And Stone said his office really has to be seen to be believed. It is a far cry from the typical office found around UNC's campus.
From the formal buildings that house top administrators to Stone's memorabilia-filled office, most faculty take pride in personalizing their space. "You live a long time, you collect a lot of stuff," Stone said.
Four bookshelves in Stone's office are overflowing with books -- from his censorship course text to a 1947 psychology book from his junior year in college. The walls of his office provide a glance at Stone's life. There are pictures of Stone with Martin Luther King Jr. and one of him talking with friend Malcolm X two weeks before he was assassinated.
"There's a picture of me standing up asking President Kennedy a question," Stone said. Stone was part of the White House press corps during Kennedy's administration.
"That's the source of who I am," he said of a picture of his mother. "(My family) is my biggest achievement."
Along with pictures of people he's met and places he's gone are a variety of other objects filling every corner of his office, including a rocking chair, a Tabasco clock and a Tiffany lamp.
Bruce Egan, computer consultant, also has found ways to make his office an exciting place to work. Hidden under a maze of cobwebs, hanging from the ceiling in honor of Halloween, are masks his daughter made and a hula girl.
Egan said he fills his office with things that catch a visitor's attention and are out of the ordinary. "An interior decorator would have heart failure because there's no theme," he said.
Other members of the faculty have to be a little more conservative in their office decorating. "Most people come in here focused on serious business," Provost Robert Shelton said.
To make his office more like home, Shelton has hung up pictures of his family and a map of North Carolina that he purchased before moving here to help him locate different places in the state. He also has put up photographs from the largest telescope in the world, located in Hawaii.
"I get a chance to personalize it and yet have things in here for Carolina," Shelton said.
When Shelton moved into his office almost two years ago, he kept much of the same furniture that was previously in it. "The only thing he asked for is a coffee table that he could work on," said administrative assistant Stephanie Thurman.
Gene Nichol, dean of the School of Law, said he has no interest in looking at a framed diploma in his office. He has filled that space with pictures of his family, a poster of Bob Dylan and a photograph with President Bill Clinton.
"It's bigger than I deserve," Nichol said of his office.
For faculty and staff who spend a lot of time in their offices, personal touches add to their comfort. Stone said, "I wanted it to look less like an office and more like a family room."
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