This Day in the History of the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

George Watts Hill, Sr., Class of 1922, died on this day. A banker and civic leader in Durham, Hill was also a member of the Board of Trustees from 1955 to 1981. On October 12, 1986, it was announced that he was the previously anonymous donor who had provided a $3.5 million dollar challenge grant for the construction of what would come to be called the George Watts Hill Alumni Center.

Governor James B. Hunt, Jr., attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the new School of Social Work building, which is now known as the Tate-Turner-Kuralt Building.

Honoring a $175,000 gift from Clifton E. Pleasants, Clifton E. Pleasants Jr., and the Pleasants Family, the University Library named the assembly room in Wilson Library the "Pleasants Family Assembly Room." Income from the endowment is used to purchase items for the Library's special collections units.

The men's basketball team defeated the University of Michigan to win Dean Smith's second NCAA national championship. Led by Final Four Most Outstanding Player Donald Williams, the Tar Heels won 77-71.

Following several months of discussion and controversy, the Board of Trustees selected the Coker Woods site as the location for the Sonja Haynes Stone Black Cultural Center.

As part of the University's two-hundredth anniversary commemoration, the United States Postal Service issued a postal card depicting Playmakers Theatre.

Davie Poplar III was planted, marking the bicentennial of the University. The tree is a descendant of the original Davie Poplar.

The University celebrated its 200th year with a visit from President Bill Clinton, who addressed a large crowd at Kenan Memorial Stadium.