| “If you are going to have a full life, education makes so much difference; not just in terms of your ability to make a living, but also in terms of your ability to see all of what life has to offer.”
-Jim Holshouser
In the final installment of Biographical Conversations with…Jim Holshouser , the renowned public servant candidly recounts his life after the Governor’s mansion, his return to private law practice, his work on the UNC Board of Governors and political and public service as a way of life.
Jim Holshouser accomplished many of his goals as governor, including a demonstration that, “North Carolina could operate for four years with a Republican governor without the world coming to an end and without causing a major political crisis or anything like that.” He is remembered for establishing rural health clinics, studying and reforming governmental operations, laying the plan for a criminal justice information system and reorganizing state government. He also played a major role in the restructuring of the system of higher education in North Carolina, and improving the roads and highway systems in NC.
At the end of his term as governor, Holshouser decided he would not run for re-election. On why he and his wife Pat decided not to run for re-election, Holshouser says, “We were very, very tired by the end of 1976. And we were ready for a break from politics, ready to sort of get out of the limelight and back in the private sector because I never really anticipated a political career.”
The NC state Board of Transportation dedicated highway 321, named in Governor Holshouser’s honor for his efforts to improve the quality of life for North Carolinians.
After his historic term as a Republican governor of North Carolina, Jim Holshouser remained committed to public service. Holshouser served on the University of North Carolina Board of Governors, ran major capital campaigns for Davidson and St. Andrews Colleges, served on boards for economic and community development, and participated in statewide programs for educational enrichment.
In 1987, Holshouser became chairman of the Davidson College $50 million Capital Campaign Fund. He later joined the leadership committee for the “Campaign for St. Andrews,” an aggressive capital campaign for the Presbyterian college with a pledge goal of $12 million over three years.
And in the late 80s, Holshouser was re-elected to the UNC Board of Governors and to the Board of Directors of the United Network for Organ Sharing, the organization designated by the federal government to oversee and establish rules for the distribution of organs for transplants in the United States. In 1992, he served as chairman of the board of the Matter of Life Consortium, Inc., an organization formed to increase statewide education and involvement for organ and tissue transplantation. He was also honorary chairman of the National Kidney Foundation of North Carolina. In 1997, Appalachian State University established a $500,000 endowed professorship honoring the former governor.
Holshouser is currently a practicing attorney and has offices in both in Pinehurst and Raleigh, NC.
Part 3: The UNC Board of Governors: Issues & Video
|
