Carolina People: Nate Dove
An arts communicator, he works to put Carolina’s “hidden gem” — the Ackland Art Museum — on full display.
Nate Dove
communications assistant
Ackland Art Museum
7 months at Carolina
What is your role at Carolina, and how does it support the University’s mission?
I work in the communications department at the Ackland, which is our art museum.
I’ve often heard the Ackland described as a “hidden gem.” I try to take away the “hidden” part.
I believe that the Ackland is probably one of the best university museums in the country. The collection is just outstanding. We have a Degas, several Rembrandts, a van Gogh. Not only does it show off the Ackland, but it shows off UNC.
A lot of my role is getting the message out about how awesome the museum is and that as a University we’re more than just science and STEM. We’re a home for the liberal arts and humanities, and we have this amazing art museum.
Describe a typical day in your job.
I do all of our in-house graphic design, photography, videography and social media — anything that falls under the umbrella of content.
Right now, we have several exhibitions coming out that we’ve had to create both print and digital collateral for. I make the banners on the front of the museum. A lot of my job is coordinating with the different offices in the Ackland to get the information that I need to create content for either magazine ads or the website or social media. I make videos for our YouTube channel. And we’re currently creating merchandise for our store for an exhibition opening in September, so we’re designing pencils and notepads.
It’s a big job, and it’s always changing.
How did you land at Carolina?
I graduated in 2015 from the religious studies department here. I thought I would go on to do a Ph.D. in religious studies. That’s where my passion was when I was in undergrad.
I went off to Yale to do a master’s degree, and I met my wife, who wanted to do a Ph.D. as well. We decided it was not good for two people to be doing that at one time; it’s not sustainable, and there’s not a lot of money coming in.
She’s finishing her Ph.D. at the University of Virginia. We moved to the Charlottesville area, and I spent three years working for churches, mostly doing work with students and also doing a lot of the stuff that I currently do with the Ackland.
I didn’t expect, when I was an undergrad, to be a graphic designer or videographer, but working in a church, I had to do all that stuff because I was the youngest person on staff. I learned all these skills, how to use the programs, and really fell in love with it and decided that’s what I wanted to do.
So I got to come back here, which was great for me.
What drew you here as a student?
I was a first-generation student and didn’t come from a long line of people that went to a specific university. Because of that, I had no skin in the rivalry game here. By the time I was a junior and was exploring schools, I only applied to Carolina and N.C. State.
I fell in love with the school after I got here.
I became a huge basketball fan. I loved everything about this place. I like walking through the middle of campus and being in the midst of those buildings that are so old, walking on bricks that people have walked on for hundreds of years.
That’s really why I came back. It’s because I had such fond memories of it as a student, and I was curious what it would be like to work here. It’s great to be on campus again.
What is important to you, in life and in work?
I think art is extremely life-giving. Not just to people who are art historians. Anyone could walk into a museum and see a beautiful painting or a sculpture and their breath could be taken away because of it.
An important part of my work is being with an institution that’s striving to create meaning, and the Ackland does that, and Carolina does that as a whole.
Everything that happens at Carolina feels like it’s giving purpose to students and faculty. I discovered myself here at this University, so I think being back in that environment was important.
I didn’t want to be a graphic designer for Walmart or something. At the Ackland, we have 25 people on staff. I know every single one, and that’s great.
