In recognition of her “unusual, meritorious or superior contributions,” Lynn White Blanchard, Director of the Carolina Center for Public Service (CCPS) will receive one of six 2019 C. Knox Massey Distinguished Service Awards. Chosen from campus-wide nominations by Interim Chancellor Kevin M. Guskiewicz, recipients will be honored at an April 27 awards luncheon. Each winner receives a $10,000 stipend and an award citation.
“These amazing colleagues who, through their dedicated work and commitment to excellence, continually up the pace of progress at the Carolina we cherish and love,” Guskiewicz said. “We thank them for their service to our University and our state. They are the soul of this most public of the public universities.”
The late C. Knox Massey of Durham established the award in 1980. In 1984, Massey joined the families of his son, Knox Massey Jr., and daughter, Kay Massey Weatherspoon, to create the Massey-Weatherspoon fund. Income from the fund supports the Massey Awards and Carolina Seminars. This year marks the award’s 40th anniversary.
Blanchard has elevated Carolina into one of the nation’s top universities for community engagement and service-learning. She earned a master’s and a doctorate in health behavior from Carolina, where she currently holds a faculty appointment in the Gillings School of Global Public Health. Since 2002, she has been director of the Carolina Center for Public Service. The center is home to APPLES Service-Learning, Buckley Public Service Scholars Program, Thorp Faculty Engaged Scholars Program and coordination of the University’s disaster response. In the aftermath of Hurricanes Michael and Florence in 2018, Blanchard organized relief efforts that included more than 60,000 pounds of supplies delivered to affected areas. Throughout her career, Blanchard has been a champion of the role higher education can play in addressing society’s pressing issues and improving community through the concept of engaged teaching, research and service.
Congratulations to Lynn for this well-deserved honor!