The Winston Gift
The College’s new international hub in London has historic ties to Great Britain and Carolina. Purchased in September 2005, the European Study Center in Winston House is the first academic facility owned by UNC abroad.
The $5 million center is being financed with private funds, including a $1 million lead gift from alumnus James H. Winston ’55 and his wife Mary, of Jacksonville, Fla., to name the building in honor of the Winston family and their deep connections to Carolina and England.
The European Study Center in Winston House will serve the Honors Program in London and be open to students, faculty, programs and alumni from all parts of the University.
The 4,400 square-foot building is located at Bedford Square — the oldest remaining complete Georgian garden square in the city — in historic Bloomsbury, a neighborhood that has long been associated with literature, art and learning.
Beginning with Patrick Henry Winston in 1844, six generations of the family have been Carolina students and leaders. Robert Watson Winston, class of 1879, was an attorney, judge, historian and author who wrote extensively on national and international affairs. His son, Robert Watson Winston, Jr. (Jim Winston’s father) was captain of the football team and a track star at Carolina. He graduated in 1912, studied at the Sorbonne and served in France during World War I; the family established a distinguished professorship in his honor at Carolina in 1986.
George Tayloe Winston served as University president from 1891 to 1895, an important period of growth when the faculty doubled in size and the student body nearly tripled.
James Horner Winston, class of 1904, was the first Carolina student to win the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford University in Great Britain. And of course it is his namesake whose gift launched the purchase of the London building, which will now serve future generations of Tar Heels.
The Winston Family has been involved for many generations with our great University, and we are pleased to play a small part in its future global expansion beginning with the European Study Center,” Jim Winston ’55 said.
The family continues to be engaged in University affairs. Jim Winston has served on the Board of Visitors, the General Alumni Association and the Arts and Sciences Foundation Board. His son, James Winston, Jr., a psychologist practicing in Miami, graduated from Carolina with a B.A. in 1981 and a Ph.D. in 1991. He also received a master’s degree from Oxford University.
Charles Winston ’53 (Jim’s brother) has served as a member of the University’s Board of Visitors and as chair of the General Alumni Association and the N.C. Educational Foundation. He and his wife, Flo, have also served on the Arts and Sciences Foundation Board. In 2004, the University awarded him the William Richardson Davie Award for extraordinary service. His son, Robert Watson Winston III, class of 1984, serves on the University’s Board of Trustees.
The European Study Center in Winston House is in the heart of London, convenient to the British Museum and Library and to King’s College London, where UNC recently launched a multi-level exchange program for undergraduates, graduate students and faculty.
About $3.2 million has been raised for the center so far, as part of the Carolina First fundraising campaign.
Reprinted with permission from Carolina Arts & Sciences magazine.
