The Norman Block Award

The Norman Block Award

The Norman Block Award has a long history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, honoring the Block family’s commitment to the University, education and the development of future generations of professionals.

The UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School Award

Past recipients of the award.

The Norman Block Award at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School was established in 1981 by alumnus Norman E. Block (MBA/JD ’78) in honor of his father, Norman E. Block Sr. It is presented annually at graduation to the MBA student who finishes first in the Full-Time MBA Program’s graduating class.

“True success is best achieved through the day-to-day self-improvement and betterment of one’s knowledge and skills, for this is the cornerstone of my father’s personal philosophy – that which I seek to honor,” said Block.

Norman E. Block Sr.

The award honors the legacy of Norman E. Block Sr. (BA? ’28), who graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in 1928. While at UNC, he played both varsity football and baseball, earned Phi Beta Kappa and was active in numerous campus organizations. He later earned his JD from Harvard Law School and returned to his hometown, Greensboro, North Carolina, where he became a highly respected tax attorney.

Block was among the early attorneys to practice exclusively in the field of taxation. He also devoted substantial time to educating and mentoring current and future generations of tax practitioners. He lectured at tax institutes sponsored by New York University, the University of Texas and the North Carolina Bar Association, and frequently lectured at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Wake Forest law schools.

He delivered the first Marvin K. and Florence T. Blount Lecture on Estate Planning and Taxation at UNC and contributed to legal publications in the fields of corporate law and taxation.

The Law School Award

Norman E. Block Sr.’s connection to UNC also lives on through an award he founded at the Law School established in 1955.

The award is distinctive because it doesn’t simply recognize the student with the highest cumulative GPA. Instead, it also recognizes growth, resilience and improvement, particularly a student who might have encountered academic challenges early in law school but demonstrated significant improvement over time.

Norman E. Block 

Norman E. Block

Block has had a longstanding connection to Carolina. He has been a member of the faculty since 1980 and is a three-time graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, earning degrees in English, law and business administration. He himself finished first in his MBA class.

Since 1982, Block has presented the Norman Block Award to the top MBA student in each graduating class at UNC Kenan-Flagler. The award recognizes exceptional academic achievement while also reflecting a broader emphasis on the personal qualities and sustained effort that contribute to a student’s success.

Block is broker-in-charge of Blocks & Associates Realty.