History task force updates the Board of Trustees

CORRECTION: Due to a reporting error, the original version of this story misrepresented the number of members in Task Force on UNC-Chapel Hill History. UNC spokesperson Rick White is also a member of the committee. The story has been updated to reflect these changes.

---

Chancellor Carol Folt will host a town hall on race and inclusion tonight, and the University Affairs committee of the Board of Trustees addressed the same issues at its Wednesday meeting.

Felicia Washington, vice chancellor for workforce strategy, equity and engagement, asked committee members to think about the first time they added diversity to a group — and how UNC could make that experience a happy one for all.

She suggested making ConnectCarolina available as a tool for members of the University community to self-identify by race and gender, so that UNC can better understand everyone’s needs.

“We can’t be excellent without being welcoming,” she said.

Four Board of Trustees committees met Wednesday, and the full board will meet today.

Update from the history task force

Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Winston Crisp opened the Task Force on UNC-Chapel Hill History’s report by announcing that he’s happy with how far the group has come.

“We want to acknowledge the powerful and central place race has on our campus,” he said.

Crisp is one of the task force’s three co-chairpersons, along with history professor Jim Leloudis and Amy Locklear Hertel, director of the American Indian Center.

Crisp and University Affairs Committee Chairperson Chuck Duckett discussed the importance of making the task force’s work sustainable.

“This is not about a short-term solution,” Duckett said. “It’s about a long-term history lesson.”

The three co-chairpersons — who are still the group’s only official members, along with project manager Cecelia Moore and UNC spokesperson Rick White — described the work accomplished so far and their plans for the next few semesters.

Leloudis said a plaque prescribed by the Board of Trustees will be installed on Carolina Hall on Nov. 23.

“The plaque is in production and, if the weather cooperates, it’s scheduled for installation later this month,” he said.

In summer 2016, Leloudis said, a history exhibit will be installed inside Carolina Hall. The exhibit will describe the social, political and racial context of the 1920s, when William Saunders was chosen as the building’s former namesake. It will also tell the story of the recent efforts for the name change, which Leloudis said came from a variety of sources.

Locklear Hertel said the group hopes to have a budget for the curation of McCorkle Place ready by late spring 2016.

“It’s quite a large undertaking, lots of buildings, lots of monuments, lot of space there to consider,” she said.

She said they’re considering a number of physical and virtual options, including Carolina Blue tiles on buildings, sidewalk markers and a mobile app. The curation might also include temporary art exhibits and seating areas intended for reflection.

The co-chairpersons are recruiting advisory group members for several projects and developing a website to keep the public updated on their work.

New practice facility and Pit improvements

Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham addressed the lack of a proper indoor facility for the football team at the Finance and Infrastructure committee meeting.

Cunningham said the team has missed several practices due to the weather and said the current indoor facility, the Eddie Smith Field House, is not of proper length and “is not suitable for a Division I football team.”

He said N.C. State University, Wake Forest University and Florida State University all recently built new indoor facilities.

Private money from the Rams Club will pay for the entire cost of the facility. Its location is tentative, and Cunningham said it was too soon to guess on a date.

The committee praised Cunningham for his role in hiring football head coach Larry Fedora and the current success of the football team. They took no action on the new facility, because Cunningham’s presentation was for informational purposes only.

Anna Wu, associate vice chancellor for facilities services, described a $2.3 million project that will address certain issues with the Pit area. The project will allow smoother traffic flow around the Pit and address drainage issues. The committee unanimously recommended the proposed modifications.

university@dailytarheel.com