FOR THE PEOPLE
UNC Unvarnished: A Museum at the Fingertips
Annette Cox ’ 77
(PhD) and Harry
Watson with a photo
of the all-black Navy
marching band from
the 1940s. The new
museum deals with
the “downright
objectionable” in
UNC’s past, Cox
says.
After four years at Carolina, most
students can tell you the legend
of the Davie Poplar, that Old East
was the University’s first building and that
women have outnumbered men on campus for nearly 20 years. A few can tell you
something about the University leaders
for whom campus buildings are named.
But not many know that William
Richardson Davie owned more than 100
slaves or that UNC’s first female students
were barred from Commencement ceremonies and had a separate honor court
and student council.
Now, Carolina students, faculty and
alumni have a new tool for exploring the
highs and lows of the University’s more
than 200-year history.
The Virtual Museum of University
PHOTOS BY DAN SEARS ’ 74
Chancellor Moeser
unveils the Virtual
Museum, which
evolved from
Moeser’s initiative to
take a closer look at
the life of Cornelia
Phillips Spencer’s
racial attitudes after
her name was
removed from a
prominent award for
women.
History, launched on University Day last
fall by the Center for the Study of the
American South and University Libraries,
offers an illustrated, online tour of the
people and events that shaped Carolina
— and this is the un-glossed version.
The museum’s goal is “to make University history more accessible, especially
the parts of University history that were
unpleasant — well, worse than unpleasant
… downright objectionable,” says Annette
Cox ’ 77 (PhD). Cox, a researcher at the
Center for the Study of the American
South, created the museum’s 15 online
exhibits.
The idea for the museum grew out of
a campus controversy about naming a distinguished women’s award after Cornelia
Phillips Spencer, a prominent Recon-struction-era figure noted for her love of
UNC and also for evidence that she had
a low regard for African-Americans and
their white allies. Following a 2004 symposium requested by Chancellor James
Moeser to discuss the merits of continuing the Spencer Bell Award, the Center
‘We realized
that the museum
should really
transcend the
event that
inspired it.’
