Homecoming
On the Ball: Earlier Generations Help Those Still to Come
When a 2012 reunion package valued at $1,000 sold for $750 to kick off the
fundraising auction at the Black Alumni
Sonya Peele ’ 86 of Cleveland first met in
Reunion’s Light on the Hill Society
Scholarship dinner, some might have chalked
up the low bids to the tight economy.
Summer Bridge in 1982. They had kept in
touch on Facebook but hadn’t seen one
another since graduation. “Dawn looks the
same,” Peele said. “In 25 years, she hasn’t
changed a bit. I hate her.”
their golden anniversary, though David
Dansby ’ 61 was the only one able to make
it to the banquet. Dansby might have been
the first black student to earn two degrees
from UNC. He recalled that there were
fewer than 10 black students on campus
Keeping close tabs on
their budget, perhaps,
people were hesitant
to overspend, even
for a good cause.
A pair of tickets to
the Carolina-Duke
men’s basketball game
prompted a call from
a value-conscious
bidder of “Where are
the seats?” To which
auctioneer Dwayne
PHOTOS BY JAMES E. KERR II
when he first enrolled
in 1957. Since then, the
cumulative number of
black graduates would
fill up the Smith
Center, Dansby said.
“That’s heartwarming
to see how many have
followed us.”
Recipients of the Black Alumni Reunion’s 2011
Ballen countered,
Harvey E. Beech Outstanding Alumni Awards
were, from top left, Martina K. Ballen ’ 80, senior associate athletics director and chief financial officer for UNC athletics; William W.
“They’re in the building! What else do you
need to know?” They
sold for $650.
Farmer ’ 77, president of United Way of the
Bluegrass in Lexington, Ky.; Howard N. Lee
’ 66 (MSW), executive director of the N.C.
So when a football
autographed by interim head football coach Everett Withers came
on the block, Ballen set the opening bid at
a modest $100. And things began to happen.
Education Cabinet; and Barbara Pullen Smith
’ 81, director of the N.C. Office of Minority
When Dansby
enrolled, black students
were segregated on one
floor of Steele, which
was then a dorm. “We
addressed that collectively,” he said, “and
they started assigning us
throughout the campus.”
Health Disparities. The Beech Outstanding
The crowd was well aware that with a
new athletics director coming in, this might
be the only season at the helm for Withers,
the first black head coach of a major rev-
enue sport at UNC. The first bidder waved
her numbered card high before Ballen offi-
cially opened bidding. Numbers shot up so
fast around the room that Ballen couldn’t
keep up with the raises. By the time only
one card remained aloft, the ball sold for
The two never
had been back for
a reunion, but
another classmate
rounded up a
group of the
Faculty/Staff Award went to DeVetta Holman
Nash ’ 79, bottom left, associate director of
counseling and wellness and director of wellness programming at UNC Campus Health
Services. The Beech Outstanding Senior
Award went to Eric D. Campbell Jr., a business administration major.
1982 Summer Bridge women and con-
vinced them all to come for their 25th
The hospital also had
segregated drinking
fountains and waiting
rooms. “When they
dedicated the School of
BAR. “We decided we’d start a new tradi-
tion and come every year,” Reavis said.
$850 — to Kamala Uzzell ’ 96, the woman
who was the first to bid.
Old friends, new traditions
The Light on the Hill Society Scholarship
dinner captured the exuberance of the 31st
annual Black Alumni Reunion. This year’s
BAR, with nearly 1,200 signed up to attend,
drew alumni from across the country, some
back for their first reunion ever. Laughter
roiled through the banquet hall at the
opening night gala at the Sheraton Chapel
Hill as former classmates recalled adventures
as students and reconnected after decades.
Dawn Reavis ’ 86 of Los Angeles and
Paving the way
Larry Alston ’ 78 has come back almost
every year. He has logged enough years that
the Harvey Beech Award honorees now
come from his peer group. He knows every
one of this year’s winners. He also is of the
age that he knows names on the necrology
list. “Every year we end up losing a class-
mate,” Alston said. “It’s more and more
important to renew our friendships every
year, because we don’t know whether we’ll
be around next year.”
The Golden Rams have gradually
increased their number. Each class that added
a few more African-Americans to its number
translates into a few more reaching their 50th
reunion. This year, seven alumni celebrated
Welcoming the next generation
Five students were honored with Light
on the Hill scholarships, Jennell McIntosh
among them. Her parents, Michael and
Renay McIntosh, both of the class of ’ 83,
couldn’t have been prouder.
“She turned down seven full scholarships
elsewhere to come here,” Michael McIntosh
said. He was pleased with her choice. He
appreciated the network of Carolina alumni
once he graduated and began his job
search. “A degree from Carolina means
something,” he said. “It puts you in an asso-
ciation of people with high standards.”
Approving as he is of the quality of edu-
cation he received at UNC, he still hears his
daughter talk about some of the same chal-
lenges he faced as a student. Cultural sensitiv-
ity and support for minorities still have room
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January/February 2012
