University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. University Managers' Association.

In 1981, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill established the University Management Development Program to develop leadership skills among its employees in managerial positions. In 1983, a group of managers formed the University Managers' Association as a way to continue the networking that had begun among the early graduates of the University Management Development Program.

In 1981, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill established the University Management Development Program to develop leadership skills among its employees in managerial positions. The program was taught by faculty of the Kenan-Flagler Business School and other university administrators. It was offered twice each year until 1988 and then annually until 2009, when the decision was made to pause and consider ways of redesigning the program to insure its continuing effectiveness.

In 1983, a group of managers formed the University Managers' Association as a way to continue the networking that had begun among the early graduates of the University Management Development Program. The association held its first meeting on 14 September 1983. According to a 1996 brochure, the original goals of the organization were to provide a forum for discussing issues relevant to managers in higher education and to encourage productive and supportive interactions among the members.

The activities of the University Managers' Association were overseen by its Board of Directors, who were elected from its general membership. The officers of the association (president, vice-president, secretary, and treasurer) were elected from the membership of the Board of Directors. Various committees carried out much of the association's work. The association focused on expanding training opportunites for university employees and promoting employee recognition and appreciation programs. The idea for the annual university-wide employee appreciation event originated in the association's Morale and Recognition Committee, which presented it to the Office of the Provost in 1989. The first such event, called the Employee Appreciation Fair, occurred in 1990 and was planned and sponsored by the University Managers' Association. The association continued to sponsor the event with funds provided by the university administration.