UNCG’s naturally
gifted beauty
Prospective students say it during their first tour of campus. Alumni say it when they return for Homecoming. What a beautiful place!
In recent times, our campus landscape has been named UNCG a Tree Campus USA university every year since 2009 by the National Arbor Day Foundation. In fact, UNCG was the first in the UNC System to receive this honor.
Our reputation for natural beauty stretches back many decades. Our most famous professor, Randall Jarrell, who served as the nation’s poet laureate in the 1950s, referred to campus as “Sleeping Beauty.” He is among the many faculty over the decades who’ve used those gorgeous shade trees to teach classes outside.
UNCG’s campus is filled with tucked-away spots to read or hang out; expansive spaces for people-watching or catching some sun; and a spring-fed woods for immersion into nature.
How did it get this beautiful? Hundreds of gifts, large and small, have made our campus landscape ideal for students and welcoming to returning alumni. At Homecoming, many find a visit is not complete without savoring a few moments at a treasured spot.
Let’s explore a sampling of these lovely locales.
The Quad
The Quadrangle has housed generations of students since it was built between 1919 and 1923. The seven residence halls are graced with a wonderful, grassy expanse. Archived records show it was designed by Manning. In 2011, a fundraising effort led by alumni saved the historic Quad – and helped finance the buildings’ renovation and that of the outdoor space. “It is the soul of the campus,” Emily Herring Wilson ’61 told us, “a place of living history, of friends, leaders, poets, professors, late-night conversations, graceful receptions, pranks, laughter, and tears, deeply rooted in this one classic place of residential living.” On most days, students read, play Frisbee, talk, and enjoy the sun on the beautiful lawn that’s shaded by willow oaks the renovation project took care to preserve.
Herring Garden 
A memorial garden for Elizabeth Herring, a patron of the School of Music, pays tribute to her love of music and gardening skills. It was a gift to UNCG by her surviving husband, Dr. William B. Herring, who wanted a space “where faculty, students, and visitors would be inspired in a tranquil, beautiful setting.” The designers Surface 678 created spaces that emulate “the character of a multi-movement musical composition.” Some plantings in 1999 even came from Elizabeth’s garden. Students love this space, the perfect place to study – or improvise a melody before class.
Kaplan Commons
In 2008, the premier campus spot for large gatherings – and for Frisbee! – was born. Dedicated quite appropriately at that year’s FallFest, this popular area on the west lawn of Elliott University Center was an instant hit with students. The result of a generous gift by Randall Kaplan and Kathy Manning, it was named in their honor. “The public spaces of a university should be inviting for students to hang out together and for faculty and students to talk,” Kaplan said. The project, on what had been a gravel parking lot, included extensive re-landscaping, new trees, flowering plants, benches – and Bermuda grass overseeded for winter with ryegrass, exceptionally maintained by UNCG Grounds staff. A garden space was donated by Alpha Delta Pi. The commons’ walkways converge into a central point, an ideal place to meet up with friends.
Minerva Garden
The Class of 1953 marked their 50th anniversary by commissioning Jim Barnhill ’82 MFA to create a bronze statue of Minerva, the symbol of our University. It would be located on a pedestal in the east courtyard of the newly renovated and enlarged Elliott University Center (formerly Elliott Hall). The Class of 1953 Minerva Garden Endowment continues to enhance the area by ensuring high-quality refurbishment as needed, to keep it optimally attractive.
Galyon Garden
If you’ve admired the most startlingly beautiful gingko trees turning golden in the fall, you know this “hidden garden.” A favorite of theatre students – who sometimes practice scenes here – it’s tucked between UNCG Auditorium and Taylor Theatre. Madeline Saintsing ’20, an acting major who took this photo, enjoyed the cozy space. “We would sit out in the garden between classes when it was warm and eat lunch or study lines.” Rachel and Doug Galyon supported the Auditorium Bond Matching Fund, and the landscaping and gardens here are in honor of Rachel Hull Galyon ’52.
Woman’s College Tribute
This newest enhancement to the campus landscape, featured in the Fall 2023 issue, creates a place for students to gather on Stone Building Lawn. Supported by many donors, the space honors access to education, dedication to learning, and commitment to service of the Woman’s College era (1932-1963).
Stop & smell the flowers
Bordered by the Alumni House and a retaining wall, this cozy space has been the Alumni Secretaries Garden since 1964. In fact, nearby is a marble bench inscribed “Class of 1964.” A garden wall bears a sign recognizing the first four alumnae leaders: Ethel Bollinger Keiger (1919-1922), Clara Booth Byrd (1922-1947), Betty Brown Jester (1947-1955), and Barbara Parrish (1955-1989). In 2006, Susan Seeker Jones ’78 revitalized this garden through a gift to the Alumni House Furnishings Fund. Teaming up with then-Landscaping Department Head Chris Fay, she introduced benches and new plantings like irises, flowering bushes, and climbing camellias to the garden, which stands as a living memorial to her parents, Iris and “Bud.” The alumna said, “I never appreciated the garden when I was here. I want to make sure students don’t make the same mistake and take advantage of the many green spaces available.”
A Bryan School knockout
Bryan School students know the spot well. The building’s courtyard, resplendent with blooming trees and azalea bushes, offers a quiet place to relax between classes or study at picnic tables. It’s named for Harrell B. and Margaret Van Hoy Hill ’42. Margaret arrived at Woman’s College in 1938 intending to pursue teaching, but a different opportunity soon caught her interest. She joined the Secretarial Science Department, majoring in secretarial administration. She began working for NC Shipbuilding Company in Wilmington, and in 1943, she married Harrell Hill, a graduate of UNC Chapel Hill. His career with Western Electric Company – the manufacturing arm of what is today AT&T – took the couple to Chicago, Kansas City, and New York. In 1999, the Hills made a gift that touched lives across the campus. The Harrel Hill and Margaret C. Hill Annuity Fund was divided between four areas: Chancellor’s New Venture Fund, Provost Office, Jackson Library, and the Bryan School of Business and Economics. They later provided more resources for student success, garden renovations and program enrichment. When Harrell died in 2007, Margaret established the Margaret and Harrell Hill Distinguished Professorship in Business, in loving memory of him and his distinguished career. See the full story.
Peabody Park
Philanthropist and educational progressive George Foster Peabody, a relative of the famous George Peabody whose Peabody Fund supported our school, financed the development of this educational park. Manning’s records detail his planned pathways, in addition to the tree canopy and terrain. The park in its early decades was the site of student ceremonies, dramatic productions, and the students’ mandatory daily walking period. In 1997, after decades of encroachment on the park, the Peabody Park Preservation Committee was formed. One mission was to preserve and maintain Peabody Park Woods as a natural mixed hardwood forest. It also sponsors “ivy pulls” as volunteers tackle invasive weeds. The park remains a peaceful respite, supported by the Peabody Fund and Berry-Landsay Fund, and is a resource for science classes and student outdoor recreation.
Vacc Bell Tower & environs
It’s history in layers. Students Anniversary Plaza, on the site of the McIvers’ home, was a 1967 gift from the student body on the 75th anniversary of the University. The old University Bell was given a place of honor. In 1987 the bell was brought inside – but more bells were coming. Less than two decades later, the plaza was re-envisioned, as Dr. Nancy Vacc funded the Nicholas Vacc Memorial Bell Tower. It honors her late husband, Dr. Nicholas Vacc, who’d led the outstanding Counseling and Educational Development department. The plaza grounds’ landscaping and lighting, also funded by Nancy Vacc (who died earlier this year), have been further enhanced – and additional tower bells in 2015 made for a full carillon.
By Mike Harris ’93 MA.
Additional research by Debbie Rogers, Advancement.
Photography courtesy University Communications. Galyon Garden/Gingko tree photograph courtesy Madeline Saintsing.