University Day, first celebrated in 1877, combines speakers and activities to invoke a spirit of appreciation and commemoration. The day's festivities center on Saturday's ceremony, set for 9:30 a.m. in Hill Hall auditorium.
Although most of the events are planned for Saturday, the celebration really starts a day earlier.
A new addition to the School of Pharmacy will be unveiled with a ceremony today. The building will be called Banks D. Kerr Hall.
Bill Campbell, dean of the School of Pharmacy, said the addition will benefit the school. The 65,000-square-foot addition doubles the school's space.
The number of graduate students has risen from about seven or eight in 1959 to about 100 today. "We were unable to do what our mission called us to do in the old building," he said. School officials hope the number of students accepted can be increased by about 10 to 20 percent.
Funds for the new building were allocated from a variety of places, Campbell said. The N.C. General Assembly, along with UNC's overhead receipts, contributed to most of the $24 million project. About $2 million was given by Kerr himself before his death in 2000.
"The School of Pharmacy has a rich legacy of serving the people of North Carolina, and Banks D. Kerr Hall is a monument to that legacy," he said.
Saturday's ceremony features one of UNC's own as the keynote speaker. History Professor William Ferris -- who joined the faculty in July -- will speak about the study of the U.S. South during the morning's convocation.
Ferris, former chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, said part of his attraction to the University was its history as an institution known for the study of the South. Ferris said that outside of the Library of Congress, UNC has one of the biggest collections on the South.
