Construction on a Habitat for Humanity house to be built in the memory of a UNC-Chapel Hill fraternity president shot dead last year will get underway Saturday.

The parents of Courtland Smith will be present for a groundbreaking ceremony for the house on Gracie Circle, which will be the eventual new home for two UNC employees and their six children.

Smith was shot dead by an Archdale police officer in August following a showdown on the side of the highway. The shooting was later ruled justified, with Randolph County District Attorney Garland Yates finding that Smith had advanced on the police in a threatening manner and had told a 911 operator he had a gun.

The shooting jolted the UNC community, where Smith was held in high regard. Smith's fraternity, Delta Kappa Epsilon, took on the Habitat for Humanity project as a way to create something positive out of Smith's death.

“We see this project as an important opportunity for the DKE House to contribute meaningfully to the community and give the chapter, parents, and alumni a constructive way to cope with the enormous loss we suffered after Courtland’s death last August," said Davis Willingham, the incoming DKE president, in a press release. "His big heart and vibrant personality touched us and we feel this is a significant effort to honor his life, selfless nature, and affinity for service.  Building the house will benefit the Wei family and ensure Courtland’s legacy as an exemplary leader.”

The home will house Lion and Zar Ree Wei, two UNC housekeepers, and their six children.
 UNC-CH Chancellor Holden Thorp will join Smith's parents, Pharr and Susan Smith of Houston, TX, at the groundbreaking.

The house will be built under the guidance of Habitat for Humanity of Orange County.
  More than $60,000 of the $75,000 necessary for construction has already been raised. 

Bank of America alone contributed $25,000 and the fraternity hopes to raise more than the needed $75,000.  The 16-weekend construction effort itself begins January 30.

_{Photo credit: Daily Tar Heel}

Writing on his blog, UNC Chapel Hill Chancellor Holden Thorp espouses the virtues of fraternity and sorority life at Carolina.

Though he wasn't in a fraternity while a student at Carolina, Thorp writes that he owes much to the Greek system. His father was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon, and that's where he met Thorp's mother.

The Greek system has taken some knocks lately, particularly related to the strange death of DKE President Courtland Smith, who was shot dead earlier this year by Archdale police after driving and acting erratically on the interstate. Police thought he had a gun.

Here's what Thorp writes about Smith:

We may never fully understand why Courtland died. We do know that there’s no indication that Courtland had been using anything other than alcohol the night he died. That was consistent with what our Student Affairs folks told us about Courtland – that he was a good kid who was working with them to improve Greek life and make his fraternity a safer place.