Adding to the community woodpile

Born and raised in Greensboro, Erskine Bowles ’67 was well familiar with Carolina long before he enrolled. From the time he was little taller than the pennant he waved, he came to campus for football and basketball games with his father, Skipper Bowles ’41, from whom he inherited an intense commitment to “add to the community woodpile,” as his father said.

After leaving Chapel Hill (and even after returning), Erskine added to that “community woodpile” wherever he went — from his time in Washington, D.C., serving under President Bill Clinton to his return to UNC as system president.

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Erskine Bowles again added to the Carolina community woodpile in 2018, making a $5 million gift to launch the Blue Sky Scholars program to provide financial aid for middle-income undergraduates.

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