Ambassadors, from pg.1
UNCW to form development center
a flexible schedule so as not to interrupt
academic work.
Current Ambassadors are Laura Allen,
Mona Faye Black, Ruth Horne, Ivan Mack,
Meg Robison, Swayne Sharpe, Lori Weeks
and Jay Wilen of Wilmin^on; James C.
Moore of Castle Hayne; Katherine Clark and
Trinh Truong of Clarkton; Michael Godfrey
of Lexington; Cheryle Keck and Ann Kindt
of Raleigh; and Karen Flynn of Riegelwood.
The UNCW Board of Trustees has approv
ed plans to establish a regional development
center to serve both the university and South
eastern North Carolina.
The Southeastern North Carolina Economic
Development Center will be located in the va
cant Wise house owned by UNCW and located
on Market Street.
The board has authorized UNCW Chancel
lor William H. Wagoner to seek applicants for
the position of special assistant to the chan-
Museum of World Cultures offers view into
past, insight into future
Without going to far away lands, you can
see an African tribal head rest, a Mexican
wooden mask, or fertility gods dating back to
1200 B.C.E. These and much more are part of
the authentic artifacts displayed at UNCW’s
Museum of World Cultures.
The museum began in 1980 under the direc
tion of Dr. Gerald H. Shinn, acting director
and curator and professor of philosophy and
religion at UNCW. The museum has grown
from 16 artifacts to approximately 3500 arti
facts, representing 14 cultures including Afri
can, Hebrew, Canaanite, Egyptian, Greek,
Roman, Micronesian, and others.
All items are original, not reproduced, ar
tifacts and belong to the North Carolina
Educational, Historical and Scientific Foun
dation, Inc., a non-profit, tax-exempt founda
tion in Wilmington. Artifacts are accepted as
loans for specific displays and on a permanent
basis.
Lectures on a specific culture or artifact
usually precede a major exhibit. In addition,
all artifacts are shown with books or descrip
tive texts with pictures of items similar to the
ones displayed.
Representative of Canaanite culture are the
fertility god Baal and fertility goddess Anath.
Few museums have an original Baal and it is
a priceless treasure. Baal, also known as the
Rider of the Clouds, is mentioned throughout
Psalm 18, and the relationship between Baal
and Anath is outlined on three tablets re
covered during an excavation of ancient
Ugarity in Syria.
; AT"'-
(L-R) Baal, Anath and incense altar
The worship of Baal and Anath became
popular with the Hebrew farmers in Canaan
in 1200 B.C.E. Many felt that the fertility
gods controlled the growth of crops.
In addition to the fertility gods, the museum
houses a pottery incense alter dating back to
1200-930 B.C.E. and used in fertility worship
by the Hebrews.
One of the many Egyptian artifacts on ex
hibit is a Ushabti, a small figurine which was
buried in the tombs of important persons. The
Egyptians believed that the labors of afterlife
were similar to those of the living world. The
Ushabti would come alive to "plow the fields”
or move "the sands from East to West.”
This particular Ushabti has a Horus eye at
its base, a symbol representing the god of the
sun, which protected the deceased on his trip
from earth to paradise.
The Horus Ushabti belonged to U. S. Naval
Commander W. F. Lynch, commander of the
Confederate fleet of the Cape Fear River.
The original narrative of Lynch’s expedition
to the River Jordan and the Dead Sea in 1849
is housed in UNCW’s Randall Library.
Shamin beads, acquired from an archeo
logical dig at Palmyra, an ancient ruined ci
ty in Syria, are a gift from the late Dr.
William M. Randall, president of Wilmington
College from 1958 to 1968. The sanctuary of
Baal Shamin is one of the few complexes to
be thoroughly excavated in Palmyra. The
word Shamin is inscribed on the beads in
dedication to Baal Shamin, the sky god.
UNCW has loaned one of these beads to
Harvard University’s Semitic Museum.
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Shamin beads
UNCW’s Museum of World Cultures’ collec
tions and programs offer rich encounters with
the past, reminding visitors that there is a
continuity to human existence. One can see
the changes in lifestyle from one culture to
the next, from one display case to another;
however, there is a unity in each culture’s
striving for quality of life.
Horus Ushabti
"We can better understand our present and
forecast our future by looking into our past.
Our American heritage has been influenced
by all these world cultures,” said Dr. Shinn.
"If one wants to fully understand our Ameri
can origins, one needs to drink deeply from
the spring of world cultures.”
Artifacts are on exhibit at Alderman Hall,
the Marine Science Building, Morton Hall,
Randall Library, and the Social and Behav
ioral Science Building on the UNCW campus,
and at the Institute for Marine Biomedical
Research at Wrightsville Beach.
The museum welcomes new members with
benefits including special announcements of
museum exhibits and activities, invitations
to receptions for visiting speakers, presale at
museum auctions, and discounts on museum-
sponsored tours and expeditions.
For more information on the museum and
museum membership, contact Dr. Gerald
Shinn, Acting Director and Curator, Philoso
phy and Religion Department, UNCW, 601
S. College Rd., Wilmington, N.C. 28403.
Phone (919) 395-3406.
cellor. The initial responsibility of this assist
ant will be to establish the center. No deci
sion has been made whether the position of
special assistant and center director will be
merged. Wagoner said he hopes to have the
position filled by April.
The center will provide a forum for discus
sion of major issues and research among
groups taking an active role in developing
regional advancement programs and plans.
Representatives of local government, busi
ness and education will be advisors to the
center in discussing business, industry, tour
ism and health care concerns of this area.
New master’s program
ready by fall ’85
UNCW will oflFer a master’s degree program
in reading education by fall 1985. The UNC
Board of Governors approved the program
which will primarily serve teachers in South
eastern North Carolina.
The program will begin with 25 students,
and will later accommodate a minimum of 40
students.
UNCW offers graduate degree programs in
elementary education and education adminis
tration, and plans for a master’s degree pro
gram in secondary education are part of
UNCW’s proposed curriculum expansion.
By 1987 UNCW hopes to offer eight addi
tional graduate level and three undergradu
ate level programs if proposals are approved
by the Board of Governors. The eleven pro
posals were submitted to UNC President
William Friday who forwards the outlines to
the Board of Governors.
Dr. Charles Cahill, UNCW vice chancellor
for academic affairs, said he does not expect
the Board of Governors to act on the requests
until fall 1985.
UNCW plans to offer one graduate program
each in biology, chemistry, English, history,
general mathematics, applied mathematics,
psychology, and secondary education.
The Master of Science degree program plan
ned for applied mathematics and computer
science will offer the opportunity for emphasis
in either area. The joint program, the first of
its type offered in the state, will combine the
areas of mathematical sciences which include
computer sciences.
In addition to its programs in education,
UNCW offers graduate degrees in marine
biology and business administration. A pro
posal to establish a master’s degree program
in geology will be submitted to President Fri
day in the spring of 1985.
UNCW’s academic promotion from a Com
prehensive Level n to a Level I university en
titles the campus to additional funding for
graduate level programs and academic sup
port. Upon approval of additional funds by the
General Assembly, UNCW’s transition to a
Level I university will take place in July.
An expansion of the undergraduate pro
gram to include degree offerings in social
work, criminal justice, and banking and fi
nance is a maturation of courses available in
those areas. UNCW offers courses in social
work and criminal justice, and has an estab
lished finance track with emphasis in both
economics and business management.
The proposed expansion of UNCW’s gradu
ate programs will meet the growing need for
more graduate level programs in Southeast
ern North Carolina.
"These new programs will attract a wider
range of students, such as business and in
dustry professionals, educators and current
ly enrolled undergraduates, who desire ad
vanced degrees in these fields but don’t want
to relocate,” said Dr. James McGowan, asso
ciate vice chancellor and director of graduate
studies.
UNCW is the only senior public institution
serving Southeastern North Carolina, with
the nearest comparable institution offering
g^raduate programs over 100 miles away.