The Paul Wellstone Memorial Garden is located outside Murphey Hall.
Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone (Class of 1965) was admired by fellow classmates and citizens alike for his dedication to public service in politics, which he described as a means of "lessening human suffering" and "advancing the cause of peace and justice." A plane crash in 2002 tragically cut short the lives of Senator Wellstone, his wife, their daughter, three members of his campaign staff, and the two pilots. Dr. Joel Schwartz, professor emeritus of political science, and Dr. Gene Nichol, dean of the School of Law, led a fundraising effort to dedicate a garden to Wellstone's memory. Designed by Jill Coleman, UNC-Chapel Hill's first in-house landscape architect, and the University's landscape supervisor Tom Sudderth, the garden at the southwest corner of Murphey Hall provides a shady resting spot where visitors can study, socialize, enjoy the green landscape, and reflect on Wellstone's words, which are inscribed on plaques attached to the three benches.
Created by Jill Coleman and Tom Sudderth (2004).