Entries

Gillings, Joan H., Center for Dramatic Art.

This facility, located on Country Club Road adjacent to the Old Chapel Hill Cemetery, is the home of the Department of Dramatic Art and PlayMakers Repertory Company. The building has offices, classrooms, rehearsal spaces, production shops, and two theaters. The Paul Green Theatre, which seats 500, is named in memory of Paul Green, the Pulitzer Prize—winning playwright and human rights activist who was a UNC alumnus and professor. The theater features an innovative thrust stage designed by renowned scenic artist Desmond Heeley. The Elizabeth Price Kenan Theatre, a performance space with flexible seating, hosts student productions, the PRC2 series, as well as guest shows. The space's name recognizes the support of local philanthropist Betty Kenan for the performing arts at UNC. The opening of the center in 1998 meant that for the first time all of the UNC Department of Dramatic Art operations were together in one location. The building was named the Joan H. Gillings Center for Dramatic Art in 2017 in recognition of Gilling's support for performing arts programming at UNC—Chapel Hill. A resident of Chapel Hill and Wilmington, North Carolina, Gillings has been a committed supporter of programs both at Carolina and at the University of North Carolina—Wilmington.

Gerrard Hall (New Chapel)

This modest building is now little noticed on Cameron Avenue between South Building, the Campus Y, and Memorial Hall. Construction took place between 1822 and 1837, halted by the lack of funds. It was the university's second chapel, replacing Person Hall for that purpose, in an era when students began each day with mandatory religious services. Gerrard was also used for commencement and other official functions. President James K. Polk (UNC class of 1818) spoke there for commencement in 1841, as did President James Buchanan in 1859 and President Andrew Johnson in 1867.

Gerrard, along with Old West and the extant design of the quad around the Old Well, are the work of noted architect William Nichols. Along with the other antebellum buildings, Gerrard was built using an enslaved labor force, including people enslaved by Nichols and by university trustee William Polk.

Gerrard has entrances on two sides, a feature that shows how university plans change over time. Not long after it was completed a portico was added on the south side, as university officials thought to face the entrance toward a planned east-west avenue in that direction. In 1900 the portico came down, as the anticipated avenue had not been built, and two entrances were built into the building's east side. Between the two is a marble dedicatory plaque with the biblical phrase from Micah: "To do justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God." In the early 2000s university architects rebuilt the south portico.

The building is named for Charles Gerrard, a Revolutionary War veteran who bequeathed the university nearly 14,000 acres in Tennessee, part of which he received for his service to the state in the Revolutionary War. Funds from the sale of these lands paid to complete the chapel construction in 1837.

Date Established: 1822

Date Range: 1822 – Present

George Watts Hill Alumni Center

In 1993, after several years of construction, the General Alumni Association dedicated the George Watts Hill Alumni Center, located on Stadium Drive. The center was designed to be used both as a gathering place for alumni and as an event center. It houses the offices for the Alumni Association, including the Alumni Review, and alumni records. The building includes a library, meeting rooms, and the Carolina Club, a private membership club with dining and event spaces established in 1993 for alumni association members and UNC faculty and staff. The center is named for alumnus George Watts Hill (class of 1922), a successful business leader from Durham who donated $3.5 million toward the construction of the center. Hill's father, John Sprunt Hill, had also been a prominent donor to the university, funding the construction of the Carolina Inn and providing support to the university libraries.

Friday Center

The William and Ida Friday Center for Continuing Education opened in 1991 to serve as a conference facility for the university. Located a few miles from campus and convenient to Interstate 40, the site offers an expansive space and plenty of parking, features increasingly hard to find on the crowded main campus. The Friday Center also serves as the home of UNC—Chapel Hill's continuing education efforts, offering programs and classes to anyone interested in learning, regardless of their affiliation with the university.

The center is named for one of UNC's most influential leaders, William C. Friday, and his wife, Ida Friday. William Friday earned his undergraduate degree at North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering and a law degree from UNC. He spent his entire career in higher education, serving first as dean of students at UNC and then as assistant to the president of the UNC System. Friday was appointed president of the consolidated university (later the UNC System) in 1956 and remained in the job until 1986, making him the longest-serving president in the system's history. Ida Howell Friday was a graduate of Meredith College and the UNC School of Public Health. A painter and sculptor, she also supported local historic preservation, civil rights, women's rights, and the arts.

Friday's tenure as president was marked by incredible growth and change. The system grew from three schools to sixteen as the state substantially increased its commitment to public higher education. Friday's time as president also saw multiple controversies. Early in his tenure he had to deal with the Dixie Classic gambling scandal and the state's Speaker Ban Law. For much of the 1970s Friday struggled to refute and then respond to accusations from the federal Department of Housing, Education, and Welfare that the UNC System was not providing equal funding and support for African American students.

Friday remained wary of the influence of college athletics throughout his career. In his retirement he was one of the cofounders of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, which sought to provide analysis and support for universities trying to manage the rapid growth and influence of athletics. For many years Friday hosted the North Carolina People interview program on UNC-TV and was one of the best-known figures in the state.

Date Established: 1988

Date Range: 1988 – Present