As we wrap up the year, we’re taking a moment to reflect on the philanthropic impact stories that inspired us the most in 2025. Join us as we count down the top 12 Carolina Stories of 2025 — a year filled with remarkable generosity, meaningful legacies and unforgettable moments.
12. Professor wins Cundill History Prize
Kathleen DuVal’s book, Native Nations, made waves when it won the 2024 Cundill History Prize. Since then, DuVal also picked up the 2025 Pulitzer Prize in History and was awarded the Carl W. Ernst Distinguished Professorship in the UNC College of Arts and Sciences. DuVal’s also Carolina’s 2025 winter commencement speaker.
11. Tar Heels Everywhere: Singapore
More than 500 Tar Heels live in Singapore, making it a great place to kick off the Global Well event series. Jennifer He ’19 (MBA) was integral in connecting Singapore alumni, working with UNC staff to lay the groundwork for an official Carolina Club in Singapore. More than 100 Tar Heels attended the event, making it the biggest Carolina Alumni event ever held in Asia.
10. Ask a Professor: Blair Kelley on the Black working class
Blair Kelley, the Joel R. Williamson Distinguished Professor of Southern Studies in the UNC College of Arts and Sciences, is a historian of the African American experience and a public historian. In this segment of our Ask a Professor series, Kelley shares one thing for all Americans to understand about the African American experience.
9. New endowment funds Ackland Asian art curator
Through the generous support of donors, the Ackland Art Museum established an endowed curatorship for its collection of Asian works of art. The Sherman E. Lee Curator for Asian Art will steward the museum’s collection of more than 3,000 works of Asian art, with responsibilities for research, acquisition, preservation and presentation.
8. From Carteret Community College to Carolina
We shared dozens of Carolina Covenant stories this year as we celebrated the 20th anniversary of the groundbreaking program that offers students from lower-income backgrounds the opportunity to graduate debt-free through grants, work-study and scholarships. New transfer student Jennifer Maldonado-Castro’s story stood out.
7. Carolina Champions: T.J. Jaworsky
One of Carolina’s most decorated athletes is wrestler T.J. Jaworsky ’95, who captured three consecutive national championships at the 134-pound weight class in 1993, 1994 and 1995. Jaworski recalled his years as one of Carolina’s most dominant wrestlers in this segment of Carolina Champions.
6. ‘A blessing and an obligation’
Dwight and Moira Jacobs’ transformational estate gift to support future generations of Carolina Covenant scholars was our sixth most popular story in 2025. The Jacobses’ gift will ultimately fund approximately 20 Carolina Covenant students, a tangible legacy that means the world to Dwight and Moira.
5. Ask a Professor: Shaun Anderson on NIL and student-athletes’ growing support for social causes
Shaun Anderson, Knight Chair in Sports, Race and Media in the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media, discusses how NIL rights have affected student-athletes in this segment of the Ask a Professor series. In particular, he shares how student-athletes are using their platforms to support social causes.
4. Carolina program sparks generosity
The story featuring Brandy Barnes ’97, ’01 (M.S.W.) and her husband Chris Barnes ’95 and their work to ensure all Carolina students have an opportunity to feel welcomed and appreciated, lands our number four spot in 2025. The Barneses’ gift to SPARK — a student-created and student-led immersive opportunity for leadership development, dialogue and self-reflection for first-year students — continues what the couple loved about attending Carolina: building community.
3. A lifetime of giving
In spring 2025, Dr. Frederick Bowman Jr. ’48, ’50 (C.Med.) marked his 75th reunion as a member of the UNC School of Medicine Class of 1950 and his 53rd consecutive year of giving back to the University. His lifetime contributions total nearly $500,000, benefiting 21 schools and programs and making a lasting impact.
2. Electric dialogue
Our second most popular story in 2025 features Professor Flavio Frohlich and how he’s revolutionizing how to interact with the brain to treat depression in pregnant women - without pharmaceuticals. The story also features a video of Frohlich teaming up with Johnny Gandelsman, Carolina Performing Arts’ first-ever curator-in-residence, to demonstrate how the brain synchronizes sound during a live brain-mapping session.
1. Reimagining the Pit
Finally… our number one story in 2025 is about Carolina’s beloved campus plaza. Long the heart of student life, the Pit is getting its first major redesign since 1969, thanks to support from alum Frank Proctor ’85 and his wife, Ellen Proctor. The renovation aims to preserve the Pit’s signature vibrancy while solving chronic drainage issues, improving accessibility, adding shade and reshaping the space so it better serves the far larger student body that now calls Carolina home.