David Goldfield, the Robert Lee Bailey Professor of History, will deliver the annual Caldwell Lecture in the Humanities at 7 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 10, in UNC Charlotte Center City. Longtime UNC Charlotte benefactors Sally Dalton and Russell Robinson II will receive the John T. Caldwell Award for the Humanities at this free, public event.
Given by the N.C. Humanities Council, the Caldwell Award recognizes “exceptional individuals who throughout their lives and careers have strengthened the educational, cultural and civic life of North Carolinians.” The award’s namesake, John Tyler Caldwell, is a former chancellor at N.C. State University.
The Robinsons are well-known humanists, philanthropists and community volunteers. UNC Charlotte’s Robinson Hall for the Performing Arts is named in their honor. They helped establish the Humanities Council Advisory Board and continue to serve on it.
Russell Robinson is the founding partner of Robinson, Bradshaw and Hinson, one of the state’s largest law firms, representing many of Charlotte’s major corporations. He is the author of “Robinson on North Carolina Corporation Law,” the preeminent book on corporation law in the state. He served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte from 1987-1997, eight years as chair. He helped increase public and private giving and obtained authorization from the UNC system for the University to award its own doctoral degrees. He also has served as a trustee of the Duke Endowment. After attending Princeton for two years as an undergraduate, he transferred to Duke University where he received a bachelor’s degree in 1954 and a law degree in 1956.
Sally Dalton Robinson, a Phi Beta Kappa history graduate of Duke University, was instrumental in the creation and funding of the Levine Center of the New South. She also founded and served as the first chair of the St. Francis (now BRIDGE) Jobs Program. She has been on a number of boards, including the board of trustees of the N.C. Humanities Council. Named Charlotte Woman of the Year, she was inducted into the N.C. Women’s Conference Hall of Fame.