Cary Caperton Owen

UNC Asheville announced today the establishment of the Cary Caperton Owen Distinguished Professorship in Economics in honor of the Owen's life-long commitment to the public good. Endowed professorships allow UNC Asheville to attract and retain top-level professors who excel in teaching, research and interdisciplinary work.

Cary Owen is known throughout the state as a remarkable champion for public education. Starting as a member of the Buncombe County Board of Education and the first woman elected to the Buncombe County Commissioners, she also served on the UNC Asheville Board of Trustees, the State Board of Education and the University of North Carolina Board of Governors.

"I have always admired how extensively Cary Caperton Owen engaged herself in the well-being of the community around her," said UNC Asheville Chancellor Anne Ponder. "Nothing could give me more personal and professional joy than to see her recognized permanently at UNC Asheville for the role model that she is."

Funding for the $500,000 endowed professorship is made possible through recent initiatives of the C.D. Spangler Foundation, which will provide $26.9 million to support the creation of up to 96 distinguished professorships throughout the UNC system's 16 campuses.

"Good professors are professors who like teaching students and like doing research. This effort on the part of my family is intended to retain, reward and recruit good professors," said C.D. Spangler, a successful Charlotte businessman who served as the president of the University of North Carolina system from 1986 to 1997.

The naming of the professorship also honors the many years of work by Owen and Spangler on  statewide education issues. They served together as members of the N.C. Board of Education. Later, when Spangler was president of the UNC system, Owen was a member of the UNC Board of Governors, which has oversight of the University system. "Cary Owen is a very capable individual," Spangler said. "I greatly appreciated her common sense, her wisdom and the opportunity to work with her."

Owen remains characteristically modest about the honor. "When Chancellor Anne Ponder asked if I would be willing to have the professorship named after me, I was amazed. I feel very humble about it," Owen said. "I have gotten much more out of my work in public service than I am sure I ever gave. But I truly believe that for people to have a full life and get good jobs, they must have a good education."