Carolina Alumni Review - May/June 2012

Morgan Writer Program Goes Out With a Bang

South African playwright, spoke about the
pivotal moments in his writing career to a
full house at Paul Green Theatre March 21.
Creative writing Professor Bland Simp-
son ’ 70, who introduced Fugard at the lec-
ture, said his speech was “a stunning dis-
play of brilliance, wit and stagecraft, start to
finish. No one who was there that night
will ever forget it.”
Irons said that having the opportunity to
host Fugard, best known for his plays Blood
Knot and The Train Driver, as well as his
novel, Tsotsi — made into an
Academy Award-winning film
in 2005 — spoke to the caliber
of the residence program.

“The Morgan Program has
recognition among writers,”
she said. “And when a program
gains momentum among writ-
ers, it really has the ability to
draw. We have been known
as a good gig. We have devel-
oped a reputation as a very wel-
coming place for writers to
come, as a community that
affirms them and celebrates
them, which has enhanced our
ability to draw outstanding
writers to our campus.”
She said Fugard was the per-
fect writer to draw the curtain
on the program — that when
he was invited no one knew the 79-year-
old playwright would make such a splash
on the New York stage this year.
“He has four plays staged in New York
this year, three at the Signature Theatre and
one on Broadway. He has been reviewed
glowingly in The Wall Street Journal and
The New York Times. I mean, he is the play-
wright of the hour, and he was at Carolina
for a week. I’d say that’s a grand finish.”
“It’s someone else’s turn,” she said. “I
hope people will see this as an opportunity
to continue the momentum. This is a pro-
gram that enhances the literary culture at
our university, and we must find a way to
keep it going.”

After 19 years and 20 campus visits by noted writers — including Joan Didion, Tim O’Brien and Alice Walker — the Morgan Writer-in-Residence program came to an end in March.

The residence program, established by Allen ’ 65 and Musette Morgan ’ 75 in 1993, brought distinguished writers to campus for one week to teach and speak with students and to share their works. Each writer also gave a Morgan Writer-in-Residence lecture, free and open to the public.

School of Government
to Offer Online Master’s

Beginning next year, the School of Government plans to offer its master’s of public administration program in a new online format designed for working professionals, among others.

The online program, known as MPA@UNC, will blend the flexibility of an online program with the rigor and quality of UNC’s on-campus program.

Officials said MPA@UNC students will meet the same selective admissions criteria required by the on-campus program and will receive the same degree. It will be based on the same academically rigorous curriculum as the residential program, with courses designed and taught by UNC MPA faculty. Classes will be small, with a ratio of one faculty member to a maximum of 15 students.

Online Digest
Read these stories and more under “News”
at alumni.unc.edu and at uncmobile.com.

Susan Irons ’ 80 (MA), director of special programs for the English and comparative literature department, said the Morgans had a specific vision for the program, differentiated from other residence programs.

“The vision of the program is to give
our students and the larger university com-
munity access to significant writers of our
time,” said Irons, who also received a doc-
torate from UNC in 2001. “Other pro-
grams have writers in, but this one makes
a real point to celebrate the writer, to cele-
brate the writer’s works and to celebrate
the literary arts, and that is a qualitative
difference of this program.”
The Morgans’ expendable gift also
funded the lecture given by the Thomas
Wolfe Prize Winner each fall. She said
new funding would be necessary to con-
tinue the lecture.

As this year’s Morgan Writer-in-Residence, Athol Fugard, an award-winning

Fugard

■ The medical school keeps its No. 2 ranking by U.S. News & World Report as Carolina appears on 18 lists of schools, degree programs and specialty areas newly ranked.

■ Art for the Ackland and an expanded endowment for the medical school are in a $10 million gift from Houston alumnus Dr. Hugh “Chip” McAllister Jr. ’ 66 (MD).