Q & A: Co-chairs
Paul Fulton • Mike Overlock • Charlie Shaffer
Q & A - Regional Committees
Berny Gray • George Johnson • Peter Grauer • John Townsend • Nelson Schwab • Eddie Smith
Co-chairs
Paul Fulton
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Paul Fulton |
What’s your favorite memory
of being a UNC student?
The friends I made there who are still an important part of my life.
Why did you become involved in
the Carolina First Campaign?
Michael Hooker.
What did you most enjoy about being a campaign volunteer and of what aspects of the campaign are you most proud?
Reconnecting and being a part of Chapel Hill.
What are your hopes for Carolina’s future?
That we always strive to be the best public university in the world.
Paul Fulton lives in Winston-Salem, N.C. He is chairman of the Board of Directors and former CEO of Bassett Furniture Industries. He was president of Sara Lee Corporation from 1987 to 1993. From 1994 to 1997, Paul served as dean of Kenan-Flagler Business School at Carolina. He graduated with a B.S. in business administration from Carolina in 1957. He serves on UNC’s Board of Trustees and Investment Fund Board and also is a member of Kenan-Flagler’s Board of Visitors. Paul has received Carolina’s William R. Davie Award and the UNC General Alumni Association’s Distinguished Service Medal as well as the John Woodworth Leslie Humanitarian Award and the Maya Angelou Tribute Achievement Award.
Mike Overlock
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| Mike Overlock, Co-Chair, Steering Committee |
What’s your favorite memory of being a UNC student?
Being in Chapel Hill after coming back from spring vacation. That was such a great time of year. The beauty of the campus would be in full bloom; I got to wear a polo or T-shirt. There was just a nice sense of freedom.
Why did you become involved in the Carolina First Campaign?
It was a very simple thing. It allowed me to partially pay back the University for the education I got. There are a lot of ways people can pay back, and this is what I was able to do.
What did you most enjoy about being a campaign volunteer and of what aspects of the campaign are you most proud?
Getting reacquainted with alumni and getting to know students and staff—all the people who are involved in making UNC what it is. I’m most proud of fulfilling ourgoal and the broad spectrum of participation that we had in the campaign, from alumni to corporations, from friends to foundations, from students and parents to organizations.
What are your hopes for Carolina’s future?
Our aspiration is to be the leading public university, and the campaign has put us on that road. We’ve established private giving as a partner with the state and students in funding the needs of the institution. Going forward, continuing that partnership will be critical if we’re to be the leading public university.
Mike Overlock lives in Greenwich, Conn. He spent his entire career at Goldman, Sachs & Co. He headed the firm’s Mergers and Acquisitions Department from 1985 to 1996 and served on the Management Committee, as well as co-head of the Investment Banking Division, from 1990 to 1996. Mike became a limited partner in 1996 and a senior director in 1999. He received his bachelor’s degree in economics from Carolina in 1968. After serving as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army in Vietnam, he earned an M.B.A. at Columbia University in 1973. Mike is a member of the UNC Investment Fund board and serves on its executive committee. Mike also has served as vice chairman of the Arts and Sciences Foundation. He is a recipient of Carolina’s William R. Davie Award.
Charlie Shaffer
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Charlie Shaffer |
What’s your favorite memory of being a UNC student?
I have three favorite memories: one, the privilege of being a Morehead Scholar; two, playing on Coach Dean Smith’s first three teams at Carolina; and, three, while a student at UNC law school, I heard former Chancellor Bill Aycock deliver what is surely one of the finest classroom lectures ever given, for which the students in his class gave Chancellor Aycock a standing ovation as he left the classroom.
Why did you become involved in the Carolina First Campaign?
I was motivated to volunteer for Carolina First because my father was the first director of development at Carolina, holding the post from 1952 to 1978.
What did you most enjoy about being a campaign volunteer and of what aspects of the campaign are you most proud?
All Carolina alumni cherish themagic of Carolina, and during the Carolina First Campaign, I enjoyed sharing with many alumni our mutual Carolina experiences defining the excellence of our great alma mater. I am most proud of the substantial funding raised, $345 million, for 577 new student scholarships, including support for the Carolina Covenant, and of the $420 million raised for faculty, including 208 new endowed professorships.
What are your hopes for Carolina’s future?
My hopes for Carolina are to increase the brilliance of education at Carolina and thereby to better serve North Carolina, the nation and the world.
Charlie Shaffer lives in Atlanta, Ga. After four-and-a-half years, he recently retired as president and CEO of the Marcus Institute, a resource center for children with developmental disabilities. He was a trial lawyer with King & Spalding
for more than 35 years. A Morehead Scholar, he graduated Phi Beta Kappa
from Carolina in 1964 and earned a Carolina law degree in 1967. He co-captained
Carolina’s men’s basketball team and earned six varsity letters. He is a past
member of UNC’s Arts & Sciences Foundation Board and Law Foundation Board.
He also served on the University’s Board of Visitors from 1983 to 1991. Charlie
has received UNC’s William R. Davie Award and the Distinguished Service Medal
from the UNC General Alumni Association.
Regional Committees
Berny Gray • George Johnson • Peter Grauer • John Townsend • Nelson Schwab • Eddie Smith
Berny Gray
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Berny Gray |
What’s your favorite memory of being a UNC student?
The memory of collective experiences with fantastic professors and students. n Why did you become involved in the Carolina First Campaign? I was motivated by the need for faculty support and endowment.
What did you most enjoy about being a campaign volunteer and of what aspects of the campaign are you most proud?
I enjoyed the association with the other volunteers and the University officials. I am proud to have beaten our goal.
What are your hopes for Carolina’s future?
I hope that UNC can preserve its quality without succumbing to political pressure to expand.
Berny Gray lives in Atlanta, Ga. He is the president of Gray Ventures, a private investment company established to help early-stage technology companies in the Southeast. He also serves as a board member and adviser to portfolio companies. His past posts include vice chairman and executive vice president of Summit Communications Group. Berny graduated with a B.A. in international studies from UNC in 1972, and in 1974 he earned an M.B.A. from Columbia University. At UNC, he has served as a member of the Friends of the Library Board and the Board of Visitors. He made the first personal gift to the Carolina First Campaign. It supported the Bowman and Gordon Gray Professorships and the University Library. n
George Johnson
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| George Johnson Co-Chair, Georgia Regional Committee |
What’s your favorite memory of being a UNC student?
Without a doubt, winning the 1957 men’s NCAA basketball championship against Kansas. The game was played in Kansas City, but it was one of the early title games to be televised, so I watched it on a black-and-white television with a bunch of people in the ATO house. There was pure bedlam on Franklin Street after we won—the celebration lasted all night. I went to RDU airport to welcome the team back, and there were thousands of fans there to greet them. People were sitting on the roofs of airplane hangars.
The players were regular guys. Four of the starters were juniors, like me, and I had classes with them. They were my friends.
Why did you become involved in the Carolina First Campaign?
I’d been involved in the Bicentennial Campaign and was asked to be involved in Carolina First, too, as co-chair of the Georgia Regional Committee.
What did you most enjoy about being a campaign volunteer and of what aspects of the campaign are you most proud?
I enjoyed working with the development staff, going to meetings and learning more about how the University works and its needs. I also enjoyed the parties and being around Carolina people—as Ruel Tyson says, ‘libation and conversation.’”
The campaign’s success—overall but particularly in Georgia— makes me proud. When our goal for Georgia was set at $100 million, I was concerned that would be a reach. But we reached it—and then some. In most cases, when Carolina people are asked to give, they don’t make excuses. They generally ask, “How much should I give?”
What are your hopes for Carolina’s future?
That Carolina will continue to be a great educational institution. And that, if we increase our enrollment, we do it in a way that won’t threaten that greatness—Carolina should always be hard to get into, it should always be a ticket that people want.
Faculty recruitment and retention must continue to be a priority, and we must continue to find ways to refresh our faculty, as we do with the Institute for the Arts and Humanities.
Hopefully, state support will remain strong, but private support to grow our endowment will be critical.
In general, I’d say that a lot of what makes this university great is the relationships among students, among alumni and the interchange between professors from the various academic disciplines. We need to continue to foster that.
George Johnson lives in Atlanta, Ga. He is the owner and president of George H. Johnson Properties, Inc., as well as president of JFP Foundation, Inc. He received his B.S. in business administration from UNC in 1958. In 1988, he was appointed as a member of the UNC business school’s first Board of Visitors and for seven years served as a trustee of the UNC Foundation. George serves on UNC’s Institute for the Arts and Humanities Advisory Board and the Program for Humanities & Human Values Advisory Board. He received Carolina’s William R. Davie Award in 1999. His other honors include receiving the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Darlington School and the 1992 Presidential Award for Outstanding Service to Youth, as well as being selected as an Olympic torchbearer for the 1996 Centennial Games in Atlanta. George made the Carolina First Campaign gift that pushed the drive past the total for Duke University’s latest campaign, moving Carolina First to the top spot among campaigns in the South at the time it ended. The gift supported the Institute for the Arts and Humanities and Kenan-Flagler Business School.
Peter Grauer
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| Peter Grauer Co-Chair, Metro-New York Regional Committee |
What’s your favorite memory of being a UNC student?
Competing in freshman and varsity sports in football and lacrosse, the Deke House, the Castle, Ken Reckford (a classics professor) and my English major and professors.
Why did you become involved in the Carolina First Campaign?
Carolina is a very important part of my life and successes—anything I can do financially or otherwise to help the University is a high priority. My roles with the Investment Fund Board, with the Honors Program/ Johnston Center for Undergraduate Excellence, with the National Development Council and with the Global Leadership Circle are all a small way for me to repay my debt to Carolina. They’ve also enabled me to be involved firsthand in a number of developments that have strengthened the University, such as the renovations to Graham Memorial, the opening of Winston House in London and the endowment for the Honors Program.
What did you most enjoy about being a campaign volunteer and of what aspects of the campaign are you most proud?
Seeing the campaign exceed its target and the tremendous outpouring of support from so many constituencies and also seeing the campaign leadership pull together to succeed.
What are your hopes for Carolina’s future?
To be the finest university in the world, not just the best public university in America.
Peter Grauer lives in Greenwich, Conn. He is CEO and chairman of Bloomberg, LP, and also serves on Bloomberg’s Board of Directors. His past positions include managing director of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, as well as of Credit Suisse First Boston. He earned a B.A. in English from UNC in 1968 and also graduated from the Program for Management Development at Harvard Graduate School of Business. At UNC, Peter’s involvement includes chairing the Honors Program/Johnston Center for Undergraduate Excellence Advisory Board and serving on the Investment Fund Board, National Development Council and Global Leadership Council. From 1990 to 1994, he served on UNC’s Board of Visitors.
John Townsend
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John Townsend |
What’s your favorite memory of being a UNC student?
The springtime—a classic, beautiful setting there on campus. There would be Spring Break—getting ready to go or getting back from it. There would be the NCAA basketball tournament. There would be the sense that you’d been working hard and the year was almost over. That was my favorite time.
Why did you become involved in the Carolina First Campaign?
It actually started with the Bicentennial Campaign. Paul Rizzo and the leadership team solicited me, and I enjoyed the experience—in fact, I gave more than I expected! So, with Carolina First, I wanted to help from that side of the table as well.
What did you most enjoy about being a campaign volunteer and of what aspects of the campaign are you most proud?
The opportunity to meet a lot of alumni whom I didn’t know, and getting to know others better. Working with so many talented people—both campaign volunteers and the staff. As for taking pride in the campaign, I’d say it’s the success we had, particularly when you consider that 9/11 cast such a shadow over what we were doing.
What are your hopes for Carolina’s future?
They’re consistent with the University’s—to be the very best public university in the United States. The campaign has set the stage to achieve that.
John Townsend lives in Greenwich, Conn. A private investor, he is senior advisor of Stone Point Capital, a private equity fund, and serves as chairman of the Townsend Family Foundation. He is also a director of International Paper Co. and Belk, Inc., as well as a member of the Investment Committee of The Riverstone Group. John retired in 2002 as an advisory director of Goldman, Sachs & Co., having previously served as a managing director and general partner. He received his B.A. in history with honors in 1977 and his M.B.A. (Deans Scholar) in 1982 from Carolina. John is a member of the Executive Committee of the UNC Investment Fund and serves on the Board of Visitors for Kenan-Flagler Business School. His other service includes sitting on the Board of Trustees of the Grand Teton National Park Foundation and the Board of Trustees of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team Foundation.
Nelson Schwab
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| Nelson Schwab Co-Chair, North Carolina Regional Committee (Charlotte) |
What’s your favorite memory of being a UNC student?
Besides getting a good education, it’s the friendships. The friends I made there are the friends I have today. They’re bonds that last forever.
Why did you become involved in the Carolina First Campaign?
I feel a tremendous obligation to give back because the University gave so much to me. Being a part of the campaign was a way I could do that. I first made my own commitment because I didn’t think I should ask others to give if I hadn’t. n What did you most enjoy about being a campaign volunteer and of what aspects of the campaign are you most proud? There were two things that I most enjoyed. One was meeting new people and seeing how people got excited about giving to Carolina and about what they could do for Carolina. That was very gratifying. The other thing was the staff—it was a pleasure to work in that environment because you felt like a part of such a professional team. The development professionals drove the process. Ninety-nine percent of the volunteers had day jobs, so the professional staff were the key. They made it work. I’m proud of the numbers. They were amazing—$100 million in Charlotte. At first, I thought our goals might be out of reach, but the entire campaign was more than up to the challenge. I also think we sent a message to the higher-education community that you can get something done at Carolina—they’re impressed. This campaign set us apart from other publics.
What are your hopes for Carolina’s future?
We need to seize the opportunity that we have at hand because of the campaign. The additional resources, the growth in our endowment— we have tremendous momentum to capitalize on future opportunities, such as Carolina North.
Nelson Schwab lives in Charlotte, N.C. He is managing director of Carousel Capital. He graduated from Carolina with a B.A. in English in 1967 and earned an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of Business in 1972. A member of the UNC Board of Trustees (chair, 2005–2007), he also has served on the UNC Board of Visitors, Kenan-Flagler Board of Visitors, the Investment Fund Board and is currently chair of the UNC Management Company. He has received the UNC General Alumni Association’s Distinguished Service Medal. Nelson is the past chair of the North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, the Carolinas Partnership and the North Carolina Outward Bound School.
Eddie Smith
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| Eddie Smith Co-Chair, North Carolina Regional Committee (Eastern) |
What’s your favorite memory of being a UNC student?
Sitting around Y Court drinking orangeades and visiting with friends, both old and new!
Why did you become involved in the Carolina First Campaign?
Having been closely involved with the University over the years on various boards and committees, I was acutely aware of the many, many needs of the University, from building maintenance to new buildings to the need to attract and retain outstanding faculty, as well as outstanding students via scholarships.
What did you most enjoy about being a campaign volunteer and of what aspects of the campaign are you most proud?
I was part of the original group of about 15 people that was asked to sort of “flesh out” the scope of the campaign. We got the opportunity to meet with the dean of every school in the University and have them read off their “wish list” to us. I found that process, over many months, to be fascinating and extremely enlightening as to the needs of the University as a whole. Obviously, the aspect of the campaign that I am most proud of is that we were able to raise our ultimate goal from $1.5 billion to $1.8 billion to $2 billion and then exceed that!
What are your hopes for Carolina’s future?
I hope that we can continue to support the University at a level that will allow it to excel in all areas of endeavor, making it the No. 1 public university in the country. Eddie Smith lives in Greenville, N.C. He is chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of Grady-White Boats, Inc. He graduated from UNC with a B.S. in industrial relations in 1965. He is an executive committee member on the Board of Directors of the UNC Educational Foundation and co-chairs the Improvement Project for Kenan Stadium at UNC. Eddie has served on the UNC Board of Visitors. In 2001, he received UNC’s William R. Davie Award. He was honored in 1999 as the Master Entrepreneur of the Year for the Carolinas and in 1998 received the Pitt District Citizen of the Year for the Boy Scouts of America.
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