William Friday: Power, Purpose, and American Higher Education

by William A. Link

Overview

Few North Carolinians have been as well known or as widely respected as William Friday (1920-2012). The former president of the University of North Carolina remained prominent in public affairs in the state and elsewhere throughout his life and ranked as one of the most important American university presidents of the post-World War II era. In the second edition of this comprehensive biography, William Link traces Friday's long and remarkable career and commemorates his legendary life.
Friday's thirty years as president of the university, from 1956 to 1986, spanned the greatest period of growth for higher education in American history, and Friday played a crucial role in shaping the sixteen-campus UNC system during that time. Link also explores Friday's influential work on nationwide commissions, task forces, and nonprofits, and in the development of the National Humanities Center and the growth of Research Triangle Park.
This second edition features a new introduction and epilogue to enrich the narrative, charting the later years of Friday's career and examining his legacy in North Carolina and nationwide.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781469611860
Publisher:	The University of North Carolina Press
Publication date:	10/12/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	544
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

William A. Link is Richard J. Milbauer Professor of History at the University of Florida. He is author or editor of fourteen books, including Atlanta, Cradle of the New South: Race and Remembering in the Civil War's Aftermath.

Table of Contents

Contents Introduction, xi PART I. Drawn to Power
1. The Barefoot Son of the Mayor of Dallas, 3
2. The Winds of War, 39
3. Ascent to Power, 62
PART II. Defender of the Purpose
4. The Roaring Lions of Reaction, 95
5. The Wolf's Taking Over, 128
6. Restructuring the University System, 159
7. This Is Bill Friday Country, 186
8. The East Carolina Challenge, 221

PART III. The Dilemmas of Power
9. The _Adams_ Court, 249
10. Queen Elizabeth in the Baltimore Orioles Dugout, 277
11. The Chasm May Be Narrow, but It Also Runs Deep, 306
12. Walking Backwards into the Eighties, 338
Conclusion: The Second Education of William Friday, 367
Notes, 387
Bibliography, 459
Acknowledgments, 471
Index, 473
ILLUSTRATIONS Mary Elizabeth Rowan Friday and David Latham Friday, 1919, 5
Dallas School, October 1927, 14
Dallas High School, May 1937, 21
Bill Friday and his father at the Southern Textile Exposition, April 4, 1941, 32
State College commencement, Frank Thompson Gymnasium, June 9, 1941, 35
Ensign William Friday, Spring 1942, 41
U.S. Naval Training School, Notre Dame, June 20, 1942, 47
Friday with Robert Burton House, 66
At Frank Porter Graham's U.S. Senate swearing-in ceremony, March 29, 1949, 72
Friday as Gordon Gray's assistant, 1951, 78
Friday with Luther Hodges, 90
Friday's inauguration as UNC president, May 8, 1957, 96
Ida Friday at Bill Friday's inauguration, May 8, 1957, 97
Friday's UNC administration, 102
Friday and William Aycock, 1964, 113
The Friday family, 1964, 190
Bill and Ida Friday, UNC commencement, June 3, 1963, 192
Friday and John F. Kennedy, UNC Founders Day, Kenan Stadium, October 12, 1961, 201
Friday and Lyndon B. Johnson at the White House, 1968, 207
Carnegie Commission on the Future of Higher Education, Chapel Hill, November 1968, 209
A moment of relaxation, Lake Toxaway, N.C., 1975, 214
With Tom Wicker on _North Carolina People_, 219
Raymond H. Dawson, 279
At the inauguration of C. D. Spangler, 1986, 371
In 'retirement,' 383
Friday and Bill Clinton, UNC Founders Day, Kenan Stadium, October 12, 1993, 385

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

A well-written and professionally crafted biography of a major figure in post-World War II higher education. It will be an essential building block for the sorely needed history of American colleges, professional schools, and universities since the mid-1960s.—American Historical Review



An important resource that will be invaluable when historians begin to write the history of post-World War II American higher education.—History of Education Quarterly



All Tar Heels . . . will benefit from reading this book.—The State



A book that should be read by anyone interested in the role that a president does and can play in heading an institution of higher learning. . . . An engrossing account.—Choice



An exemplary study of a major educational leader.—Southern Cultures



A fascinating account of Friday's reign during a period of explosive growth and unusual challenges in education and in politics.—Charlotte Observer



A work of impeccable scholarship. . . . [Friday] is a figure of near-Promethean stature in the Tar Heel state, and readers of this biography will fully understand why.—Greensboro News and Record



A fascinating account of the inner workings of UNC politics.—Raleigh News & Observer



William A. Link's sensitive portrayal of Friday's pivotal role in the shaping of North Carolina's university system and in the development of higher education nationally is informative and even inspirational.—Journal of American History



Should be required reading for students of modern American history, civil rights policy, public law litigation, and the politics of higher education.—Journal of Southern History

Editorial Reviews

A book that should be read by anyone interested in the role that a president does and can play in heading an institution of higher learning. . . . An engrossing account.—Choice

William A. Link's sensitive portrayal of Friday's pivotal role in the shaping of North Carolina's university system and in the development of higher education nationally is informative and even inspirational.—Journal of American History

Should be required reading for students of modern American history, civil rights policy, public law litigation, and the politics of higher education.—Journal of Southern History

All Tar Heels . . . will benefit from reading this book.—The State

An important resource that will be invaluable when historians begin to write the history of post-World War II American higher education.—History of Education Quarterly

A well-written and professionally crafted biography of a major figure in post-World War II higher education. It will be an essential building block for the sorely needed history of American colleges, professional schools, and universities since the mid-1960s.—American Historical Review

A fascinating account of Friday's reign during a period of explosive growth and unusual challenges in education and in politics.—Charlotte Observer

A work of impeccable scholarship. . . . [Friday] is a figure of near-Promethean stature in the Tar Heel state, and readers of this biography will fully understand why.—Greensboro News and Record

Thanks to William Link and his revised book, we can still hear the echoes of William Friday's voice and be enlightened and inspired by his words and his example.—Chapel Hill News

From the Publisher