Restrictions to Access

No restrictions. Open for research.

Restrictions to Use

No usage restrictions.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], in the Order of the Old Well of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Records #40162, University Archives, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Acquisitions Information

Received from the Order of the Old Well in August 1990.

Sensitive Materials Statement

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.

Processed by: University Archives Staff, January 1993

Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008

The 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.

• College students--North Carolina--Societies, etc.
• Order of the Old Well (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
• Student activities--North Carolina--History--20th century.
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill--History.
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill--Societies, etc.
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill--Students--Social life and customs.

The Order of the Old Well was formed in 1949 by a group of students and faculty members under the guidance of Dr. Ernest L. Mackie, Dean of Awards. The organization "honors students who have demonstrated exemplary, unrecognized service to the university either independently or through an organization. Typically, these persons have served in a generous capacity and displayed a willingness to perform functions that do not offer recognition." Nomination guidelines stipulate that candidates for membership should not have been previously honored for their service by another campus organization and should not be nominated based on service in highly public or well-recognized leadership positions.

The original members were selected through open interviews in Steele Building. The interviewees were evaluated based on a point system that took into account self-help, work, scholarship, honors, and participation in student government, publications, dramatics, music, athletics, or other campus organizations. More than one hundred seniors were interviewed, resulting in fifty-five original members. From this first class in 1949 to the present, membership in the Order of the Old Well has been open to both male and female students.

Officers of the Order of the Old Well include president, vice president, treasurer, secretary, and member-at-large. Listings of past officers may be found in the Yackety Yack, available in the North Carolina Collection. These officers lead monthly meetings, maintain relations with other campus honorary organizations, plan the Order's annual banquet, guide the member selection process, and plan the tapping and induction ceremony.

Records of the Order of the Old Well include minutes, annual reports, membership lists, and other files relating to the selection and induction of members.