Which Tar Heels would the chancellor invite to Carolina’s birthday party?

University Day celebrates more than 230 years of Carolina history, dating back to the founding of the nation’s first public university.

This year’s University Day ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. Oct. 12 in Memorial Hall.

In anticipation of the event, The Well spoke with Chancellor Lee H. Roberts about a variety of topics, including his favorite nuggets of UNC-Chapel Hill history, his favorite places on campus and who he’d invite to a dream Carolina birthday party.

University Day essentially represents the birthday of UNC-Chapel Hill. If Carolina held a birthday party, who are some Tar Heels — past and present — you would make sure to invite?

I think everyone’s list would have to start with Dean Smith. I truly wish I’d had the chance to get to know him. The people I know who worked with Dean Smith, played for him, coached with him, all speak of him in such remarkable terms that I regret that I never had the opportunity to spend time with him. I’m grateful to have been able to meet his family, including his wife, son and daughters.

All of my four living predecessors have been extraordinarily helpful to me. I’d be interested in talking to anybody who’s been in this role previously, at any point in our long and noble history. One who stands out particularly is Kemp Battle, who was president here in the period after the Civil War in the 1870s and 1880s, and that was a particularly challenging time for the University. It closed for a period during Reconstruction; President Battle and a few others reopened it.  And, having read about that history and the issues that he and the University faced, I’d love to have the opportunity to talk with him about that period in Carolina’s history.

Dean Smith coached Carolina men’s basketball for 36 seasons and won two national titles. (Dan Sears/UNC-Chapel Hill)

As you’ve learned more about the history of Carolina, what is one of your favorite little-known facts?

One of my favorite little-known facts is that both former Presidents Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush trained here during World War II as naval aviators. They trained at the Horace Williams Airport here in Chapel Hill, and there’s a terrific picture of President Bush in his naval uniform in the ROTC building here on our campus.

Another fact is one that our university arborist Tom Bythell told me about McCorkle Place. There are no utility lines or steam lines or tunnels underneath McCorkle Place here, as there are on most university quads, so the trees there have been able to grow much taller because the root systems are unconstrained by anything underground.

Davie Poplar tree on McCorkle Place (Johnny Andrews/UNC-Chapel Hill)

You’ve talked often about the beauty of Carolina’s campus. Where do you think is the most picturesque place to snap a selfie? Where do you like to spend the most time?

We are blessed to have so many wonderful places on our campus. Among my favorites is McCorkle Place itself. The arborist told me that if you stood on Franklin Street and looked back here toward South Building, it wouldn’t have looked much different 100 years ago. I love the reading room in Wilson Library. There’s a room in Morehead Planetarium on top of the planetarium underneath the dome that is one of my favorite rooms on campus. There’s a room in Hyde Hall that I try to find an excuse to go into every opportunity I can, and I have to say, I really love Kenan Stadium. We’ve been playing football there for 98 years. I love the fact that with all of the expansion of the stadium, you can still stand on the field and see trees in every corner.

Carolina sports have produced many legendary players and coaches. If you could play for any Carolina coach — past or present — who would you play for and why?

I think Dean Smith is in a category all by himself. He was such a remarkable individual, as well as an extraordinary coach. The fact that you have men in their 70s and 80s still talking about things that Coach Smith said to them when they were in their late teens or early 20s is pretty compelling.

I’m also glad I’ve gotten to know Anson Dorrance — one of the greatest coaches in any sport, at any level. With 22 national championships, his record surpasses that of many entire university athletic programs across all sports.

We obviously have a remarkable collection of current coaches. Jenny Levy, who’s been here for a long time, just won her fourth national championship for our women’s lacrosse team. Erin Matson, when she was named head coach of our field hockey team, was the youngest head coach in Division I. They are two truly outstanding women and extraordinary coaches, and I think anybody would welcome the opportunity to work with them and play for them. They’re not alone. Of course, all of our coaches are doing exceptional things, but we have the greatest football coach of all time here on our campus. I know the players have enjoyed learning from him and playing for him, and just as importantly, I know the rest of our coaches for all of our sports have welcomed having Coach Bill Belichick here on campus and having the chance to learn from him as well.

Jenny Levy (left) and Erin Matson (right) coach Carolina’s women’s lacrosse and field hockey programs, respectively, both perennial powers. (Jeffrey A. Camarati/GoHeels)

This year marks 232 years since Carolina was founded. If you look into your crystal ball for the next 232 years at Carolina, what do you hope to see?

I believe that for every one of the 232 years since our founding, this University has been the most important pillar on which we build a better future for North Carolina’s families, and that’s going to be true for the next 232 years and beyond. The challenge for me and everybody else fortunate enough to be entrusted with a leadership position at this University is: How do we make sure that’s true? How do we continue to maintain our position of preeminence in service to the state? How do we make sure that we continue to be a beacon of higher education, of learning, knowledge, research and service to the people of North Carolina and beyond? That is a truly noble calling, and I know everybody involved in leadership here at Carolina is honored to be faced with that challenge.

(Jon Gardiner/UNC-Chapel Hill)

This is a difficult question, but if you could narrow down what you love about Carolina into one or two words, what would you say?

That’s virtually an impossible question to answer, but if I had to take a shot at it, I’d say legacy and opportunity. No other university in the United States has the same legacy that we have. The General Assembly of North Carolina ratified the Constitution and then they created this University. There is a direct line between us here, now, and the founding of this state and of the nation, and that’s a legacy that brings tremendous honor to the University and to the state more broadly. It’s something that we should always be proud of, and our best traditions should reflect it.

But we can’t rest on our laurels. There are tremendous challenges ahead of us, but there’s also tremendous opportunity. Carolina has been through remarkable challenges over the last 232 years, and we have always emerged stronger on the other side. We have an opportunity to set a new standard for what it means to be a beacon for the state and for the broader nation and world.

But we have to continue to invest. We have to continue to raise our game. We have to continue to respond to competitive challenges, and we have to be willing to redefine how we do things in order to respond to the changes that we see, in terms of the broader policy landscape, in terms of new technology and in terms of rapid demographic challenges for our state. The future is bright, and Carolina’s best days are yet to come.