Pope gift aids UNC football

Slice of $2.3 million for Western studies

After years of controversy over a proposed donation to the study of Western cultures, the John William Pope Foundation of Raleigh will give UNC-Chapel Hill $2.3 million, most of which will go to the football program.

The university announced the gift Thursday. It includes $2 million for an investment fund that will generate $100,000 a year to supplement the salaries of assistant football coaches.

Another $300,000 -- $100,000 for three years -- will go toward study-abroad and summer research fellowships for undergraduates who study Western cultures. The gift also will bring a visiting scholar to UNC-CH each year for classes and lectures. The scholar will be chosen by a faculty committee with expertise in Western studies, the university said.

The announcement Thursday concludes a rancorous debate at UNC-CH about how donors influence curriculum and academic decisions usually left up to professors. Several previous proposals of multimillion-dollar Pope gifts for Western cultures programs had been abandoned after faculty outcry. The Pope family and foundation have long supported conservative causes, including the John William Pope Center for Higher Education Policy, a frequent critic of UNC-CH.

The Popes, who made a fortune on discount retailers, are longtime contributors to the university, too. John Pope Sr., for whom the foundation is named, was a UNC-CH alumnus and former trustee. He died last month after a long illness.

UNC-CH Chancellor James Moeser lauded the late Pope for his passion for the university. The latest gift, Moeser said in a news release, "reflects his personal desire to support excellence in both athletics and academics."

Foundation President Art Pope said Thursday that his father loved Carolina sports, where a study center for athletes and a skybox at Kenan Stadium bear his name. "Lots of money goes to bricks and mortar," Art Pope said. "We thought this would actually help the coaches who work with young student-athletes day in and day out."

Assistants' value

UNC-CH officials have said their assistant coaches are underpaid compared with those at other universities -- at a time when assistants at major programs are being paid more and more. UNC-CH football assistants got raises over the summer, with the average salary increasing $19,304 to $146,778 this year, according to contract information obtained by The News & Observer.

UNC head football coach John Bunting noted that it was the late John Pope's idea to help finance football coaching salaries. Bunting said he met with Pope in late May or early June to discuss the plan.

"I think he felt that No. 1, he knew the importance of assistant coaches, he knew there's a tremendous competition to get great assistant coaches, and I think he also had in mind that we have a great staff here now," Bunting said. He added that the endowment would give UNC-CH a better chance of keeping the best coaches.

The Popes also have given money to the university's philosophy department, a program on philosophy, politics and economics, and a program at UNC-CH's Kenan-Flagler Business School.

Western interests

But the quest to establish a formal Western studies program proved difficult. "It just raised a lot of controversy, and the proposal kept getting revised," said Art Pope, who added that the process was "frustrating."

Professors criticized university administrators and the Popes for what they said were secretive talks about curriculum changes, and the issue prompted new guidelines for handling donations that affect course offerings.

"The faculty were really, really concerned about any donations that directly affected curriculum," said William Race, a classics professor.

The gift announced Thursday focuses only on athletics and scholarship support for students rather than academic courses, which could prevent further controversy.

But Pope said the foundation is still committed to establishing Western civilization programs, and will entertain requests from other public and private universities in North Carolina. The foundation has donated money to Campbell University and to N.C. State University.

(Staff writer Robbi Pickeral contributed to this report.)