Philip L. Dubois on His Years as the Chancellor of UNC Charlotte 

September 23, 1946, marked the official launch of the Charlotte Center of the University of North Carolina, which eventually became the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. In commemoration of this important date in its history, UNC Charlotte has designated September 23^rd as Founders Day.  

Details Matter joins four other books that deal with the history of UNC Charlotte. The first book on this topic was Ken Sanford’s Growing Up Together: Charlotte and UNC Charlotte, which was published in 1996. Next came Marian Ellis’ Dean W. Colvard: Quiet Leader (2004). The next two were both by Jeffers—The Making of a Research University: James H. Woodward  and UNC Charlotte, 1989-2005 (2016) and Jewel in the Crown: Bonnie Cone and the Founding of UNC Charlotte (2021). 

One of the ways in which Details Matter differs from the other books about the history of UNC Charlotte is that it reflects the direct experiences and insights of a former chancellor.  The years that are covered in the book are the very years that Dubois served as the leader of the university, and Dubois draws extensively on this unique background when writing about the history of the university. 

As the title of the book suggests, Dubois is a stickler for details.  In fact, the phrase “details matter” is emblazoned on his favorite coffee cup. Given his interest in details, it is not surprising that the book is brimming with detailed information about the major decisions that shaped the university during a critical time in its history.  

I recently contacted Dubois and asked him for more information about this book.  Here is what he sent to me:

I had always valued Ken Sanford’s book about the early history of what became UNC Charlotte and its maturation through the early years of the administration of Jim Woodward.  Once I became Chancellor (in 2005), I commissioned a book about the entirety of the Woodward years from 1989 to 2005 and our development as a research institution.  That volume was written by a former graduate of our public history master’s program, Bill Jeffers.  

Once that book was completed,  I asked Jeffers to begin to assemble materials on my chancellorship that could possibly be used for a book if someone should wish to write it and thereby ensure a continuous account of the development of UNC Charlotte from the beginning.   Although I anticipated that Jeffers would probably author that book,  the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic gave me the perfect excuse to take the lead.  Not only did I have the time, but I also had access to documents that would not ordinarily work their way into an institutional history, including the 175,000 emails that I had sent during my administration from 2005 to 2020.   

Although the book is quite lengthy and could serve double duty as a doorstop, I hope the details provided can give readers some insight into how difficult and complicated decisions that have shaped the institution to this day came to pass. There are a few chapters in there that may be the only definitive accounts that exist on things like the founding of football, light rail, and the April 30, 2019 shootings. 

While reading Details Matter, I was reminded of my favorite song from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical Hamilton.  The song is titled “The Room Where It Happens.” The character based on Aaron Burr voices the song, and it reflects Burr’s desire to be present when and where important decisions are being made.  I think that we can all relate to Burr’s desire to be in the room where it happens.  In Details Matter, Dubois provides readers with a sense of being in that room when it comes to the decision-making related to the development of UNC Charlotte.

Details Matter: UNC Charlotte, 2005-2020 speaks to everyone in Storied Charlotte who has connections to UNC Charlotte or who has an interest in the recent history of the university.