One hundred years ago, former UNC President Kemp Battle charged UNC with a mission.
His instructions were to use the mail order company Montgomery Ward's catalog to reflect on societal changes — 50 years later, in 1965, and 100 years later, in 2015.
“(Battle) was very directive and specific in the letter that every fifty and hundred years later we revisit the information,” said Judy Panitch, director of library communications.
In 1965, former Chancellor Robert House accepted Battle’s challenge and wrote an essay, titled “Great and Important Changes,” which explained what was changing in society at that time.
But now, instead of writing an essay, UNC decided to hold two lectures, one in April and one Tuesday, describing the impact of the Montgomery Ward catalog on today’s economic market.
“We felt a public lecture would be more spontaneous,” said Fitz Brundage, chairman of the history department. “If we asked people to write an essay, some might read it ... but we wanted to reach as many people as possible.”
Lee Craig, a professor at the Poole College of Management at N.C. State University, and Peter Coclanis, director of UNC's Global Research Institute, led Tuesday's lecture. They explained their views on the economic impact of the Montgomery Ward catalog.
“The catalog was the original version of the internet,” Craig said.
Coclanis talked about the influential economic and business aspects of the catalog, including Montgomery Ward introducing the statement “100 percent satisfaction guaranteed or your money back.”