 |
|
| William Friday Timelines |
NC Historical Timelines |
| 1960 |
|
1960:
After a point-shaving incident leads to threats against basketball players in the Dixie Classic basketball tournament, Friday and other members of UNC Administration vote to abolish this sporting event, thereby canceling the "most successful holiday basketball tournament in the country. Considered one of William Friday's earliest challenges as University president, (and also known as one of his most unpopular decisions while at the helm), Friday would later say of this incident, "when human life is threatened, when something is out of control the way this was, there was no alternative, and we did what we were morally bound to do." Nonetheless, the incident was said to have, "widened the gulf between the world of the university and that of the average North Carolinian."
1963:
The Speaker Ban Law, enacted by legislature as the first measure of its kind in North Carolina to prohibit communists to speak on campus, becomes a major challenge during Friday's presidency. Throughout his tenure, Friday battles diligently to get the Speaker Ban Law stricken from the University books. "I always felt that freedom is the basic lesson you have to teach every student," says Friday. Friday campaigned against the Speaker Ban Law and finally had to initiate a lawsuit to get the ban repealed in 1968.
1964:
Under the guise of President Lyndon Johnson, John Gardner and William Friday in establishing the White House Fellows program, a program that allowed college students to work in assistantship positions with the President of the United States. Soon after, Gardner offered Friday a position as assistant secretary of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare that Friday refused, a decision he later regretted.
1968:
In December, the newly formed Black Student Movement presents a list of demands to the UNC administration. Ultimately the students staged a sit-in at Lenoir Hall, and Governor Bob Scott offered to intervene, a proposal, which Friday rejects. However, the next day, Friday came to campus to find state troopers on campus. Friday describes his reaction to their presence and the ultimate resolution of the protest. Of this decision, Friday described this issue with the Governor as "the only time that he and I ever really had a confrontation."
1969-1981
Friday works with university affairs to desegregate the universities but to maintain the traditionally black colleges. While Friday's opinions are not popular and also spark much criticism, he maintains that the balance in education helped both to improve the educational environment in all schools, while helping historically-black colleges to keep their sense of culture. Of this time Friday says, "that was eleven years of a controversy that should have never have taken place in the first place."
|
1961:
Charlotte-born Charlie Sifford, first black to play in a PGA tournament in the South, leads the opening round of the Greater Greensboro Open with a three-under-par 68. The next day, Sifford falters after racial taunts and threats from the gallery. He finishes in a tie for fourth.
1965:
The N.C. School of the Arts becomes the first state-supported resident school for junior high, high school and college students in dance, drama, music, visual art and theater design and production. The idea is conceived by N.C. Gov. Terry Sanford and writer John Ehle.
1969:
U.S. District Judge James McMillan orders Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools to be desegregated.
|
| 1970 |
|
1971:
William Friday's television interview show, NC People premieres on UNC-TV. In his three decades with NC People, William Friday interviews over 1500 North Carolinians. |
1971:
Judge McMillan orders busing to desegregate Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools. |
1972:
The new consolidated sixteen-campus system of the University of North Carolina is inaugurated in July, becoming the capstone of Friday's presidency. |
1972:
Raleigh broadcaster Jesse Helms wins U.S. Senate seat in North Carolina, defeating Democrat Nick Galifianakis, a U.S. House member and Durham lawyer. |
| |
1974:
The first NCAA Final Four in the Carolinas is held in Greensboro. In the semifinal, N.C. State beats seven-time defending national champion UCLA in double overtime, 80-77. The Wolfpack wins the title game by 12 over Marquette. |
1975:
After years of political battles between William Friday and the state's political leadership, East Carolina University receives appropriated moneys for the construction of a new medical school, becoming another example of the challenges Friday faced with restructuring the sixteen campuses he oversees. "The melding of these sixteen diverse campuses into a new university sytem became one of [Friday's] most important legacies." -William Link. |
|
| |
1976:
Jim Hunt wins his first of four elections as N.C. governor and will become the longest-serving governor in North Carolina history.
|
| 1980 |
|
|
1982:
A shot by freshman guard Michael Jordan with 17 seconds remaining gives Dean Smith his first national championship. The Tar Heels beat Georgetown, 63-62. |
1983:
N.C. State, coached by the late Jim Valvano, wins the national championship in an improbable run in the NCAA tournament. |
1984:
Multiple tornadoes tear a 450-mile path through the Carolinas in March, killing 57, injuring 1,250 and causing more than $100 million in damages.
|
1986:
William Friday retires from university leadership after more than 30 years as president of the UNC system. Friday says of his retirement, "I thought I would have been moved on to something else long before then, but the years went by and the issues came in bunches and there was never a convenient time. I had several opportunities to do other things, but I felt my first duty was here and I stayed with it. When 65 came to me it was time to move, and I moved on." |
|
1988:
In retirement, Bill Friday turns his attention to problems of poverty. His speech at this year's meeting of the North Carolina Citizens for Business and Industry (NCCBI), identifying the widespread issues facing North Carolinians today, raised awareness and made a strong impact on the state's business leaders - changing priorities for future growth and expenditures. |
|
| |
1989:
With top winds of 135 mph, Hurricane Hugo slams into S.C. coast near Charleston and cuts destructive swath through Charlotte and beyond. The September storm kills 14 in the Carolinas and leaves $5.9 billion in damages in South Carolina alone.
|
| 1990 |
|
|
1992:
Democrats Mel Watt of Charlotte, Eva Clayton of Warrenton and Jim Clyburn of Columbia are the first black Carolinians elected to Congress since 1901. Clayton is the first N.C. woman -- black or white -- to win a full term to the U.S. House. |
| |
1996:
Two months after Hurricane Bertha hits southeastern N.C. coast, Hurricane Fran wreaks devastation from Wilmington to Raleigh and beyond in early September. Fran kills 22 people and causes $5 billion in damages in North Carolina alone. |
1997:
President Bill Clinton presents William Friday the National Humanities Medal for his commitment to the humanities throughout his long career in academia and public service. |
1997:
Dean Smith records his 877th career coaching victory, eclipsing the record held by Kentucky legend Adolph Rupp. Two victories and seven months later, nine days before preseason practice begins for the 1997-98 season, Smith shocks the basketball world and retires after 36 years at UNC. |
| |
1999:
Thirty years after Judge McMillan orders the desegregation of Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools, a trial begins that challenges the use of race-based pupil assignment as a tool for desegregation.
|
| 2001 |
|
2001:
As the affable host of UNC-TV's longest-running program, Friday celebrates his 30th anniversary.
He continues to welcome a range of interesting North Carolinians, engaging the Tar Heel State's best thinkers, writers, politicians, educators, athletes, entertainers and other newsmakers in one-on-one interviews. |
|
