Environmental law scholarship for undergraduates named in honor of outgoing board chair Bryan Brice ’85, ’90
October 10, 2024
UNC Institute for the Environment Board of Visitors Chair Brian Bryce ’85, ’90 and his wife Carson, ’89, ’97 at a Tar Heels Football Game. Photo courtesy of Carson Brice.
A new scholarship at the UNC Institute for the Environment (IE) will give University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill undergraduate students the opportunity to get internship experience in the field of environmental law thanks to the family of outgoing IE Board of Visitors (BOV) Chair F. Bryan Brice, Jr.
Brice began his term as chair in Morehead City in 2019, the last in-person board meeting before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and will end his term in the place where it started. Brice will step down after serving the board for 11 years, with the last five years as chair.
Inspired by Brice’s passion for the environment and his own career path in environmental law, his family wants to pay it forward and make transformational opportunities available to UNC students, ensuring the next generation is well-prepared for the environmental challenges of the future.
“It was at UNC Law School in an environmental law class taught by Professor Donald Hornstein that Bryan found his life-long career and passion,” said Carson Brice, Bryan’s wife. “After graduating from UNC, Bryan served as staff attorney for the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C., and later worked for the N.C. Attorney General’s office handling environmental matters before starting his own firm. This summer scholarship program will offer the next generation of students with an interest in environmental law the opportunity to get hands-on experience in both the public and private sectors.”
Brice’s daughter Minta, a senior environmental science major at UNC-Chapel Hill, is proud of her father’s achievements. She is thrilled that his enduring legacy in environmental protection will inspire and guide future generations.
“Our dad is one of the most selfless, caring and enthusiastic people you will ever meet,” said Minta. “His commitment to the environment, to serving and helping others and to his family and friends is nothing short of awe-inspiring. I often find myself wondering how he has the time in the day to do half of the things he does, and he does it all with a smile on his face. I am so thrilled that his legacy will be carried on in such a fitting way, through helping others learn through experience while contributing to protecting our environment.”
As a board member and chair, Brice was instrumental in efforts to raise critical funding for the Institute in its recording-breaking $12 million Campaign for Carolina and advocating to move the Institute’s headquarters from an off-campus office building in the Europa Center to Carolina Square on Franklin Street, positioning the Institute in a strategic space for carrying out its mission.
“It has been an absolute pleasure to have Bryan serve as board chair during my time as director at the Institute,” said Mike Piehler, director of the UNC Institute for the Environment and Carolina’s chief sustainability officer. “His enthusiasm and instincts for environmental issues are contagious. Under his leadership the Institute reached new heights and has the resources and great plans to move forward. This fund is a wonderful tribute to Bryan‘s decades of success in the environmental space and to his leadership of the Institute and his love of Carolina during an exciting time of growth.”
Brice began his service on the board in 2013 and has been a staunch supporter of the world-class students, faculty and staff, believing in their value to the state and beyond as innovative thinkers and problem-solvers and helping to garner the attention of investors who believe in their work.
The scholarship will give students with an interest in environmental law $5,000 for the summer to pursue an internship with a non-profit organization, private sector business or government agency within North Carolina. Students also will be paired with a UNC Law School alumni mentor by initially using the Institute’s network of former and current IE BOV members.
“I’ve worked with Bryan for more than 18 years,” said Catherine Cralle Jones, senior litigation associate at the Law Offices of F. Bryan Brice, Jr. “Throughout that time, Bryan has made our office a place of opportunity and learning … for young lawyers, summer interns and clerks. Summer after summer, Bryan has nurtured a community where law students and students of all ages learn to be advocates for clients and for the environment. Scores of students mentored by Bryan and our office are now accomplished, effective advocates across North Carolina. This scholarship is a fitting tribute and celebration of Bryan’s commitment to mentorship of the next generation as, together, we work to protect North Carolina’s precious natural environment.”
Brice graduated from Carolina in 1985 with a B.A. in political science and a minor in journalism. He returned to Carolina’s Law School and earned his J.D. in 1990.
Brice and Carson, who is also a UNC ’89 and UNC Business School ’97 graduate, have three children, Stephen, Minta ’25 and Cordelia.