Madison Taylor

William C. “Bill” Friday was born in Virginia, but he was North Carolina through and through. But that simple truth really only scratches the surface of a vast legacy left by one of the towering giants in education not only in our state, but in the nation.

Friday, who headed the University of North Carolina system for 30 years before settling in as its president emeritus, died Friday at age 92. And even though he suffered periods of poor health over the past couple of years, he remained a central figure for higher education in North Carolina while also continuing to host the popular “North Carolina People” on UNC-TV.

Friday’s list of accomplishments is truly extraordinary. He served as president of the 16-campus university system from 1956 to 1986 — taking the job at age 36 — and is considered a pioneer  and shaper of the modern, multi-campus system now common in nearly every state. During his tenure, the university system grew and achieved a national reputation for academic excellence and innovation in higher education. Evidence of Friday’s influence can be seen statewide on university campuses from Asheville to Wilmington. Part of his legacy is a 10-year fight with the federal government to protect programs at historically black universities and colleges, a move that kept a college education readily available to all.

He was a consolidator who forged a sense of community in the university system, friends and colleagues said. It fact, it could be noted that few if any ever had anything bad to say about Bill Friday. That itself is an amazing achievement in a a critical age when almost everyone has detractors.

“He was part of the conscience of North Carolina,” Virginia Newell told the Winston-Salem Journal. Newell met Friday through her work representing Winston-Salem State University to the UNC system. “He showed that by trying to include a lot of people, black and white, young people and older people. He loved to bring out the good in North Carolina.”

Friday embraced advancements in higher education on private campuses as well. He was awarded Elon College’s first honorary doctorate degree in 1959, something he always remembered. As Elon continued to grow, Friday encouraged its development, said Leo Lambert, president of what is now Elon University.

“Bill had been around for a very long time. He’d seen the transformations in Elon over the decades and he wanted to help us be better. He did that by introducing us to people and foundations that were helpful to the university,” Lambert told the Times-News.

Born in 1920 in Raphine, Va., Friday’s family moved to North Carolina when he was a chilld and he grew up in Gaston County. He graduated from what would become N.C. State University with a degree in textile manufacturing. Later, after a stint in the Navy, he got his law degree from the University of North Carolina and joined school’s administrative staff. While in that role, he was instrumental in establishing the Atlantic Coast Conference. His interest in athletics didn’t wane over the years, even though he expressed concern over the potential damage campuses face from it. In retirement, he helped found the Knight Foundation Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics.

Friday navigated university politics, presided over the university system during years of growth and upheaval, navigating treacherous waters with a style described as amicable and understated – and most of all, smart and forward-looking.

“He was one of America’s great educational statesmen,” said Elon President Emeritus Earl Danieley. “The man had an incredible vision for the University of North Carolina, what it could do and what it could mean for the state. He worked tirelessly to accomplish that. He was the University of North Carolina personified.”

Friday’s biographer, William Link, author of “William Friday: Power, Purpose and American Higher Education” said there are few college administrators of Friday’s caliber today.

“He was very unlike the kind of university presidents we have now, who are CEO types and no one has access. Bill Friday, everyone had access to. But he managed it in a very cool way,” Link told the Winston-Salem Journal.

Like we said, North Carolina through and through.

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