Outdoor Championships in the men’s 400-meter hurdles with the second-fastest mark of his career.
• Nicole Greene became Carolina Track and Field’s first NCAA national champion since 2007 with her title in the women’s high jump.
• Five men’s and five women’s teams from Carolina were honored for ranking in the top 10 percent nationally in Academic Progress Rates.
• Cindy Parlow, who played at Carolina from 1995-98 before continuing her soccer career professionally, was selected for induction to the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame.

The Campaign for Carolina reached the halfway point of its $4.25 billion goal. More than 161,000 donors are helping the University make a difference in more people’s lives.

• The Delany family gave a $1 million gift to the Carolina Edge initiative, with $750,000 benefiting the Carolina Covenant and $250,000 to support law school students.
• Carolina received a $10 million commitment from the John William Pope Foundation that will provide support for the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, UNC Horizons, the track and field program and the Philosophy, Politics and Economics Program.
• Alumni Bill and Anne Harrison donated a $10 million gift to broaden the University’s global reach and support global programming and scholarships.
• With support from alumnus and UNC System President Emeritus Erskine Bowles, UNC-Chapel Hill launched the Blue Sky Scholars program, a scholarship initiative for North Carolina middle-income students.
• The School of Media and Journalism received its largest-ever gift of $21 million to fund the new Curtis Media Center, a space that will bring together students and faculty in a collaborative environment around emerging technology.
• A former patient, W. G. Champion “Champ” Mitchell donated $10 million to further blood cancer research at UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.

From new art spaces to significant milestones, 2018 brought excitement to the classrooms, labs and venues across campus.

• Carolina kicked off a year of arts-filled initiatives and celebrations in January when tap dancer, choreographer and MacArthur ‘Genius’ grant winner Michelle Dorrance and her dance troupe joined soccer freestyling sensation Indi Cowie for a series of performances around campus.
• A panel of the AIDS Memorial Quilt was on display at the Carolina Union for a week thanks to the work of student Elizabeth Trefney. Trefney and her family organized the effort to bring the panel, which features her uncle, Jeremy Trefney, who died of AIDS in 1988, to campus.
• The University added 19 new need-based scholarships to recognize Carolina’s Bridge Builders — people who helped unite and strengthen the Carolina community through their work and advocacy.
• Carolina Performing Arts officially opened its CURRENT ArtSpace + Studio in February. The 7,000-square-foot space fosters a connection between the campus and community through art.
• Carolina For The Kids celebrated its 20^th Dance Marathon in March, raising $434,139 for patients and families of UNC Children’s Hospital.
• A Carolina icon celebrated its 100^th birthday on March 16. Davie Poplar Jr., the heir to Davie Poplar in a royal line of trees that have been cherished by the University for generations, was planted a century ago.
• Carolina’s chemistry department celebrated 200 years of chemical innovation and education.
• Artist Nick Chatfield-Taylor brought his life-size Seussian igloo to Coker Arboretum as one of many installations, performances and artistic displays spread throughout Carolina’s campus for Arts Everywhere Day in April.
• The Ackland Art Museum hosted “The Outwin: American Portraiture Today” from the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. Carolina’s art museum was the only Southeast location chosen to host the collection.
• Carolina celebrated its 225^th anniversary. At University Day, Chancellor Carol L. Folt acknowledged the University’s complicated past as the nation’s first public university and called for purposeful action as it moves forward, driving great change in our state, our nation and our world.
• In the wake of Hurricane Florence, the Carolina community rallied together to collect and deliver donations to affected communities and volunteer their time to clean flooded homes. Campus also hosted a shelter to serve displaced people and created a $2 million emergency support fund for affected students.
• Arts Everywhere, UNC Housing and the art and art history department joined forces to open an art studio in Morrison Residence Hall.
• The Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History celebrated its 30^th anniversary and its years of service to the community.
• Carolina welcomed more than 5,000 new Tar Heels to campus in August.
• Robert B. House Undergraduate Library celebrated a half-century of learning and creating.

While there was much to celebrate in 2018, the University also mourned the loss of leading figures

• In January, the Carolina community lost two if its trailblazers, LeRoy Frasier and John Lewis Brandon. In 1955, the two men, along with Ralph Frasier, were the first undergraduate students to integrate the University, challenging racial segregation in North Carolina.
• Carolina legend Woody Durham passed away in March at the age of 76. Durham was the radio voice of the Tar Heels from 1971 to 2011, painting a vivid picture of Tar Heel legends for generations of fans.
• Stuart Bondurant, dean emeritus of the UNC School of Medicine, died in May at 88. Bondurant transformed medical education at the UNC School of Medicine during his long tenure as dean, while working on health improvements for all North Carolinians, especially in infant mortality.