Dr. Elizabeth Olson: 2024 William & Sara McCoy Performing Arts Leadership Award Recipient
Cécile McLorin Salvant’s December 7, 2024 performance at Memorial Hall.
Honoring the Legacy of William and Sara McCoy: A Dedication to Arts Leadership and Education
The William & Sara McCoy Performing Arts Leadership Award celebrates the enduring legacy of William (Bill) and Sara McCoy, whose leadership, vision, and generosity have had a profound impact on Carolina Performing Arts at UNC-Chapel Hill. Bill McCoy, former Vice Chancellor of Finance for the UNC System and Interim Chancellor at UNC-Chapel Hill, helped shape the university’s strategic direction, while Sara McCoy’s steadfast dedication to the arts, through her involvement on nine campus boards and committees, amplified the cultural richness of the Carolina community.
This prestigious award honors the McCoys’ commitment to the intersection of education, research, and the performing arts. Each year, the McCoy Award recognizes a UNC-Chapel Hill employee who, like the McCoys, embodies the values of artistic excellence, educational innovation, and community engagement.
Meet the Inaugural McCoy Award Winner: Dr. Elizabeth Olson
The inaugural recipient of the William & Sara McCoy Performing Arts Leadership Award, Dr. Elizabeth Olson, is a professor of Geography and the Environment and Global Studies at UNC-Chapel Hill. Dr. Olson’s groundbreaking work in integrating the arts with education and social impact sets her apart as a true visionary in both the academic and artistic community.
Through her collaboration with Carolina Performing Arts and resident artist Culture Mill, Dr. Olson has redefined the role of art in academic engagement, creating a new framework for interdisciplinary collaboration that bridges the worlds of art, geography, and social justice.
Transforming Education Through Art and Geography
Dr. Olson’s work challenges traditional boundaries by combining geography with the arts, creating innovative ways to understand landscapes, histories, and cultural narratives. She is passionate about using art as a tool for social change and community healing, especially in partnership with local artists and organizations. Reflecting on her work, Dr. Olson asks, “How can art and geography combine to invite new understandings of our everyday landscapes? How might this fusion empower us to address the urgent, ongoing needs for justice, care, and repair?”
Her interdisciplinary approach has inspired countless students, artists, and community members to engage with their surroundings in profound, meaningful ways.
“As a geographer deeply committed to building and teaching transformative scholarship through collaboration, Carolina Performing Arts offers the substrate for cultivating relationships that make our imagined practices materialize,” she says.
By fusing arts education with geography, Dr. Olson fosters transformative learning experiences that encourage students to critically examine the world around them and their roles in shaping its future.
A Collaborative Process of Discovery
Dr. Olson’s partnership with Carolina Performing Arts and Culture Mill has brought together a diverse group of artists, scholars, and community members to create impactful, interdisciplinary projects. “With Carolina Performing Arts’ support, we had the time and resources to forge an ongoing partnership with Culture Mill, local artists, The Marian Cheek Jackson Center, and Carolina students,” she says. These collaborations have allowed students to engage directly with artists, bridging the gap between academic learning and real-world social issues.
In their first collaborative project, Well, Dr. Olson’s social geography students worked alongside artists through Carolina Performing Arts at Southern Futures to support the Jackson Center’s oral history archiving project.
“While supporting the Jackson Center’s oral history archiving process, we brought the voices of generations of the town’s Black builders to the center of campus through a sound and movement intervention,” she says.
Dr. Olson further acknowledges the vital role Carolina Performing Arts played. “From hosting a website to help us disseminate the project, to providing space and equipment, to directly supporting artists for their work, Carolina Performing Arts made the project possible,” she says.
This arts-based co-teaching model exemplifies the transformative potential of collaboration, where academic learning is brought to life through the contributions of local artists and community partners.
A Vision for the Future of Arts Education and Social Impact
As Dr. Olson looks ahead, she is filled with gratitude for the continued opportunity to collaborate and create.
“I am constantly reflecting on my gratitude to have the space to dream with others. Carolina Performing Arts continues to be a powerful partner in making these interdisciplinary and community-centered projects possible,” she says.
“It is truly an honor to receive [the William & Sara McCoy Performing Arts Leadership Award] from an organization that has already given me so much,” she adds.
Dr. Olson’s work exemplifies how integrating arts education and community engagement can create a more just, compassionate, and thoughtful world. Through her continued efforts, she exemplifies the legacy of leadership, generosity, and passion for the arts that the McCoys embodied.
Join Us in Celebrating Dr. Olson’s Achievement
We invite you to join us in congratulating Dr. Olson on receiving the William & Sara McCoy Performing Arts Leadership Award. Her work serves as a beacon for the future of interdisciplinary arts education, where academic inquiry and social impact intersect to drive meaningful change.
