J. Myrick Howard, who attended Brown from 1970-72 before transferring to UNC-–Chapel Hill due to family health issues, went on to become a hero for historic preservation in his home state. During Howard’s tenure as president of Preservation North Carolina, he saved 900 properties in 80 counties, leveraging more than $750 million in private investment and helping push through legislation that offered tax credits for rehabilitating old mill buildings as well as helping to preserve entire neighborhoods. His innovative strategies are explained in his 2007 book, Buying Time for Heritage: How to Save an Endangered Historic Property. Howard retired last summer; in November, he received the Louise du Pont Crowninshield Award for Lifetime Achievement from the National Trust for Historic Preservation in Washington, D.C.; in December, he was named the News & Observer’s annual Tar Heel of the Year. Howard earned graduate degrees in law and city planning and was set on becoming a lawyer. A class in historic preservation put him on a different path.