Alex C. Ewing, UNCSA's beloved Chancellor Emeritus, dead at 86

Alex C. Ewing, Chancellor Emeritus of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA), has died. Ewing died of respiratory failure at Homestead Hills in Winston-Salem during the early morning hours of Wednesday, Dec. 27. He was 86. 

Update: The funeral will be on Tuesday, Jan. 2, at 2 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church at 520 Summit St., Winston-Salem.

Chancellor of the school from 1990 to 2000, when he was named Chancellor Emeritus, Ewing was beloved by students, alumni, faculty, staff, and friends of the school.

“Alex Ewing led the School of the Arts through a decade of extraordinary growth and artistic achievement,” said UNCSA Chancellor Lindsay Bierman. “He loved the school to this day and remained a guiding force and beloved figure on our campus. Long after retirement, he continued to give of himself to benefit future generations of aspiring young artists.

“Personally, I’ve lost a very special friend, mentor, role model, and trusted confidant,” Bierman continued. “He meant more to me and the UNCSA community than I could ever say.”

In 2016, Chancellor Emeritus Ewing gave a $5 million gift to UNCSA, which serves as a lead gift in a comprehensive fundraising campaign now under way. One of the largest gifts in the 50-year history of the school, it will result in the renaming of the largest performance venue on campus: the Alex C. Ewing Performance Place.

Also in 2016, Ewing made a $1 million scholarship gift in honor of his late wife, Sheila Cobb Ewing, who died in November 2015. The Alex and Sheila Ewing Scholarship fund benefits students in each of UNCSA’s five arts schools.

Upon his retirement in 2000, the Ewings were honored with the Giannini Award, UNCSA’s highest honor, named for the school’s founding president. Alex Ewing also received an honorary doctorate from the School of the Arts in 2003.

Though from New York, Ewing continued to live with his wife in Winston-Salem, in Old Salem, after he retired.

One of the most transformative achievements of Ewing’s tenure as Chancellor was spearheading the establishment, in 1993, of a fifth arts school, the School of Filmmaking. The ACE Exhibition complex and marquee, which includes three state-of-the-art motion picture theatres and BB&T Lobby, was named in his honor.

“The idea (of creating a film school) had been around for a while,” Ewing said during an interview for a retrospective. “It was not revolutionary.” 

But while others had only dreamed of the possibilities, Ewing set out to make the film school a reality. “I thought it was imperative to complement the training of the students, particularly those in Drama and Design & Production,” Ewing said. “And there was a strong possibility of students getting jobs in film.”

Today, the UNCSA School of Filmmaking is one of the most successful in terms of graduates finding jobs in the industry, and is one of the most popular for attracting applications.

During the 1990s, Ewing oversaw the school’s successful $25 million capital campaign, primarily for scholarships and endowment, which was increased from $4 million to $15 million under his leadership.  

As Chancellor, Ewing successfully lobbied for the rerouting of Waughtown Street (a major city thoroughfare that divided the campus) and the creation of a new main entrance to the campus on South Main Street. He worked with local and state leaders to form the Southeast Gateway initiative, a neighborhood improvement plan.

Also during Ewing’s tenure as Chancellor, he established the position of Vice Chancellor for Student Life as well as a full-time alumni and career services office. He is credited with increasing enrollment by 40 percent.

He also was instrumental in bringing the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts to the School of the Arts.

A graduate of Yale University, Ewing came to the School of the Arts with a unique background as a former journalist, arts administrator, and owner of one of the foremost herds of champion Polled Hereford cattle in the country. 

He was one of three founding directors and General Director of the City Center Joffrey Ballet, then resident ballet company of New York City Center. He also was founder and President of the Foundation for American Dance.

Ewing resigned his position with the Joffrey in the early 1970s to start his cattle company. He bought a farm in Millbrook, N.Y., and became one of America’s top breeders of Polled Hereford stock. His ACE Land & Cattle Company, which he also owned and operated, had an office in Skiatook, Okla.

Ewing had been associated with the School of the Arts since 1985, when he accepted the position as chairman of the Board of Visitors, succeeding Roger L. Stevens.

In 1988, he established the Lucia Chase Endowed Fellowship for Dance at the school, in memory of his mother, principal dancer with and longtime artistic director of American Ballet Theatre. The fellowship provides funding for a professional dancer to serve as guest instructor in the School of Dance. Lucia Chase Fellows have included such dance icons as Agnes de Mille, Jacques d’Amboise, Irina Baronova, Margot Fonteyn, Arthur Mitchell, Twyla Tharp, Jose Manuel Carreño and Bill T. Jones.

Ewing authored a book, “BRAVURA! Lucia Chase & the American Ballet Theatre,” about his mother’s career with ABT.

Ewing also served as president of the Lucia Chase Foundation, as a member of the Board of Directors of the School of American Ballet, and of the advisory board of The Joffrey Ballet, all in New York.

Ewing was a member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, the Downtown Rotary Club, the Old Town Club and New York’s Century Club. He was on the boards of directors of North Carolina Audubon, Save Our State, the Southeast Gateway Corp. of Winston-Salem, and American Ballet Theatre (honorary). 

He is survived by four children: sons Alexander Ewing Jr. of New York, N.Y., and Eric Ewing of Millbrook, N.Y., daughter Caroline Ewing of New York, N.Y., and stepdaughter Cecilia Clarke of Brooklyn, N.Y.; and eight grandchildren.

by Marla Carpenter