A Durham native, I attended Durham public schools, Brown University and the UNC-Chapel Hill, where I received my Master’s degree in city planning and a law degree in 1978. In 2006, I participated in the Executive Program for Nonprofit Leaders at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. From 1978 to 2023, I served as president of Preservation North Carolina (PNC), the state’s only statewide private nonprofit preservation organization. Last year I retired after 45 years; it was my first job. PNC is best known for its direct real estate involvement with endangered historic properties. More than 900 properties are protected by PNC, including numerous affordable housing projects. Having grown up in a working-class family, I’m particularly proud of my involvement in getting a special incentive for the rehabilitation of historic industrial buildings in NC, leading to the investment of more than $2.5 billion in vacant mills. Several large renovation projects in Durham have been beneficiaries, including the American Tobacco campus (where my father worked), West Village, Chesterfield Building, and Golden Belt. From 1988-2023, I taught a graduate seminar on Historic Preservation Planning each year at UNC. My book Buying Time for Heritage, now in a new edition from UNC Press, is used extensively around the country in preservation education programs. I’ve been fortunate to have received a number of national, statewide and local awards, including the nation’s highest preservation award in 2023. Last year I was named “Tar Heel of the Year” by the (Raleigh) News and Observer. I live in Raleigh – with two cats – in a 1939 historic duplex, my eighth renovation.
Preferred Name: Myrick
Please share the title of a book you’ve recently enjoyed and would recommend to your GLS colleagues. Capitalism and Slavery by Eric Williams
What movie or television show that you watched recently would you recommend to the rest of us? I don’t own a TV, and I havent watched five movies in the last 20 years due to violence.
Coming to the Duke GLS program, I hope to launch my “encore years” with something meaningful, stimulating and enjoyable.
We’re going to make a GLS 2024 playlist on Spotify. Please recommend a song to include that speaks to how YOU feel as you embark on this new learning journey. It could be something that you’re listening to a lot now or a longtime favorite that captures the moment for you.
Four Last Songs by Richard Strauss
