Oral history interview with Susan McDonald, 2017

Brittany H.: My name is Brittany Hedrick and today is September 5th, 2017. I'm in the Parrish Library with Susan McDonald, class of 1967, to conduct an oral history interview for the UNCG Institutional Memory Collection. Thank you Ms. McDonald for participating in this project and sharing your experiences with me. I'd like to start the interview by asking you about your childhood. Could you tell me when and where you were born?

Susan McDonald: I was born in Charlotte, North Carolina on December 30th of 1945.

Brittany H.: Okay. What about your family and your home life?

Susan McDonald: My dad was Henry, my mother was Anne. My mother was Anne Daniel McDonald, my dad Henry McDonald. My mother was a graduate of WC of which we all our very proud of, and my home life I had an amazing childhood. I was a kid who 00:01:00was outside more than they were in playing. I had no brothers and sisters so my circle of friends was really as much my family as were my mom and dad. I had cousins that I visited with every summer, one set of cousins lived on a farm and the others were city slickers so to speak. So I had an amazing childhood as you look back on it. I must say very different from the childhood that children have these days.

Brittany H.: What did your parents do?

Susan McDonald: My mother was a homemaker until I went to high school, at which point she worked at Piedmont Hospital. We actually moved to Atlanta when I entered second grade, so my mother worked at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta as a 00:02:00floor administrator, secretarial type work. And my dad was in the men's retail clothing business, and where he stayed his entire life.

Brittany H.: You mentioned high school, where did you go to high school?

Susan McDonald: I went to high school as I said we moved to Atlanta, from Charlotte to Atlanta. I entered second grade in Atlanta, and so I went to North Fulton High School in Atlanta, Georgia.

Brittany H.: Okay. What were your favorite subjects?

Susan McDonald: My favorite subjects were the sciences, biology, math, really enjoyed sciences specifically as I said biology, but we had a great chemistry 00:03:00teacher. He pretty much would let us concoct anything that we wanted to. And of course at that time we were always trying to create something that would cause a disturbance.

Brittany H.: So I take it you enjoyed school?

Susan McDonald: I did. I really, really loved school. Throughout my entire life. You spend a lot of your life as a child and then as an adult in school, so the option was to really enjoy it. And I had some amazing teachers, and that is one reason why I think I really enjoyed it so much.

Brittany H.: So when did you graduate from high school?

Susan McDonald: I graduated from high school in 1963.

Brittany H.: Okay. What did you do after that? Tell me about your journey to UNCG.

Susan McDonald: As it came closer and closer to my senior year there was great 00:04:00discussion in our household about where I would go to college. My mother and her two sisters as well as one girl cousin had all gone to WC, and my initial thought was to really go somewhere else. And so, I applied to the University of Georgia and also to the University of Texas. I was accepted at both places. At the time the University of Georgia in 1963 was offering amazing scholarships for high school students from the Atlanta area that were like in the top 10 people in their class, and I sort of thought I might want to do that. As the time came 00:05:00on and I applied to all those schools I did not apply to what was then WC, just I don't know. I was determined to do something different. And as time came closer, and closer, and closer I pretty much was shamed into applying to WC by my mother, and her sisters, and my cousin because they kept saying, "You can't break the tradition. You can't break the tradition." So, long story short I arrived at what at that time became UNCG in 1963, I arrived on campus here in Greensboro as a freshman in September, late August, September of 1963. So, they talked me right into coming here. And of course I have no regrets having done so.

Brittany H.: Okay. So tell me about your first days on campus, and was it what 00:06:00you had expected considering the big change? And I guess I'd like to ask, what did your mother think about the change?

Susan McDonald: In 1963 even though that was the year that the universities had consolidated and became University of North Carolina Greensboro, UNC Chapel Hill, Asheville, there were not that many men on campus. In fact, I recall that, that first year there was no housing on campus for men. They were mostly commuting students or as we call them day students, or townies back then. It truly was what I had expected. I think my ultimate decision to really come here was based on the fact that at the time the department of physical education, 00:07:00which is what my major was, I had sort of known always that I wanted to be a physical education teacher and a coach. And at the time the department was ranked like number two in the country I believe behind Oberlin. So, it was really what I had expected. I had a great roommate freshman year, Phillis Wagner who was from Charlotte, North Carolina, which I might add we're still friends after all these years, 50 I guess what, 54 years now. And I met some amazing young women. It was a great place to be for me.

Brittany H.: So, I'm guessing you lived in the resident halls, which one did you live in?

Susan McDonald: I did. My freshman year I lived in Hinshaw and then my sophomore 00:08:00and senior years I lived in Ragsdale. My junior year my roommate was a woman named Portia Carvalo and Portia was the Junior House President back in Hinshaw, and I was the Assistant House President.

Brittany H.: Let's see. You were a physical education major and you stayed a physical education major throughout.

Susan McDonald: I did.

Brittany H.: Okay.

Susan McDonald: I decided immediately that physical education was going to be my major and I did finish with a Bachelor of Science in physical education with a 00:09:00minor in health. We had our class, our physical education class was a group of about 16 young women, and I must say almost all of those remain physical education majors throughout the entire four years we were here. We spent basically every waking minute together either in the physical education department or in the science department. We used to get irritated that our classmates would say to us, "Well, all you're doing all day long is playing and we're in classes." I had one friend who always said that to me, and so I invited her to join me in the many labs, chemistry, biology, all of the labs that we had to endure really at that time because of all of the many sciences that were 00:10:00related to physical education, be it the general sciences or anatomy or physiology of exercise. So, it was a pretty demanding program but it was a great program.

Susan McDonald: I had amazing professors. I recall many of those. One of my mentors Rosemary McGee I'm still in touch with Rosemary. Rosemary lives in a retirement community actually here in Greensboro. Another mentor was Dr. June P. Galloway who was also ironically our women's basketball coach. Celeste Ulrich, Ellen Griffin, Dot Davis, Marie Riley, just to name a few. These were amazing 00:11:00women in their profession and they certainly passed on their knowledge and information to all of us.

Brittany H.: Okay. What about your involvement in extra curricular activities?

Susan McDonald: I was a member of the women's basketball team. Back in that day we played what was High Point College at the time, and Guilford College. More local schools, Greensboro College. It was not considered back then obviously we weren't part of the NCAA as we are now. In 1963, '64, '65 were really the first what I would refer to as any kind of intercollegiate games between other 00:12:00schools. It was a great group. I feel like we were part of the foundation of getting women's athletics moving it into the modern era. Although I guess if you were to go back and look at some of the old Pine Needle yearbooks you would see in those that women, basketball was really the major sport back in the early 1900's. So, certainly basketball was not new to UNCG at that time, but it was more coming into the modern era.

Brittany H.: How many girls were on the teams?

Susan McDonald: As best, I recall I think there were probably 10-15 at the time. The interesting thing when I talk to young women today that are playing on our 00:13:00basketball team, and I talk to them about the rule changes, and how when I played in high school no one could cross the center line, which obviously that's changed dramatically now in that it's five on five and all 10 players go back and forth across the center line. It's always interesting to me to see how the players today really respond to the history of actually how the game was played back then.

Brittany H.: Okay. Very interesting. So, what did you do for fun, when you weren't playing basketball and attending class?

Susan McDonald: Honestly we mostly back then we would stay on the weekends, stay here on campus or a lot of gals including myself would go over to Chapel Hill, we would date over there because why? There were no men here. We did spend a lot 00:14:00of time on campus. Mostly a lot of the gals that were out of state as I was we had no cars so we were pretty much here if we weren't off campus socializing. Of course guys would come here from Wake Forest and Carolina. I recall we would go, a lot of times there was I guess you would call it not a night club, but just a club, the Jokers Three where it was close to campus, you could walk there. It was like all the Motown artists would come there, the Four Tops, Martha and the Vandellas were there one time. I can't remember, I was thinking maybe Ike and Tina Turner were there at one time. But that's pretty much what we did. The 00:15:00social scene has clearly changed today in terms of what people do on the weekends or even for that matter during the week then when we were here.

Brittany H.: So you mentioned going to Chapel Hill to date boys.

Susan McDonald: Right.

Brittany H.: So how did you get there?

Susan McDonald: It's ironic in our freshman year they actually loaded buses here on campus. A lot of us refer to it as the cattle drive, but they loaded all the freshman women on Greyhound buses and we went to Chapel Hill. They basically unloaded us in what at that time was called The Rams Club Parking Lot. And as the buses came in all you saw were just a sea of men. It was ironic because a 00:16:00guy that I had known from my high school in Atlanta had actually when I came to UNCG he was a freshman at Duke. And so, he met me there that night and we went out on the town together. And then of course you had to be back at the appointed hour at the parking lot or you would be left behind, and that was the only transportation that you had back to Greensboro. I'm not sure actually if all of the gals made it back on time but I never heard anything about anyone being left behind, but I guess back in those days those things were well kept secret.

Brittany H.: Since we're talking about the early 60's do you remember anything about the political atmosphere around campus? Anything you remember at all?

Susan McDonald: Yeah, one thing I do remember that we did, in fact I was the one of the people who led this march. I can't remember the exact year, I would say '63 maybe '64, '65 the speaker ban law passed the North Carolina legislature, which mandated that no known member of the Communist party could speak in a publicly owned building, not public but a state owned building. And as I recall there was a Russian poet or someone that was going to come to campus to read poetry, and because they were a known member of the Communist party they obviously could not speak in one of the state owned buildings. So, a group of us 00:18:00organized I might add a very orderly march from the campus to the downtown Greensboro City Public Library to enable this poet to read poetry.

Susan McDonald: In addition to the speaker ban law, I think there was ... I don't recall us having many African American women on campus, and I do recall in regards to that when I was a house president at Hinshaw my junior year, an assistant house president we had a number of young African American women as incoming freshman in our dorm. And I think one of my proudest moments of time 00:19:00that I had spent here at UNCG was later on when this young woman I was actually visiting with her as related to my job at UNCG now, I was visiting with her up at Maryland and she commented to me that the only place she really felt secure and safe was in our dorm and specifically with visiting with my roommate Portia that I mentioned earlier in our room. So, back then I guess it never really occurred to me what a difficult time these young women had. Of course, I know that now, and I think that's probably one of my proudest moments to learn later on that we offered a safe sanctuary, or what was considered that.

Brittany H.: We've already touched on this a little bit but just in case maybe there's something you wanted to elaborate on, any social or academic events that really stand out in your mind?

Susan McDonald: I think back then there were many social events that we had. One thing that I remember finally was our junior year they had what was referred to as The Ring Dance. And that was when you received your college ring, and so there was a big social event. It was actually a black tie event around all of the gals in the class receiving their rings. And so, it was basically a dance here at in those days in Elliott Hall in Cone Ballroom, which is as you know is 00:21:00now the EUC. But I do remember that. And the other thing I remember was you're making of the daisy chain for seniors to walk through. Where we went out to these fields, it was a social event at the time where you went out and picked daisies and then you came back to campus and you made a daisy chain for the seniors to walk through. And then a big event I guess was always, it was with great anticipation the Golden Chain Inductions, which has been a tradition around here forever as far as I know. But those were the three things that I remember the most.

Brittany H.: Did you enjoy UNCG? Are you glad that your family forced you to come?

Susan McDonald: Oh yeah. I'm thrilled I came to UNCG. I really believe that ... I've said this before on different occasions, my life compass was calibrated here at this institution. I think as it is today it was really a family of people who really cared about the students, who wanted students to succeed, they wanted to bring out the best in you as an individual. And so, I have no regrets at all that I came to UNCG.

Brittany H.: What did you do after you graduated?

Susan McDonald: In 1967 when I graduated I returned to Atlanta where I taught in 00:23:00a private school, the Lovett School in Atlanta, I taught there for four years. Not only did I teach physical education, health, biology, it was a school where there was classes kindergarten through 12th grade all on one campus. And so, I had the, I say privilege because it was really a lot of fun. I taught physical education in the four years that I was there on the kindergarten level all the way through the 12th grade. I ended up primarily teaching and coaching in the high school grades. I would serve as a chaperone for many of the senior girl trips. It was a great place to be, and I lived in an apartment, a little garage apartment that was actually at one of my student's homes, and believe it or not 00:24:00rent was only $100 a month, that was the best part about it. But it was a great school, it was a great four years for me.

Susan McDonald: After I left the Lovett School I took sort of a leave of absence to come back to Chapel Hill to get my graduate degree. I got a master of arts in teaching at Chapel Hill. And during that time it took me like one summer session and two regular semesters to complete my master's degree. And during the time that I was at Chapel Hill I had an evening education class, and one of the members of that class was at the time the principal of Chapel Hill High School. 00:25:00Now granted I had no intentions of staying in Chapel Hill when I first went back there, but having met the principal of the high school and having become friends and learning that there was going to be an opening in physical education at Chapel Hill High School, which was many of my friends who were wanting to come back to North Carolina or move to Chapel Hill were always looking at Chapel Hill High as the only high school at the time in Chapel Hill. Openings were like gold there. So, I was offered the physical education and health teacher position at Chapel Hill High in 1971, and I accepted the job there, and I actually taught 00:26:00physical education and health there, and also coached many different sports there from 1971 to 1980. Obviously remaining in Chapel Hill and have been there ever since. That's what happened after graduate school and moving into really getting into my career.

Brittany H.: So you said you still live in Chapel Hill.

Susan McDonald: I still live in Chapel Hill. I was at Chapel Hill High for 10 years and four years in Atlanta. I taught and coached for 14 years, at which 00:27:00time I left teaching and coaching and ironically ended up in the printing and publishing world for the next 25 years.

Susan McDonald: The way I got from teaching and coaching into printing and publishing was a friend of mine's husband was working for a publisher in Dallas, Texas who had just signed a contract with some of the NFL and NBA teams to do specialty publications for them. And they wanted someone more with an athletic background to work on those accounts. And they wanted someone they could train on the printing and publishing side. So, I applied for that job because my friend's husband had said, "You're perfect for this job. You need to apply for 00:28:00this job." And ironically I applied for that job and when I interviewed for the job the company had been having a regional meeting at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, and so living in Chapel Hill at the time I went to Asheville for the interview, and ironically one of my high school classmates was sitting in the room as one of the other sales reps for this company. And I think because of Walt I'm sure Walt had some comments about whether they should hire me or not, and they ended up offering me the job.

Susan McDonald: And I stayed with that company for 10 years. I worked with the NFL and the NBA for four years, and then I remained on with the company traveling in the southeast and the mid atlantic states doing specialty 00:29:00publications be it commemorative histories of hotels, military groups. It was a very broad ranging publication arm of specialty books.

Brittany H.: Tell me about the journey back to UNCG.

Susan McDonald: After I finished my last publishing job was in Charlottesville, Virginia with The Journal of Neurosurgery Publishing Group, where I spent four years there working with them overseeing subscriptions, licensing, library licensing, doing a number of different things for that publishing group. And I 00:30:00retired from there in September of '09. I was with that group in Charlottesville for four years, three years actually in Charlottesville and the last year telecommuting from Chapel Hill. I had been thinking about retiring for a while. And in September of '09 I actually did retire, and I did all of those things that you do after you retire. I did everything I hadn't had time to do prior to that like clean out all the closets, the drawers at the house. I visited with family and friends all over the United States that I had not seen in a long time. Played a lot of golf. I love golf. I had a golf group on Tuesday, a golf group on Wednesday, and a golf group on Friday. And after about six months of 00:31:00visiting with family and friends, and playing a lot of golf, and doing all the cleaning I needed to do, I got up one morning and I thought, "I am really bored. I've got to find something a little more purposeful."

Susan McDonald: So, in late February or March of 2010 I had an introduction to Kim Record who at the time that year, in fact in October of '09 had become the new athletic director, the first female athletic director in the modern time so to speak. And so, I arranged an introduction with her. And I met Kim and I talked to her about how much I'd like to come over, having been a student 00:32:00athlete, how I'd like to come and raise money for scholarships for the Spartan Club for our student athletes. And she said, "Wow, you're the first person that's ever wanted to come and do that.

Susan McDonald: I said, "Well yes, I really do want to come and do that." And so, long story short after much conversation and back and forth I did come on board in April of 2010 as an assistant development officer in the Spartan Club to actually raise money for scholarship. I've been here now, I'm in my eighth year with the Spartan Club and with intercollegiate athletics. I've raised money 00:33:00for both student athlete scholarship and funds for general scholarships across the entire university. As you know no student athlete graduates with a degree in athletics. And so, I see my role as really facilitating what it is, an alumnus or anybody, a friend of our program. I see my role as facilitating what it is they want to do in terms of making a gift to the university be it to a fund in their particular department or to create a student athlete scholarship.

Brittany H.: Okay. I know that you're not a development assistant anymore, so what is your job title now?

Susan McDonald: My job title now is I'm a Major Gift Officer, which means it's 00:34:00just another title I'm doing what I've always done both for the athletic department and for the university. Every school be it the business school, the college of arts and sciences, the college of visuals and performing arts. Each school has a Major Gift Officer that is charged with raising and securing gifts in their particular school. And so, it's probably a natural step up there for me to be a Major Gift Officer to simply continue doing what it is I've been doing.

Brittany H.: Yeah. Okay. What do you like most about your job?

Susan McDonald: What I like most about my job I must say is reconnecting with 00:35:00women who were here when I was here, which ironically last year was the class of '67's 50th reunion. Which leading up to that three or four years prior to last year it allowed me the opportunity to reconnect with many of my classmates who had been student athletes with me, and who had been dorm mates, friends. And so, for me the reconnection with these people that were my friends and who are also now alums of UNCG, it wasn't a job for me. It was a lot of fun to reconnect with them, to try to get them to reconnect with UNCG. I was lucky enough to have many of those people who have made major gifts to create scholarships for current and 00:36:00future students. So for me that's been the most exciting thing about it just perhaps rekindling friendships, and also being able to generate gifts to advance our mission here at the university, and to also help our student athletes.

Brittany H.: Have there been any challenges that you've faced?

Susan McDonald: I don't think any job is without challenges. I think in terms of the challenges truthfully I have not really faced any challenges in terms of it's sometimes difficult to find folks who have the capacity to do a major gift, but if you look long enough they're out there. So, it's just sort of putting 00:37:00your nose to the grindstone and locating folks who care enough, or care as much about this institution as I do to try to encourage them to make a gift, and then to try to facilitate the whole process for them.

Brittany H.: Any colleagues that have made an impression on you?

Susan McDonald: I work with the most amazing group of Gift Officers across this entire university. I certainly don't want to single out any one person because I think we work really well as a group. We've had good leadership. During the time that I've been here many folks have retired, Laura Pitts, Judy Piper, Jan Zink, Kris Davidson, are some folks that have been here and retired. Those are some 00:38:00current folks that are still here. It's an amazing group of Gift Officers who really care about this institution, and want to see it really move forward in a big way.

Brittany H.: Do you get to interact with students on a daily basis?

Susan McDonald: Yeah. Well, and most of the students that I interact with are student athletes.

Brittany H.: Okay.

Susan McDonald: My office is housed as I said in the department of intercollegiate athletics, and so most of the students that I do interact with are athletes. Although on occasion when I'm walking across campus and I see a student coming toward me with their nose down and their iPhone I will pass them and snap my fingers at them. So, I'd certainly get their attention and often I 00:39:00will have some kind of discussion with them regarding whatever they're doing at the moment, or what their day looks like. So yeah, I do and I really enjoy that. I think there's no doubt students are different today then they were when I was here. I think many, many students are way more engaged in a lot of respects then I was when I was here. I think there's more with many students, it's a more worldly view of things that are happening both politically, things that are happening in other parts of the world, they have a greater concern for just humanity. Obviously there's more concern environmentally with the ecology, with 00:40:00weather changing. I've had amazing conversations in all those topics with students, and I can assure you if I look around here at the students we have here our future is in really good hands.

Brittany H.: What have been some of your proudest accomplishments or contributions during your time at UNCG, and is there any work or project that you've done, which you are particularly proud? And I know you mentioned something earlier, but perhaps there's something else that you're really happy with.

Susan McDonald: I think because of the position that I'm in as a Gift Officer, I think when you can raise money that's going to better a student's life to allow 00:41:00a student to leave with a degree without huge debt is probably the best thing I could do for any student. We've had many different projects in athletics that we've raised money for specific goals. This weekend for example, we've enhanced our tennis facility by being able to raise money for an electronic score board, which is when the spectators can see the scores at the tennis matches on all six of the courts. I would consider that somewhat of a capital project that we've been very successful with. There have been others, we will have ongoing projects like this, but at the end of the day the scholarship dollars that I've raised to 00:42:00me are the most important thing that I could do for any individual student and for the university.

Brittany H.: Have you had any interactions with any of our chancellors, Chancellor Ferguson, Chancellor Brady?

Susan McDonald: Yeah, I sure have. I remember fondly the chancellor that was here when I was a student, Otis Singletary and James Ferguson were both chancellors when I was here in school. Ironically Otis Singletary's daughter Bonnie was a classmate of mine so I've spent some time ... back then I was in the chancellor's house. The chancellor's house then was situated behind Elliott 00:43:00Hall, what is now the EUC and at one point that house was moved down Spring Garden and is now where admission is for the university. It's the Preyer and Jane Armfield Admissions building now.

Susan McDonald: Also in addition to those two chancellors I had interaction with Pat Sullivan when she was the chancellor. Pat Sullivan could make a person think they were the most important human being on the planet. She was just the warmest most amazing human being, and an amazing chancellor. She could just light up a 00:44:00room and as I said, make you feel like you were the most important human being ever. I will say a story about Pat because I sometimes use this technique now when I'm meeting with a husband and wife. I know that Pat would go to visit a husband and wife, no matter who it was and the wife would have come here and maybe the husband would have gone to Carolina or State or Wake Forest. Pat would always look straight at the husband and say, "John," or whatever his name was, "John, wouldn't you like to make a gift to UNCG in honor of your wife?" And I don't know of many occasions when she would approach a husband and ask him to honor his wife that she was ever turned down. She just had a knack for that.

Susan McDonald: Then of course while I've been back here as a Gift Officer I've had time to engage with Linda Brady who is very supportive of athletics, is probably one of our biggest athletic fans. And Linda certainly moved athletics to another level. And now that Chancellor Gilliam is here I've obviously interacted with him on many occasions at athletic events, at other university events. In my opinion Frank Gilliam and his wife Jackie are going to move this university to a level that we have never seen before. And that to me is the most exciting thing happening here at the university today.

Brittany H.: How has attending and working at UNCG impacted and affected your life, and what does UNCG mean to you?

Susan McDonald: Oh wow. As I mentioned before when I was here at a student, I guess you come to school, you're in school, your goal is to get your degree. I think it takes years afterwards to really come to the realization that what an impact a place had on you, but as I said my life compass was calibrated here. I had the most amazing mentors that launched me off into 14 years of teaching and coaching and 25 years in a very successful printing and publishing career. This place is the best, I would recommend it to anybody. It means the world to me. 00:47:00I'm honored to have been able to be a part of this institution. And I still tell people they need to come to Greensboro and see what's happening. I will be making a trip sometime in '18 to Africa, and I indeed will be taking the news of UNCG both to South Africa to Botswana and Zambia. UNCG is the place to be in my opinion.

Brittany H.: We're doing these interviews as part of the 125th Anniversary of the University, which is an excellent opportunity for reflection, but it also helps us to think about where we are heading in the future. So what do you think the future is for UNCG and where do you see UNCG going as an institution in the next 25-50 years?

Susan McDonald: With the leadership of Frank Gilliam I really believe that UNCG 00:48:00is going to have a larger impact on our region, this region of North Carolina, the triad area of North Carolina, and probably within 50 or 60 miles. I've always felt we have a huge economic impact on this area, but I think if we can educate young people and encourage them to remain in this area, I see us having a huge impact on the employment force in this area. Also I think that under the leadership of Chancellor Gilliam we'll have more opportunity for public-private 00:49:00initiatives for not only this region but our entire state. The majority of our alums remain in North Carolina. We can have a huge impact on the entire state, and that's what I'm looking forward to from this institution. I won't be here in 50 years to know if we accomplished that, but if things continue to move forward as they are today I have no doubt that UNCG will have a huge impact on the state of North Carolina and on our nation.

Brittany H.: Well I don't think I have anymore formal questions for you, but did you have anything that you'd like to add that perhaps we didn't touch on, or anything at all that you forgot to mention?

Susan McDonald: No, I think not. I think you covered it pretty well. I feel like I've shared a lot of my childhood with you, why I came here, what this university means to me. And I can only hope that in the future other alums will go away with the same attitudes that I have about this amazing institution.

Brittany H.: And most of them do.

Susan McDonald: Yeah, I believe they do. Thank you.

Brittany H.: Thank you, that was a wonderful interview.

Susan McDonald: Yeah.

Brittany H.: All right, I'll go ahead and hit stop.