Hydes support academic leadership, honor Ruel W. Tyson
Carolina alumni Barbara ’83 and Pitt ’65 Hyde have pledged $5 million to endow the Academic Leadership Program in the Institute for the Arts and Humanities and to name the program for Ruel W. Tyson.
Tyson, the first director of the institute in UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences, stepped down in June after being at the helm for nearly 20 years. A religious studies professor, Tyson will continue to teach at the University, following a one-year research leave.
The Hydes’ gift is the largest single gift to the institute and will allow for expansion of the Academic Leadership Program, which prepares faculty for academic, intellectual and institutional leadership roles at the University and provides ongoing support for faculty who have assumed such positions.
Barbara Hyde is president of the J.R. Hyde III Family Foundation and director of the J.R. Hyde Sr. Foundation of Memphis, Tenn. She also chairs the institute’s advisory board and serves on UNC’s board of trustees and co-chairs the Carolina Women’s Leadership Council. “In my year on the board of trustees, I’ve come to understand how important faculty retention is to the future of the University. It’s a top priority,” Barbara Hyde said. “As we thought about what makes a faculty member want to stay at Carolina, a big piece of that is having faculty leaders and mentors and administrators who understand the life of a faculty member and who are committed to supporting that in meaningful ways.”
Since the Academic Leadership Program’s inception in 2002, 42 leadership fellows from the College of Arts and Sciences and other parts of the University have benefited from the program. Eight to 10 leadership fellows are chosen annually.
Fellows participate in semester-long seminars in which they discuss critical issues facing the University and faculty members’ participation in University life. They undergo a week of leadership training at the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro and participate in two overnight retreats focused on career development, leadership skills assessment and personal vision. They continue to meet as an ongoing forum of fellows, offering mutual support to each other.
The Ruel W. Tyson Academic Leadership Program will offer expanded opportunities for faculty career development as well as new programs designed for University administrators, department chairs and new faculty.
The Hyde family also gave the lead gift to build the institute a new home in Hyde Hall on McCorkle Place.