Russell “Rusty” Carter of Wilmington is one of seven alumni of UNC-Chapel Hill honored this fall by the university’s trustees.

Carter was among the recipients of UNC-CH’s highest honor, the William Richardson Davie Award, which is presented to alumni in recognition of their “dedication, commitment, loyalty and service,” according to a news release. Established by the board of trustees in 1984, the Davie Award is named for the Revolutionary War hero who is considered the father of the university. It recognizes extraordinary service to the university or to society.

President of Wilmington-based Atlantic Corp., one of the top privately held companies in North Carolina, Carter is “a generous donor to the university,” the news release stated.
He graduated from Carolina in 1971 as a journalism major and, along with his family,  created a distinguished professorship in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication in honor of his father, Horace. Horace Carter won a Pulitzer Prize in 1953 for his editorials in the Tabor City (North Carolina) Tribune against the Ku Klux Klan.

Carter’s other areas of support include cancer research and athletics. He has served on UNC-CH’s board of trustees and board of visitors, and his honors include the Distinguished Service Medal from the General Alumni Association (GAA), according to the release.

UNC-CH chancellor Carol L. Folt and the trustees presented the awards in November at a special dinner event.