Revisit late novelist and UNC grad John Ehle, who founded some of NC's most innovative schools

Posted Apr 3, 2018
What if you turned over the keys to state government to an innovative novelist/intellectual and told him he had a year to come up with some original ideas for the state? That is what Gov. Terry Sanford did in 1962, when he hired John Ehle as his special assistant and idea man. The result was a burst of creative energy that North Carolina state government had not seen before. (Raleigh News & Observer)

Related: Campus Connections

UNC alum, Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree Anne Marie Hagerty is ‘The Envoy’
Anne Marie Hagerty travels the world interviewing people for “The Envoy Show,” a docuseries about how food impacts health, economic growth and sustainable tourism in...
Wed Jun 10, 2026

UNC-Founded Eats2Seats to Create Entrepreneurial ‘Third Space’ with New Franklin Street Headquarters
Like an Uber Eats for sports and entertainment venues, the concessions and vending partner Eats2Seats allows fans to order food and beverages right to their...
Tue Jun 9, 2026

'You can't escape the story': UNC class feels for indentations on Old East left by enslaved laborers
A class of first-year students spent an hour carefully running their hands along the grooves of Old East's brick exterior. Their goal? To find...
Sun Jun 7, 2026

Tasting the Town: The 'fryerarchy' of Chapel Hill
We have always said it is impossible to mess up french fries. However, we are also a proponent of the concept of a fry hierarchy...
Sat Jun 6, 2026