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Cancer Claims Life of Chancellor Hooker
Hooker took a medical
leave of absence from UNC
in April to better cope with
his lympatic cancer.
Bv Ashley Stephenson
Editor
JULY 1 - After a six-month battle
with non-Hodgkins lymphoma
Chancellor Michael Hooker, 53, died at
1 a.m. Tuesday at UNC Hospitals.
Provost Dick Richardson said Hooker
Memorial Service Honors Chancellor's Life
Nearly 2,000 people packed
Memorial Hall to reflect
on the life and influence
of the late chancellor.
By Asheey Stephenson
Summer Editor
JULY 8 - When Michael Hooker
became chancellor of the University in
1995, he hung his UNC student ID card
on his office wall.
It served as a testament to his memo
ries as an undergraduate. It was proof of
his love for UNC. And it was a sign he
had returned home.
Hooker died June 29 due to complica
tions stemming from non-Hodgkins lym
phoma. He was 53. Provost Dick
Richardson called him audacious. Gov.
Jim Hunt said he possessed an enthusiasm
that made ever)'
one around him , Students, Leaders
younger, unc- React to Death of
system President Michael Hooker
Molly Broad See Page 11A
called him a
visionary.
Although each person who spoke at the
Memorial Hall service Friday for Hooker
used different words to describe him, the
message that resounded was the same.
Nearly 2,000 people came to pay their
respects to the legacy of a leader who
challenged UNC and looked to take it
beyond the horizon.
Student leaders, University administra
tors and state officials, as well as those that
had worked with Hooker at the
Universities of Maryland and
Massachusetts, were invited to speak and
share their memories of the late chancel
lor. Freeman Hrabowski, president of
UMass of Baltimore County, said Hooker
loved to talk to people about ideas.
“When he talked about his work, he
sounded like a kid in a candy shop,”
Hrabowski said. “He inspired us because
he was such a passionate student of life.”
Broad spoke more of the loss the UNC
would sustain because of Hooker’s death.
North Carolina was diminished, she said.
“Today we grieve not only for him, but we
also grieve for our loss of this man whose
talents and energies enriched our lives for
McCoy Takes Helm Again
William McCoy will serve as
chancellor until next
summer when a permanent
chancellor is selected.
By Ashley Stephenson
Editor
JULY 15 - A sense of permanence
fortunately is not the most important
thing in life to William McCoy.
McCoy, who was tapped last week to
lead UNC for the next academic year as
interim chancellor, has barely had a
breather from his two-month run as act
ing chancellor - the post he held when
Michael Hooker took a medical leave to
battle cancer.
led the University right up until the
moment of his death.
Hooker had been conducting
University business as usual Tuesday, he
said. “He had been busy all day; he had
spoken with his cabinet on the phone
between 8 and 9:30 a.m.,” Richardson
said. “Later that night at about 8 p.m. he
talked to (his secretary) Brenda Kirby
and went to bed around 11 p.m.”
Richardson said when Hooker’s wife
Carmen looked in on him shortly after
11 p.m., he was unresponsive. She called
911, and Hooker was taken to UNC
Hospitals, where he died hours later.
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Dra FILE PHOTO
Carmen Hooker placed flowers on the steps of South Building in June in honor of her late husband. Student leaders
led the impromptu memorial service asking members of the University community to lay single flowers as a tribute to Chancellor Hooker.
such a short time,” Broad said.
The UNC Gospel Choir sang
“Amazing Grace” after the first four speak
ers. As the words filled the hall, one man
pushed his glasses to his forehead, bowed
his head and hastily wiped away a tear
with one finger. A woman clutched bright
flowers in her left hand and searched for
her tissue as tears crept down her cheeks.
Another man grabbed the armrests of his
chair with both hands and stiffened, tight
ening his lips.
Student Body President Nic Heinke
spoke for the four student body presidents
who served during Hooker’s tenure.
Aaron Nelson, student body president
from ’96 to ’97, recalled strolls with
Hooker through campus that were broken
Leaders Call
McCoy 'Natural'
Choice for Post
See Page 11A
Hooker died
June 29 due to
complications
with his non-
Hodgkins lym
phoma.
“I am pleased to step into this tem
porary role once again as I did when I
became acting chancellor, but I am
pleased and sad to do it, too,” McCoy
said.
McCoy previously served as presi
dent of finance for the UNC system.
UNC-system President Molly Broad
announced Friday at a press conference
that McCoy would take the helm.
“I’m personally very grateful to Bill
McCoy to provide leadership at a very
important time,” Broad said.
Provost Dick Richardson, who was a
A critic is a legless man who teaches running.
Charming Pollock
Saturday, August 14, 1999
Volume 107, Issue 54
“He was chan
cellor right up
until the last
minute. He was
chancellor until
the end.”
Faculty
Chairman Pete
Andrews was the
last person
Hooker talked to
that night. Hooker
spoke with
Andrews at about
9 p.m. Monday.
Chancellor
Michael Hooker
lost his battle with
cancer June 29.
with the ritual of Hooker stopping to pick
up trash. When they reached a trash can,
Hooker would empty his pockets.
Heinke choked back tears as he
recounted their last talk together. “The lasi
time I saw him we were sitting on the steps
of South Building. He spent most of his
time grinning. He looked just like a boy
seeing the campus for the first time.”
Hrabowski said Hooker gave him a
tour of campus shortly after being named
chancellor. “He showed me a special place
in the library where he had sat in when he
was an undergraduate, and it was so clear
- he had come home.”
The University Editor can be reached
at udesk@unc.edu.
potential candidate for the interim chan
cellor tag, seemed happy and relieved
that McCoy had returned.
“He is an experienced and seasoned
executive and devoted alumnus,”
Richardson said.
“We know this year will be an excit
ing year.”
Broad said the search to find a per
manent chancellor to steer the flagship
university of the UNC system would
take priority.
“We gathered a week ago today to
mourn the loss of Chancellor Michael
Hooker,” she said.
“And yet we must move forward,
working with the Board of Trustees and
expediting a search to find a permanent
See MCCOY, Page 9A
“We just had a brief conversation, and
he said he was looking forward to our
meeting on Tuesday. He sounded as vig
orous as ever. I had no clue.”
UNC-system President Molly Broad
said she received a call in the middle of
the night from Carmen and Hooker’s
physician Dr. Lee Berkowitz notifying
her of Hooker’s death. “It was shock
because I had spoken with (Hooker and
Berkowitz) late that afternoon, and
(Berkowitz) said it looked like he had
responded well to the latest round of
therapy. We were all hoping Michael’s
valiant fight would be successful.”
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DTH FILE PHOTO
Student Body Secretary Lerissa Rentas consoled Student
Body Vice President Monika Moore at the flower-placing.
UNC Bond Package
Defeated by House
By Katie Abel
Staff Writer
JULY 22 - Extensive renovation and
construction projects on UNC-system
campuses were put on hold Tuesday
after the N.C. General Assembly could
not reach a compromise on the pro
posed bond.
The House and Senate, pitted against
each other in a largely partisan fight, will
adjourn without resolving intense dis
agreements that had arisen during
recent weeks. Although a last minute
proposal emerged from legislative
chambers Monday that would have
given UNC-system campuses $750 mil
In ajune 17 interview with The Daily
Tar Heel, Hooker said his cancer was in
remission. Richardson called Hooker’s
death shocking in light of his progress.
“He was in a lot of pain, but there was
the assurance the cancer was gone.”
Hooker was diagnosed Jan. 16 with
non-Hodgkins lymphoma and took a
medical leave April 12. Broad appoint
ed former UNC-system Vice President
for Finance William McCoy as acting
chancellor when Hooker took his leave.
But reports that Hooker’s lymphoma
had grown more aggressive prompted
him to take his cancer fight to the
lion, the House still would not approve
the package without a public vote.
During the last week, a negotiating
committee consisting of 66 House and
Senate members straggled to reach an
agreement, but conceded Tuesday that
one was virtually impossible.
UNC student leaders, who spent
much of the summer lobbying for the
bond package, said the problems would
worsen without any action this session
by the General Assembly. “The paint in
Murphy Hall is going to continue to
peel and the desks are going to continue
to crack,” said Lee Conner, graduate
See BOND, Page 9A
News/Features/Arts/Sports 962-0245
Business/Advertising 962-1163
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
C 1999 DTH Publishing Corp.
All rights reserved.
National Cancer Institute in Bethesda,
Md., on April 17. Calling the treatments
in successful, Hooker assumed his duties
as chancellor June L But only two weeks
after returning to the post, Hooker told
the DTH he had to use crutches to walk
and had a physical therapist come to his
home seven days a week. Hooker said
his doctors told him he was fit enough to
resume his duties as chancellor.
But the choice to return to the post
after complications with his cancer was
met with speculation that Hooker was
See HOOKER, Page 9A
Hooker Era
Defined by
Change
The often controversial
decisions by Hooker drew
both criticism and praise
from the UNC community.
By Rob Nelson
Editor
JULY 1 - Chancellor Michael
Hooker played by his own rules.
“My style is to grab problems by the
throat and shake the hell out of them,”
he told The Daily Tar Heel in 1996.
And, in four years at UNC, Hooker’s
hands were rarely empty.
From his earliest days at the
University, he tackled its most pressing
issues in a decisive, hard-nosed fashion
that became his trademark.
Whether dealing with claims of dis
crimination by employees or pushing
for technological advances for students,
Hooker’s brief time at UNC was
defined by change and controversy.
A youthful administrator fresh from
his presidency of the University of
Massachusetts system, Hooker officially
became UNC’s eighth chancellor on
July 1,1995.
He wasted little time after that.
Hooker's tendency to react quickly to
crisis drew both criticism and applause.
During his first summer, he moved to
fire an English professor who slept with
one of his students, gaining points with
the N.C. General Assembly.
In August 1995, he negotiated a set
dement to an eight-year racial discrim
ination suit against the University that
had demoralized University Police.
Keeping his promise to improve
undergraduate education, Hooker
decided that four new Kenan professor-
See CHANCELLOR, Page 9A
WmT
Instant Replay
Welcome
back
students.
Take time
out from
unpacking
to catch up
on all the
news that
happened
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while you were away for the summer.
Now that you are back in Blue
Heaven, find out what’s been going on.
Section B.
Back to Work
The Daily Tar Heel will be back on the
stands in all of its daily splendor Aug. 18.
For students interested in joining the
staff of the DTH, applications for
reporters, copy editors, photographers
and designers will be available Aug. 16 at
the DTH office in Suite ICM of the
Student Union.