Tar Heel great Marcus Ginyard returns to Carolina in new role
A member of the 2009 national champion basketball team, Ginyard will serve Carolina as director of special projects.
After leaving Carolina as a national champion, Marcus Ginyard ’10 used the game of basketball to explore the world. From age 22 to 34, the Tar Heel great lived in eight different countries and played for 13 teams, competing in leagues all over Europe.
But all along, no matter how far he traveled, Ginyard held UNC-Chapel Hill close to his heart. Carolina is where Ginyard grew into a leader and team captain, where he won a national title as part of coach Roy Williams’ 2009 men’s team. It’s where Ginyard cultivated the skills for a post-playing career in commercial real estate.
Now, fittingly, Chapel Hill is home for Ginyard once again.
Carolina has appointed Ginyard as director of special projects, a role jointly supporting leadership in the Offices of Public Affairs and Finance and Operations. In this position, Ginyard will provide high-level operational and strategic support to the chancellor, the chief strategic officer and the vice chancellor for finance and operations.
“This is an opportunity that made too much sense for me, quite frankly,” said Ginyard, who has already moved back to Chapel Hill and started in the position. “To come back to Carolina, a place I love, a place that means so much to me and a place where I have the opportunity to make an impact on future Tar Heels and to be part of continuing the legacy of the University – it was an absolute no-brainer.”
Ginyard said he is eager to dive into the multifaceted role, which will allow him to use his diverse skill set to support Carolina and the larger community in a variety of ways.
Ginyard will work closely with Secretary of the University Chris McClure to support the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees, coordinating special projects, representing the University at events and advancing University initiatives in partnership with leaders across campus.
He will also play a key role in community engagement and planning efforts for Carolina North, a 250-acre research and mixed-use academic campus planned for two miles north of the main campus. With Carolina North, Ginyard will be able to leverage the experience he gained as a commercial mortgage broker and vice president at Medalist Capital in Raleigh, where he worked before returning to Chapel Hill.
“It’s been exciting to connect with a lot of different people across campus and throughout the community,” Ginyard said. “Because it’s not just the University of North Carolina. It’s the town of Chapel Hill. It’s the state of North Carolina. It’s such a large, connected ecosystem, and it’s been really interesting to get to know all the different stakeholders at various levels.
“And one cool thing about it is that a lot of the different players in this realm are people that I’ve known for 20 years.”
Ginyard isn’t alone in coming back to his alma mater, as many of his former Tar Heel teammates have remained active in the community. Fellow 2009 national champion Tyler Hansbrough, for instance, is serving as a visiting professor for the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media this semester.
In recent years Ginyard has given back to his community in a plethora of ways, serving on the boards of directors for Make-A-Wish Eastern North Carolina and for Carolina Alumni, while also serving on the Board of Visitors for the UNC Institute for the Environment.
Ginyard’s new role as special projects director will allow him to make an even larger impact.
“The way I like to think about this is very similar to how I played the game of basketball,” Ginyard said. “I’m thinking about how great it is to be a part of this team. This is a huge team, the biggest team I’ve ever played on, but we’re all working toward the same common goal.
“We want to be the best public university, the best university in the state, the best university in the country. I want us to have the best nursing school, performing arts department, law school and business school, just as much as I want to have the best teams out there on the field. I want people to think about the University of North Carolina as a top-tier, best-in-class institution.”
