Many other African Americans hold faculty positions and many, many women have likewise been recruited to the faculty. Gone are the days when faculty positions were filled in back rooms with gentlemen's agreements among departmental chairs. Vacancies are advertised openly and candidates of all backgrounds are urged to apply. Fears that diversity would dilute the quality of Carolina's faculty and student ranks have proved absurd. The UNC of the '90s has better qualified students and a more distinguished faculty than it did in the '60s.
Discussions are more vigorous.
Students are challenged to see issues from the perspectives of a variety of life experiences. North Carolina's story is the story of the American research university over the past 25 years. Perhaps we can personalize this message by considering one family and its association with The University of Iowa. Some of you may have read the column by Lois Harper Eichacker, president of the University of Iowa Alumni Association Board of Directors, in the Winter 1995 issue of the Iowa Alumni Quarte rly. I recommend it.