When education leaders in North Carolina are faced with a problem, they often ask themselves, “What would Bill Friday do?”
William C. Friday, 92, died Oct. 12, 2012 at his home in Chapel Hill. Friday retired as president of the UNC System in 1986. He attempted to establish a common bond among the public schools, colleges and universities in the state.
Perhaps the best way Friday could think to begin his journey was to bind together the two most influential universities in the system: N.C. State and UNC Chapel Hill.
Friday had strong ties with N.C. State and graduated from State College in 1941 with a degree in textiles manufacturing.
He later earned a law degree from UNC-CH before serving as assistant dean of students at UNC-CH from 1948 until 1951.
Friday was officially sworn in as the UNC System president during a ceremony at Reynolds Coliseum in 1957.
“It is with you, the people of North Carolina, that I have entered into solemn compact today. It is to you I have pledged my mind, my heart, my hands and my strength,” Friday said.
As UNC System president, Friday worked to expand the system from three members to its current total of 17 constituent institutions.
The three charter members were UNC-CH, N.C. State College and the Woman’s College of North Carolina, which is now UNC Greensboro.
Before Friday’s tenure as president, state universities were more often combatants than companions.
Friday united schools across the state and helped establish one of the premier public education networks in the United States.
C.D. Spangler, Friday’s successor as UNC System president, said Friday will be remembered as “the most significant education leader in North Carolina of the 20th Century.”
Former Gov. Bev Perdue spoke at Friday’s memorial service in 2012.
“He simply believed in education,” Perdue said. “He believed that for all of us, not some of us, education was the silver bullet that could change our lives. During Dr. Friday’s tenure, the percentage of North Carolinians with at least a bachelor’s degree tripled, because he worked on making that happen.”
Perdue said Friday’s leadership carried on after his retirement as UNC System president.
When faced with a $3.1 billion bond referendum in 2000, she said Friday told her to “do it for North Carolina and do it for our future.”
Friday not only transformed the university system, but also his leadership contributed in the development of Research Triangle Park, revolutionizing the economy of the state, shifting it from a largely agricultural economy to a center for technology and innovation. Former Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Tom Stafford said that Friday’s influence on the state is unmatched by any other North Carolinian.
“There’s nobody else who has impacted N.C. State over that period of time than anybody else in North Carolina,” Stafford said. “He overcame many obstacles in education in North Carolina, and though he didn’t do it alone, he was able to rally everyone around progress.”
In a 2003 interview with N.C. State Magazine, Friday reflected on his years as UNC president, and added his rendition of a famous Winston Churchill line.
“Did I reach out as far as I could? Did I serve as many people as I could? Did I give back as much as I could, and did I do this with conviction?” Friday said. “If you can say those things, answer those things, then you’ll have made a difference in this world. I think that’s why we’re all here.”
