Comedian Lewis Black, well known for his rants on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart,” returns to his alma mater this week to headline the 2012 UNC Comedy Festival.

Black joins several nationally touring comics, including Kathleen Madigan and Jon Friedman, as well as local talent for the festival, which goes on all week on the Carolina campus and at DSI Comedy Theater in Carrboro’s Carr Mill Mall.

The festival’s schedule of events:

•  Tuesday, March 20, 8 p.m.: UNC vs. Duke Comedy Challenge at DSI Comedy Theater. $10 public, $3 students.

•  Wednesday, March 21, 3 p.m.: Class With Black. Black will discuss current events and other matters, at Historic Playmakers Theater on the UNC campus.

•  Wednesday, March 21, 7 p.m.: Student Standup Competition, at Historic Playmakers Theater. UNC students will compete for the chance to participate in a standup workshop with Black and to open for the Lewis Black & Friends Show at Memorial Hall.

Thursday, March 22, 7 p.m.: The Monti in the Great Hall of the Carolina Union. Storytellers include author Erica Eisdorfer, Robert Bland (four-time StorySlam winner) and Tom Keller (winner of Carolina’s Funniest Comedian 2010 competition). $10 general public, free for students, but reservations are required. 919-962-1449

•  Friday, March 23, 7 p.m.: Lewis Black & Friends at Memorial Hall. $20 general public, $10 students. memorialhall.unc.edu.

•  Saturday, March 24, 7 p.m.: The Rejection Show. New York comedian Jon Friedman presents a compilation of rejections and failures. Free.