Oliver Max Gardner Award

About the award

When presented: Spring meeting of the Board of Governors each year.

How many: One award, selected from the entire UNC System.

Process: The Committee on Honorary Degrees and Special Awards selects one nominee from UNC-Chapel Hill; the chancellor then submits the committee’s recommendation to the Office of the President and the Board of Governors awards committee.

Criteria: Award goes to “that member of the faculty of the Consolidated University of North Carolina, who, during the current scholastic year, has made the greatest contribution to the welfare of the human race.” A more detailed explanation of the award, provided by UNC general administration, may be found here.

Eligibility: Any faculty, including instructors, engaged in teaching in any unit, institution or branch of service of the Consolidated University of North Carolina.

Submit a nomination

Please note that nominations remain active for three years. If you have nominated anyone within the previous two years, renomination is not required; however, additional or updated materials may be submitted.

Visit the “Submit Nominations” page at the left for instructions on how to submit your nomination. Nominations for this campus’s nominee for the 2025 System-wide award will be accepted October 1 through November 25, 2024. Submitting a nomination by this deadline is the first step in the nomination process for this award.

Past recipients, 1949 – present