A major gift from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumnus Stephen H. Israel ’66, Vice Chairman Emeritus of Korn Ferry, will provide full Honors Carolina scholarships for undergraduate students pursuing a major in the humanities, whether they came in with this intent or were undecided as to their major and discovered the value of broadening their lives and opportunities by way of a liberal arts education….
Steve Israel established the scholarship in honor of the late Professor O.B. Hardison ’50, whose literature courses changed his life. Hardison was a Renaissance scholar in the department of English who later became director of the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C.
“I started as a business major, but unexpectedly during my junior year, I took Hardison’s courses on John Milton and the Renaissance in English Literature, and my world changed forever,” Israel said. “A well-rounded liberal arts education is so crucially important today. I see evidence of it all around in my work. Studying the humanities instills wisdom, discernment, strong communication skills and good character no matter the career choice. My liberal arts education at Carolina expanded my world and my life. All Carolina graduates should have that opportunity as well.”
The O.B. Hardison Scholarship serves as the first step toward the ambitious goal to raise $100 million to elevate and secure the future of the humanities at UNC-Chapel Hill. This includes support for distinguished professorships, graduate student fellowships and curriculum development grants, as well as additional funding for the Hardison Scholarship….
“I believe there is a perception that students become English majors because they enjoy reading, and an assumption that they will have limited career opportunities once they graduate. This is simply not true,” said Israel. “There are clearly other majors that may have more lucrative job prospects immediately after graduation, but in time, the liberal arts majors catch up. The humanities and liberal arts more broadly make for better and more effective leaders in all fields of endeavor.”…
Emily Long ’19 (biology), M.A. ’20 (English), M.D. ’24 … who has benefited from education in STEM and the humanities shared: “To study the humanities is, fundamentally, to enter others’ perspectives through stories, poetry and art; to think critically about these perspectives, situating them within their social contexts; and to form one’s own opinions about the themes that works of art represent. The same can be said of a physician’s approach to patients: We must listen to their stories, piecing together the history they tell us with charts, labs and imaging. We must understand how the world in which patients live impacts them and then act on what we have learned to improve their health.”
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