Robert Laidlaw, now 102 years old, looks back on his time at Carolina and what decades of support means.
Q&A with a UNC College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Circle member, Robert Laidlaw ’47, ’50 (L.L.B.), Parent ’72 and ’75
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I grew up in the Chicago area and went to boarding school at Lake Forest Academy. I attended Dartmouth College from 1940-1942. When WWII began in December of 1941, I enlisted in the Navy, where I served as a pilot until the end of the war in 1945. With the help of the GI Bill of Rights, I completed my schooling at UNC-Chapel Hill from 1946-1947. With the credits I received from Dartmouth and my time in the Navy, I was able to take mostly graduate-level courses in my last semester. I then went on to attend law school at UNC from 1947-1950 and worked for my family’s company until 1985 when I retired and took up golf.
What is your connection to the College of Arts and Sciences?
As a student in the College, I took political science and economics as my primary courses. My degree was in economics. At the time, UNC had a new football player, Charlie Justice, who came in 1946. One reason I decided to go to law school was so I could stay in Chapel Hill a little longer to watch him play football! I had actually applied to both the law school and the commerce school at the time. But the commerce school required you to take a foreign language exam – I barely got through that. I ended up hearing back from the law school first, and rather than wait to see if I passed the foreign language exam for the commerce school, I decided to go ahead and attend law school. My first wife, Evangeline, also attended UNC and in between having our children, she took courses in philosophy, art and architecture. Two of my children also went on to attend law school at UNC.
What is your biggest inspiration for giving to the Arts and Sciences Fund?
This is the place that gave me my education and my livelihood. Education was extremely important to my family. I have been giving for many, many years. (More than 41 years!) I believe, if you have the ability to give back, it’s great to keep the institutions going. I may not give a lot, but I know my donations are helping.
Favorite Carolina memory:
I just adore Chapel Hill. We used to dress up in a coat and tie for all of the football games. Every Saturday, my wife and I would attend – we loved the football games. We also loved going to the basketball games – we had a pretty good team at that time. Another interesting fact – I lived in the Carolina Inn for a few months before I got into student housing. Whitehead dormitory, which was located next door to the Carolina Inn, was full at the time. My wife, however, ultimately convinced them to let us stay in Whitehead in what was being used as a living room on the first floor. We were there a short time and then moved into Victory Village on South Campus.
About the Dean’s Circle
The College of Arts and Sciences recognizes annual donors to the Arts and Sciences Fund of $1,500 or more as members of our Dean’s Circle. Young alumni also qualify at the following levels: $500 for alumni classes 2020-2024 and $1,000 for alumni classes 2015-2019.
Donors with an annual contribution of $5,000 or more to the Arts and Sciences Fund are recognized as members of the Margaret Harper Society within the Dean’s Circle. In 1975, Margaret Harper became the first of many donors to the Foundation with a gift of $1,000, the equivalent of about $5,000 today.
New for 2025, donors who pledge $50,000 or more to the Arts and Sciences Fund will become inaugural members of the 1975 Society, named after our founding year (payable over five years).
Story originally published by the UNC Arts and Sciences Foundation.
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