The impact of generations of Tar Heels: A message from Chancellor Guskiewicz
In an email to campus, Chancellor Kevin M. Guskiewicz says that keeping Carolina affordable is how the University is able to keep attracting talented and thoughtful students of all backgrounds.
Dear Carolina Community,
One of the joys of being chancellor is the opportunity to meet Tar Heels of different generations. From alumni who graduated over 50 years ago to students preparing for their first midterms, I get to hear stories of how this place transforms lives. I get to see the lasting power of a Carolina education.
Yesterday I attended the memorial service in Atlanta for Charlie Loudermilk ’50, who passed away at the age of 95. Charlie came to Carolina with the help of the GI bill and earned a degree in business. A successful businessman, he founded Aaron Rents and helped provide supplies for Martin Luther King Jr.’s second march from Selma to Montgomery. Former Atlanta Mayor and U.S. Ambassador Andrew Young delivered an inspirational eulogy about how Charlie became a pillar of the Atlanta community and a generous funder of causes that mattered to him. One of those causes was Carolina.
While visiting Atlanta to celebrate Charlie’s life, I met with alumni who are following in his footsteps. Through the Campaign for Carolina, they are helping to raise a billion dollars for financial aid and scholarships.
That investment helps us welcome extraordinary students like Righteous Keitt, Whitney Noble, Kierra Peak and Matthew Wood. I met them earlier this week to talk about scholarships and what it means to keep Carolina affordable. Righteous wants to bring investment and opportunity back to his hometown, Whitney is training to become a nurse, Kierra is a doctoral student studying youth activism and health, and Matthew wants to guide students on the path to college. Their work will make a real difference in the world, and the support of the Carolina community makes it possible.
Carolina has consistently ranked as the best value in public higher education. Keeping UNC-Chapel Hill affordable is how we keep attracting talented and thoughtful students of all backgrounds. It’s how one generation of Tar Heels opens the doors of opportunity for the next. It’s how this place stays true to its public mission and continues to improve the lives of people locally and around the world.
Sincerely,
Kevin M. Guskiewicz
Chancellor
