225 years of Tar Heels: Marjorie Buckley
Marjorie Buckley co-founded the Carolina Center for Public Service in 1999 to continue the University's tradition of giving back to the state.
Editor’s note: In honor of the University’s 225th anniversary, we will be sharing profiles throughout the academic year of some of the many Tar Heels who have left their heelprint on the campus, their communities, the state, the nation and the world.
Carolina has a long and proud history of public service, and for the past nearly 20 years, the Carolina Center for Public Service has been at the heart of that effort.
One of the forces behind the center was Marjorie Bryan Buckley, who co-founded CCPS in 1999. CCPS offers programs that support service and engagement, providing students, faculty and staff with ways to explore opportunities, learn new skills and link their academic endeavors to making a difference across North Carolina and beyond.
In 2004, Buckley received the General Alumni Association Distinguished Service Medal, which honors alumni and others who have provided outstanding service to the GAA and/or the University.
“The center is dear to Marjorie because it teaches Carolina students and faculty a truth that has been central to her own life: Each person has talents and resources they ought to offer their community in service,” the award citation noted.
Buckley, who graduated from Carolina in 1962 with a bachelor’s degree in education, was also instrumental in establishing the North Carolina Outward Bound School in 1967. She still serves as an honorary board member. Because of her work with the school, Buckley received the Kurt Hahn Award in 1992, Outward Bound’s highest form of recognition.
Buckley also received an honorary degree from Carolina in 2014.
