2002 Prior to an $18 million, three-year renovation of Memorial Hall, the University held a ceremonial closing of the campus landmark.
2004 "The Gift" was dedicated. A mosaic of light-colored brick, it is the campus's first monument to Native Americans. Haliwa-Saponi artist Senora Lynch of Warrenton, North Carolina, created the public art. "The Gift" can be found on the courtyard between the old and new Student Union buildings.
2005 Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. was on campus to deliver the Robert and Helen Siler Distinguished Lecture. Kennedy's talk, which was titled "A Contract With Our Future," was also a part of UNC's Earth Day observance.