Call her Tar Heel of the Year. That’s what the News & Observer (Raleigh) named Elizabeth “Betsy” McSpadden Bennett ’65, director of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, in January. In a long and lively feature article (1/1/12), the newspaper chronicled Bennett’s twenty years as director, during which time she “has managed to bag dinosaurs, lure scientists, sell lawmakers, and inspire captains of industry to build a museum that captures the imagination of 700,000 visitors each year.” The annual award is given to “a strong leader who has had wide and lasting impact in North Carolina.”

Photo credit: Shawn Rocco, News & Observer