1979 Burke & Chafin (Rash)

Dr. Mary Thomas Burke (1928 - 2002)

     Dr. Mary Thomas Burke was born Annie Josephine Burke on November 28, 1928 in the seaport town of Westport in County Mayo, Ireland. When she was 17 her plans were to travel to Africa and begin studies to become a sister, but a visit to her hometown by the nuns from the Sisters of Mercy in Belmont drew her to North Carolina. She traveled from Ireland to New York by boat in 1948 and then by train to Belmont.
     Her studies began at Sacred Heart convent and then a bachelor’s in sociology from Belmont Abbey College. She took her first vows of poverty, chastity, obedience and serving the needy in 1951 and her final vows three years later. She later received a master’s from Georgetown University and a Ph.D from UNC Chapel Hill.
     Her career at UNC Charlotte began in 1970 when she founded and chaired their counseling program later designing its Ph.D. program. Sister Mary Thomas spent over 50 years working with drug addicts, AIDS patients, the impoverished, unwed pregnant teenagers, homeless mothers and abused women from the Charlotte area.
     She founded many organizations, including Open House, The Relatives and To Life. She was in leadership positions with the Metrolina AIDS Project and Catherine's House Out of all her numerous awards over her lifetime she was proudest of the prestigious Echo Foundation’s “Echo Award Against Indifference,” which was presented to her by Maya Angelou in 2002.
     The Mu Tau Beta chapter of Chi Sigma Iota was founded at UNC Charlotte in 1990 by Phyllis Post, Ph.D. The chapter was named in her honor due to her work as a visionary and leader in counselor education.

Betty Chafin (Rush)

     Mary Elizabeth “Betty” Chafin was born in Atlanta to Howard and Elizabeth Chafin but raised in Winston-Salem. She graduated from Greensboro College where she majored in English and psychology while serving as student body president.
     She arrived in Charlotte in 1965 and by 1971, she was co-chairing the consolidation committee of the League of Women Voters. She was urged the next year to run for the county commission but instead co-chaired the campaign of Liz Hair, the first woman commissioner in Mecklenburg, and later, the first woman chairman.
     She joined UNC Charlotte as associate dean of students in 1973 after completing a master’s in public administration at UNC- Chapel Hill. Soon after she was elected vice president of the Women’s Caucus, of which she was cofounder, and president the following year.
     Chafin campaigned and won a seat on the Charlotte city council in 1975, she was the 3rd woman to serve on the Charlotte City Council.  She went on to serve three terms and in 1977 was the first woman to be elected Mayor Pro Tem in Charlotte. While on the City Council she focused on urban planning, transportation and neighborhood development.   
     Chafin later join Queens College as the Director of Corporate Relations and it was here she played an instrumental role in developing the Women’s Leadership Program. She was nominated for WBT’s Charlotte Woman of the Year award by the League of Woman Voters and the Pilot Club.
     She might be best known for her work with Harvey Gantt in 1977 to push Charlotte from at large council elections to district representation. She has served on the boards of the North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, Crisis Assistance Ministry, United Family Services, Warren Wilson College, Central Carolinas Citizens Forum, the board of visitors of UNCC, the board of advisors for the National Civic League. She has been a supporter of Spirit Square and Discovery Place.  Chafin married Dennis Rash October of 1980.