Shuford Senior Awards

The John Stewart Trailblazer Award is awarded to those graduating seniors who have left a lasting, positive impression on campus through their ideas or actions. These individuals have championed new ideas that have shaped the program and the greater campus community for the better, building pathways that were not already there. They recognize gaps in the community and strive to fill those gaps in innovative ways. They have shown a great willingness to take risks that others would not.

John Stewart joined the Economics Faculty at UNC-Chapel Hill in 1975, and, except for a short stint at Rice University, served on our faculty until his retirement in 2014. He served as the founding director of the Entrepreneurship Minor from its formation in 2004 until 2014. While John was Director, the minor grew from an initial class of 46 in the fall of 2006 to 117 in the fall of 2013. The number of tracks in the minor was expanded from the original two (social and business) to 5 with scientific, arts, and sports entrepreneurship being added over the years.

The John Akin Catalyst Award is awarded to those graduating seniors who have made it their mission to be the change they want to see in the world. These individuals are deeply committed to the ideals of Social Entrepreneurship and have been bold advocates for communities across campus, North Carolina, and the world. Their passion for igniting change in every aspect of their lives has profoundly impacted the Shuford Program.

John Akin was born in Carrollton, Georgia and did his undergraduate degree at Emory University and received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. He taught at the University of Wisconsin from 1971 to 1973, moving to UNC in 1973. During his leaves from UNC, he worked for the United States Department of Health Education and Welfare, the Brookings Institution, and the World Bank. In July 2010, Akin stepped down as the Chair of the Economics Department after serving 10 years. He also served UNC as Chair of the UNC Faculty Steering Committee of the Chancellor’s Innovation Circle. The Innovation Circle prepared a strategic roadmap and fundraising plan designed to accelerate innovation at Carolina.

Before retiring in 2015, John served for one year as the Director of the Minor in Entrepreneurship. He was also instrumental in the design and implementation of ECON 125, the Introduction to Entrepreneurship course all students must take to graduate with the Shuford Program in Entrepreneurship.

The Buck Goldstein Founder Award is awarded to those graduating seniors who are a true example of entrepreneurship and innovation. These individuals have put coursework into practice, building ventures from ideas to MVP to launch during their time on campus. These ventures aim to solve the problems they see in their everyday lives. Owning their duality of student and founder, they have demonstrated a commitment to the entrepreneurial spirit in pursuit of their personal and professional goals.

Buck Goldstein is a former Entrepreneur in Residence and a Professor of the Practice in the Department of Economics. He received his B.A. from the University of North Carolina in 1970 where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and the Order of the Golden Fleece, the University’s Highest Honorary Society. He received an M.Ed. from the University of Massachusetts in 1973, and a J.D. with Honors from the University of North Carolina in 1976 where he served on the Editorial Board of the UNC Law Review. In the spring semesters of 1997 and 1998, he served as an Adjunct Professor at the Goizueta School of Business at Emory University teaching an MBA course entitled Entrepreneurship on the Internet.

Before returning to the University, Goldstein co-founded Information America, an online information company publicly traded and acquired by the Thomson Corporation. Subsequently, he was a partner in Mellon Ventures, the venture capital arm of Mellon Bank. In 2003, Buck was instrumental in getting the Entrepreneurship Program funded with a $3 million grant from the Kaufman Foundation. He worked tirelessly to overcome initial resistance and obstacles in convincing the University that we needed an entrepreneurship program. Buck stepped down as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence in 2019.

The Pat Conway Spirit Award is awarded to those graduating seniors who embody the growth mindset of the Shuford Program. These individuals have shown the most growth & accountability, demonstrated excellence, and reflected a willingness to be vulnerable while pushing through the challenges they have faced at UNC. They have demonstrated growth as a leader, person, and team player during their time on campus. Not only do these students possess perseverance to overcome obstacles – both personal and professional – they exemplify how the entrepreneurial mindset transcends the building of a venture.

Patrick Conway is Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He attended Georgetown University in Washington, DC as an undergraduate, and received his BSFS degree in 1975. After the Peace Corps he did graduate work at Princeton University, receiving an MPA degree in 1979 and a PhD in Economics in 1984. He served in the Peace Corps in Cote d’Ivoire in 1975-77, and as a special assistant to the US Undersecretary of State for Economic Affairs in 1980-81. He has served as an international and macroeconomic expert on World Bank missions to Morocco, Tunisia, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Belarus, and has twice been a visiting scholar at the International Monetary Fund.

Pat joined the faculty of UNC in 1983. During that time, he has taught courses in introductory economics, international economics, development economics and macroeconomics both to undergraduates and to graduate students. He has also served as Chair of the Department of Economics and as Academic Director of the Shuford Program in Entrepreneurship. Pat created Economics 111, the Economics of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, for the students of the Shuford Program in Entrepreneurship and taught the course from 2018 to 2022.

The Lizzy Harding Award is awarded annually at the Shuford graduation to recognize a student or faculty member who has made significant contributions to mental health advocacy within the Shuford Program.