The Chancellorship of UNC-Chapel Hill is considered one the premier jobs in all of higher education.
It's one of the highest-paid jobs in N.C. state government, and it puts the officeholder squarely in upper echelons of policymaking in North Carolina. It comes with a nice house, a relentlessly busy schedule of meetings and travel and a few hundred years of prestigious history. It is, quite literally, a position of Pomp & Circumstance.
Which is why it was jarring -- in the best possible way -- to glance into the corner of the lobby at the Chapel Hill Sheraton Sunday night and see Holden Thorp grooving away on keyboard.
Not on stage, mind you. Not at a concert or a campus shindig. But in the corner of the Sheraton lobby, serving as lounge music for a local charity event.
There is no other word for this than awesome. Awesome with a capital A.
Maybe I'm making too much of this because I'm an enormous nerd, and after working for the Daily Tar Heel for four years, I have an outsized fascination with University administrators.
But still, it's fantastic that the Chancellor of the state's flagship university will show up at a local charity event, play some light jazz and blues, and leave without any fanfare.
The guy didn't get up and work the room, try to shake everybody's hand or get himself noticed. He and the band played, finished their set and packed up. Just like any other group of local artists with day jobs. Really important day jobs...
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Eric, The chancellor reads blogs, too. Thanks for your kind words. Hope all is well with you. Holden