{"id":23619,"date":"2018-02-15T10:58:16","date_gmt":"2018-02-15T15:58:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/college.unc.edu\/?p=23619"},"modified":"2024-07-02T16:54:03","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T16:54:03","slug":"commencement-speak-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/?p=23619","title":{"rendered":"College alumnus Rye Barcott, social entrepreneur, to speak at spring commencement"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Rye
Rye Barcott<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Rye Barcott, social entrepreneur and a graduate of the College of Arts & Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, will deliver the University\u2019s spring Commencement address on May 13 in Kenan Stadium.<\/p>\n

Before graduating from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2001 on an ROTC scholarship, Barcott co-founded Carolina for Kibera<\/a> through the Center for Global Initiatives within UNC Global<\/a>. CFK is a non-governmental organization based in the impoverished Kibera neighborhood of Nairobi, Kenya. Named a Time magazine and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation \u201cHero of Global Health,\u201d CFK uses sports and public health initiatives to prevent ethnic and gender violence and to fight poverty.<\/p>\n

\u201cRye\u2019s amazing life journey began while he was an undergraduate at Carolina, when he co-founded an acclaimed non-governmental organization, Carolina for Kibera, dedicated to breaking cycles of violence and developing young leaders in Kenya,\u201d said Chancellor Carol L. Folt. \u201cRye\u2019s out-of-the box thinking and global entrepreneurial work \u2013 ranging from creating holistic youth development programs to establishing a clinic treating thousands in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has been recognized by the President of the United States, the World Economic Forum and international philanthropists, and is taught in graduate schools around the world. I know his authenticity and example of selfless service to others, mixed with his personal humility and humor,\u00a0will inspire the Class of 2018 as they begin their own journeys.\u201d<\/p>\n

A former captain, Barcott served five years in the U.S. Marine Corps in Bosnia, the Horn of Africa and Iraq. He also wrote \u201cIt Happened on the Way to War: A Marine\u2019s Path to Peace,\u201d\u00a0a book that juxtaposes social entrepreneurship with military service.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat a thrilling honor it is to be this year\u2019s commencement speaker for my beloved alma mater. Service has been part of Carolina\u2019s DNA since 1789, when we were founded as the nation\u2019s first public university,\u201d said Barcott. \u201cI\u2019m grateful for the opportunities I\u2019ve had to serve my country and\u00a0I can\u2019t wait to be in a sea of Carolina blue in Kenan Stadium with my kids by my side feeling the love.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2001 Barcott earned bachelor\u2019s degrees in peace, war and defense and international studies from Carolina. In 2009, he earned master\u2019s degrees in public administration and business administration from Harvard University, where he was a Harvard Center for Public Leadership Social Enterprise Fellow. He then returned to North Carolina and founded Double Time Capital, an impact investment firm that played an integral role in helping the state become second in the nation in solar power.<\/p>\n

Barcott currently serves as co-founder and CEO of With Honor<\/a>, a new civic organization that is helping elect to Congress a cross-partisan coalition of post-9\/11 veterans. With Honor is based in Charlotte, where Barcott lives with his wife, Dr. Tracy Barcott, a 2000 Carolina alumna, and their two children.<\/p>\n

Folt chose Barcott in consultation with faculty and staff on the University\u2019s Commencement Speaker Selection Committee.<\/p>\n

Spring Commencement will be held at 9 a.m. in Kenan Stadium. Folt will preside over the ceremony. For more information, visit\u00a0http:\/\/commencement.unc.edu\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rye Barcott, social entrepreneur and a graduate of the College of Arts & Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, will deliver the University\u2019s spring Commencement address on May 13 in Kenan Stadium.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":23796,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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