This collection has access restrictions. For details, please see the restrictions.
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.
Size | About 200 items |
Abstract | The Kenan Convocation was a gathering of Kenan-endowed professors held every two to three years at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1980 to 1996. It featureed speakers and discussion on a topic determined by its Planning Committee. It was sponsored by the William Rand Kenan, Jr., Charitable Trust, which endows professorships at universities throughout the United States. The first Kenan Convocation was held in 1980; subsequent ones have been held in 1982, 1984, 1986, 1989, 1993, and 1996. The collection includes 19 audiocassette tapes and 18 reel-to-reel tapes of the proceedings of the 1982, 1984, and 1996 Kenan convocations. Topics of these convocations were "The State vs. Academe" (1982), "The Computer Revolution and Universities: The Effect of New Technologies on Teaching and Learning" (1984), and "The American South" (1996). Also included are general files related to the 1980, 1982, 1984, 1986, and 1989 convocations; these consist mainly of program brochures, correspondence, and press releases. |
Creator | Kenan Convocation. |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. University Archives. |
Language | English |
Processed by: University Archives Staff
Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008
Updated because of addition, December 2017
Back to TopThe following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
The Kenan Convocations were gatherings of Kenan Professors from around the nation at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. They were supported by a grant from the William Rand Kenan, Jr., Charitable Trust, which endowed the various Kenan chairs. As of the mid-1980s, there were some 110 Kenan Professors in over fifty universities nationwide. These included William Rand Kenan, Jr., Professors (of whom there were 85 in 1982 at 53 universities), Kenan Professors at the UNC-Chapel Hill, Sarah Graham Kenan Professors in the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Medicine, and Graham Kenan Professors in the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Law.
The first Kenan Convocation was held 30 May-1 June 1980 in Chapel Hill and proved successful enough to merit the creation of a committee of Kenan Professors to arrange a second. Held 3-5 June 1982, the second convocation featured thematic speakers and group discussions on the topic of "The State vs. Academe." A third convocation was held 31 May-2 June 1984 on "The Computer Revolution and Universities: The Effect of New Technologies on Teaching and Learning." Subsequent convocations were held 23-25 October 1986, on "Citizenship, Education, and the Media," 19-21 October 1989, on "University/Industry Relations: New Alliances," 22-23 April 1993, on "The Modern University: Its Present Status and Future Prospects," and 26-27 April 1996, on "The American South."
Back to TopRecords are comprised of the audio recordings made during the 1982, 1984, and 1996 Kenan Convocations and general materials from the 1980, 1982, 1984, 1986, and 1989 convocations. There are 19 audiocassette tapes and 18 reel-to-reel tapes of the proceedings of the 1982, 1984, and 1996 convocations. Topics of these convocations were "The State vs. Academe" (1982), "The Computer Revolution and Universities: The Effect of New Technologies on Teaching and Learning" (1984), and "The American South" (1996). Also included are general files related to the 1980, 1982, 1984, 1986, and 1989 convocations; these consist mainly of program brochures, correspondence, and press releases.
Back to TopThe first Kenan Convocation began with a discussion of the work of the Commission on the Humanities with particular attention to the humanities in the public schools. Dr. Richard Lyman, Chairman of the Commission on the Humanities, lead the discussion, supported by Dr. Jill Conway and Dr. Robert Lumiansky, both members of the commission. Discussion of the work of the National Humanities Center was led by Vermont Royster of UNC-Chapel Hill and Dr. William Bennett, President of the center. The convocation concluded with a speech by Dean Rusk, former United States Secretary of State.
Box 1 |
General, 1980 |
This convocation began with a series of thematic speakers, then split into small groups for discussion and reconvened for a panel of representatives of the small groups. Edward Shils of the University of Chicago gave the opening address. Other participants included Clark Kerr, Donald Frederickson, Robert M. Lumiansky, and William Bevan. The reel-to-reel recordings cover the entire convocation; all except T-40036/11 and most of T-40036/12 are duplicated on cassette.
Box 1 |
General, 1982 |
Audiocassette C-40036/1 |
Thematic SpeakersFriday a.m. session. |
Audiocassette C-40036/2 |
Thematic Speakers Friday a.m.Friday a.m. session (continued). |
Audiocassette C-40036/3 |
Thematic SpeakersFriday p.m. session. |
Audiocassette C-40036/4 |
Natural Science GroupFriday p.m. session. |
Audiocassette C-40036/5 |
Natural Science GroupSaturday a.m. session. |
Audiocassette C-40036/6 |
Social Science GroupFriday p.m. session. |
Audiocassette C-40036/7 |
Social Science GroupSaturday a.m. session. |
Audiocassette C-40036/8 |
Humanities GroupSaturday a.m. session. |
Audiocassette C-40036/9 |
Panel DiscussionSaturday a.m. session. |
Audiotape T-40036/1 |
Thematic SpeakersFriday a.m. session. |
Audiotape T-40036/2 |
Thematic SpeakersFriday a.m. session (continued). |
Audiotape T-40036/3 |
Thematic SpeakersFriday a.m. session (continued). |
Thematic SpeakersFriday p.m. session. |
|
Audiotape T-40036/4 |
Thematic SpeakersFriday p.m. session (continued). |
Audiotape T-40036/5 |
Natural Science GroupFriday p.m. session. |
Audiotape T-40036/6 |
Natural Science GroupFriday p.m. session (continued). |
Audiotape T-40036/6 |
Natural Science GroupSaturday a.m. session. |
Audiotape T-40036/7 |
Natural Science GroupSaturday a.m. session (continued). |
Audiotape T-40036/8 |
Social Science GroupFriday p.m. session. |
Audiotape T-40036/9 |
Social Science GroupFriday p.m. session (continued). |
Audiotape T-40036/10 |
Social Science GroupSaturday a.m. session. |
Audiotape T-40036/11 |
Humanities GroupFriday p.m. session. |
Audiotape T-40036/12 |
Humanities GroupFriday p.m. session (continued). |
Humanities GroupSaturday a.m. session. |
|
Audiotape T-40036/13 |
Humanities GroupSaturday a.m. session (continued). |
Audiotape T-40036/14 |
Panel DiscussionSaturday a.m. session. |
This convocation, unlike its predecessor, consisted only of a series of speakers before the whole group. Both the reel-to-reel and cassette recordings cover the entire convocation.
Box 1 |
General, 1984 |
Audiocassette C-40036/10 |
Friday a.m. |
Audiocassette C-40036/11 |
Friday a.m. (continued) |
Audiocassette C-40036/12 |
Friday p.m. |
Audiocassette C-40036/13 |
Friday p.m. (continued) |
Saturday a.m. |
|
Audiocassette C-40036/14 |
Saturday a.m. (continued) |
Audiotape T-40036/15 |
Friday a.m. |
Audiotape T-40036/16 |
Friday a.m. (continued) |
Friday p.m. |
|
Audiotape T-40036/17 |
Friday p.m. (continued) |
Saturday a.m. |
|
Audiotape T-40036/18 |
Saturday a.m. (continued) |
Speakers addressed the impact the media has had on the people of the United States and how universities can prevent the possible development of a subliterate people unfit to manage their own democratic institutions. Featured speakers included, Ben H. Bagdikian of the University of California, Berkeley; Benjamin M. Compaine of Harvard University; Marlene Sanders, CBS News correspondent; Dr. Henry Geller of the Washington Center for Public Policy Research; Philip Meyer of UNC-Chapel Hill; Alfred R. Schneider of the American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.; Alvah H. Chapman of Knight-Ridder, Inc.; Hanna Holborn Gray of University of Chicago; and William C. Friday, President Emeritus of UNC-Chapel Hill.
Box 1 |
General, 1985-1987 |
Distinguished speakers addressed the issue of universities and industry working together to seek solutions to common problems such as international competition and labor and education crisis. The interrelationship was addressed from the perspective of both the humanities and the sciences. Featured speakers included, Frank Carrubba of Hewlett-Packard Laboratories; Frank H. T. Rhodes, President, Cornell University; Michael Useem of Boston University; J. Irwin Miller of Cummins Engine Company, Inc.; Robert Hollander of Princeton University; and George Sternlieb of the State University of New Jersey. The convocation concluded with a panel discussion by invited Kenan Professors on the "Prospects for the Future."
Box 1 |
General, 1989-1990 |
Speakers at the 1993 Kenan Convocation included Ernest L. Boyer of the Carnegie Foundation, James L. Axtell of the College of William and Mary, Steven M. Cahn of the City University of New York, and W. Robert Connor of the National Humanities Center. This series includes a letter sent to attendees of the convocation and programs from convocation events.
RT 20171219.1.
Box 1 |
General, 1993 |
Speakers at the 1996 Kenan Convocation included Hodding Carter III of the University of Maryland; John Shelton Reed and John Kasarda of UNC-Chapel Hill; Dan Carter and Merle Black of Emory University; David Levering Lewis of Rutgers University; William Winter, former Governor of Mississippi; Juanita Kreps, former United States Secretary of Commerce; Lanty Smith of Precision Fabrics Group, Inc.; Alan Murray of the Wall Street Journal; and Odessa Woolfolk of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.