Skip to content
Orange County Public Library (opens the library’s website in a new tab)

Local figure

William F. Little

William F. Little joined UNC's chemistry faculty in 1956, chaired the department from 1965 to 1970, and later served as vice chancellor for development and public service and as interim provost. From 1957 he also championed the Research Triangle project.

Source: Science History Institute: Oral history interview with William F. Little

Also found in catalogs as William F. (William Frederick) Little.

1929–2009 · Dates from the Library of Congress · Library of Congress authority record ↗

2 works about William F. Little are indexed here, as is one work by Little.

Search these 2 works Research sources View indexed works ↓

Life and Orange County connections

Storylines this person is part of, in date order. Each opens its own page, with its events date by date.

StorylineSmith Hall becomes the Playmakers Theatre, 1850–19821850–1982 · 9 events · Alexander Jackson Davis designed Smith Hall, built from 1850 to 1852 as the university's library and ballroom and named for Benjamin Smith. The Carolina Playmakers made it their theatre in 1925, and it reopened after a 1938 fire. It became a National Historic Landmark in 1974, and a federally funded restoration reopened it in January 1982. StorylineThe Thomas Jefferson Award at UNC, 1965–20041965–2004 · 9 events · UNC's Thomas Jefferson Award, a cash prize paid from the income of a gift, went to the faculty member whose life best reflected the spirit of Jefferson. Winners included historian Fletcher M. Green in 1965, former chancellor William B. Aycock in 1967, physicist Eugen Merzbacher in 1972, Walter Spearman in 1978, political scientist Richard Richardson in 1987 and orthopedic surgeon Frank Wilson in 1992. Law professor Charles E. Daye won it in 2004. StorylineCampus radio: WCAR, WXYC and WUNC-FM, 1969–19941969–1994 · 17 events · The student station WCAR began broadcasting to UNC's dormitories in 1969, and students voted in 1973 to fund its move to FM. The Black Student Movement twice protested to keep the program Black Sounds on its schedule, in 1973 and in 1974. The University's WUNC-FM, silent for lack of money from about 1970, won grants in 1974 and returned to the air as an NPR affiliate in 1976. In 1975 the FCC granted and then set aside a permit for a student FM station after the chancellor withdrew University backing. WCAR went off the air in 1976, and the student station WXYC signed on at 89.3 FM in 1977.

Dated events connected with this person, in date order. See these 10 dated events in the chronology →

  1. William F. Little chairs the chemistry department Little, who had come to Carolina as a chemistry instructor in 1956, became department chair in 1965 at 35. He hired young scholars and nearly doubled the faculty to 30. Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · UNC-Chapel Hill: Chemistry at Carolina: Two centuries forever young
  2. Chancellor Sharp names faculty to a joint faculty-student committee after the Students for Teachers protest After meeting Students for Teachers leaders on May 12, Chancellor Paul F. Sharp named five faculty members to a joint committee with four student-government appointees to explore teaching, research and the student role in academic affairs, and he referred the instructor's dismissal to the Faculty Committee on Hearings. Sharp said the University had not acceded to the students' demands on hiring. People: Paul F. Sharp, William F. Little Place: South Building, UNC, Chapel HillSearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, May 15, 1965, p. 1
  3. Kenan Laboratories open for the chemistry department The chemistry department's Kenan Labs opened in 1971, a building project Little led as chair to give the growing faculty laboratory space. Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · UNC-Chapel Hill: Chemistry at Carolina: Two centuries forever young
  4. Chemist William F. Little is named vice chancellor for development and public service Chancellor N. Ferebee Taylor named William F. Little, professor of chemistry and chairman of the Division of Natural Sciences, to a new post of vice chancellor for development and public service, created in a reorganization to direct development, research administration, the University News Bureau and WUNC-TV. Little was also to run the proposed Continuing Education Center if the General Assembly and the Board of Governors approved it. People: William F. Little, N. Ferebee Taylor Place: University, Chapel Hill · Also mentions: WUNC-TVSearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, March 26, 1973, p. 2
  5. WUNC-FM wins federal and public broadcasting grants to return to the air Vice Chancellor William F. Little announced that WUNC-FM, off the air four years for lack of money to replace worn equipment, would return by late spring 1975 with a $138,000 U.S. Office of Education grant for equipment, a $25,000 Public Broadcasting System grant and $50,000 from the University, including salaries for five full-time professionals. The 50,000-watt station at 91.5 FM was to broadcast in stereo 18 hours a day within 80 miles of Chapel Hill. People: William F. Little Place: Chapel Hill · Also mentions: WUNC-FMSearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, September 24, 1974, p. 1
  6. The National Park Service presents a National Historic Landmark plaque for the Playmakers Theatre Before the University Day exercises, R.J. Rogers of Atlanta, regional landmark coordinator for the National Park Service, presented Chancellor N. Ferebee Taylor a bronze plaque and certificate marking the Playmakers Theatre, the Smith Hall of 1849, as a National Historic Landmark. Interior Secretary Rogers Morton had named it one of 17 new landmarks that March, and Vice Chancellor William F. Little told how the building began as a ballroom the students had sought for years, served as the library and became a theatre in 1925. People: N. Ferebee Taylor, William F. Little Place: Playmakers Theatre (Smith Hall), Chapel Hill · Also named: R.J. Rogers, Rogers MortonSearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, October 14, 1974, p. 1
  7. UNC names Donald M. Trapp director of WUNC-FM Vice Chancellor William F. Little appointed Donald M. Trapp, a UNC graduate then with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in Washington, director of WUNC-FM, to start November 15. Trapp said the rebuilt station would be fully professional and would serve the blind, the aged and other minorities as well as music listeners, guided by a study of its audience and a citizens' advisory group. People: William F. Little Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: Donald M. Trapp · Also mentions: WUNC-FMSearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, October 18, 1974, p. 1
  8. Chancellor Taylor withdraws the University's backing for the student FM station Chancellor N. Ferebee Taylor wrote the FCC retracting Dean of Student Affairs Donald Boulton's January letter accepting ultimate University responsibility for the student FM station, saying WUNC-FM was the University's whole effort in public radio; WCAR manager Gary Rendsburg made the letter public on February 11. WUNC-FM director Donald Trapp said he had raised the matter with University officials, and student body president Marcus Williams said students would keep trying. People: N. Ferebee Taylor, William F. Little Place: UNC, Chapel Hill · Also named: Donald A. Boulton, Donald M. Trapp, Gary Rendsburg, Marcus Williams, Donald Boulton · Also mentions: WUNC-FMSearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, February 12, 1975, p. 1
  9. William F. Little receives the Thomas Jefferson Award Little received the university's Thomas Jefferson Award at the Faculty Council meeting of April 18, 1980, one of eight teaching awards given that day. Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · Carolina Story: William F. Little (1929- ) · Also: The Daily Tar Heel, April 22, 1980, p. 4
  10. William F. Little serves as acting provost Chancellor Paul Hardin appointed chemistry professor William F. Little interim provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs when J. Dennis O'Connor resigned, effective September 1, 1991, to become president of the University of Pittsburgh. Little served until April 1, 1992, when he became interim vice president for academic affairs of the UNC system's General Administration and Garland Hershey took the post on an interim basis until a new provost arrived. Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: John Dennis O'Connor, Paul Hardin, Garland Hershey, Dennis O'ConnorSearch the index · UNC Libraries: Office of the Provost of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Records, 1917-2017 · Also: The Daily Tar Heel, August 19, 1991, p. 1; The Daily Tar Heel, March 13, 1992, p. 3; The Daily Tar Heel, March 31, 1992, p. 3

People named in the same events

People named in the same dated entries as William F. Little, those sharing the most entries first. Each line links one of the shared entries in the chronology, where its source is cited. A shared entry shows these people in the same event, not how well they knew each other.

Indexed works

Works about or by William F. Little. Each links to the institution that holds or provides it. Background reading appears below.

By William F. Little

William F. Little : transcript of an interview conducted by Arthur Daemmrich and Arnold Thackray at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, on 5 January 2007 : with subsequent corrections and additions.

Little, William F. (William Frederick), 1929-2009 · 2009 · Chemical Heritage Foundation

Transcript of an oral history interview with the chemist William F. Little, recorded at Chapel Hill on 5 January 2007 by Arthur Daemmrich and Arnold Thackray for the Chemical Heritage Foundation and issued in 2009 with later corrections. Little taught at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the interview concerns the history of Research Triangle Park and the Research Triangle Institute. 47 leaves.

UNC

About William F. Little

Records of the Office of the Senior Vice President and Vice President for Academic Affairs, 1932-2012 (bulk 1954-1996).

University of North Carolina (System). Office of the Senior Vice President and Vice President for Academic Affairs · 1932

Academic affairs files of the University of North Carolina System, 1932 to 2012 with the bulk running 1954 to 1996, approximately 56,400 items in 73.5 linear feet, University Archives collection 40012. Topics include system curricula, graduate work and administration, name vice presidents such as Raymond H. Dawson and Roy Carroll, and reach as far as the history of basketball at North Carolina State.

Included because: Catalog heading in the UNC record: Little, William F. (William Frederick), 1929-2009.

UNC

Places in this person’s story

Buildings, schools, churches and other sites named in the dated events on this page, the most often named first. The map shows the 1 with a known location.

Map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors. Site locations from the N.C. State Historic Preservation Office survey, Open Orange, Orange County GIS, OpenStreetMap and a few other published sources named on each site’s page; town and community pins show approximate locations.

All places and the county map →

Research sources

Sources and research tools for this person. For ready-made searches of other catalogs, see Search further. Research guide: Trace a family through historical records.

Background

Collections and databases

Local help

Search further

Search other catalogs and collections for this name. Results may include other people with the same name and have not been reviewed by the Friends.

Books about William F. Little

Books by William F. Little

Find copies at other libraries

Photographs, papers, and newspapers

Historical records and collections

Catalog searches use the Library of Congress name heading: Little, William F. (William Frederick), 1929-2009. Historical-record searches use the person’s name and may include namesakes. Links open in a new tab.

Found a book OCPL doesn’t own? You can often borrow it through interlibrary loan at OCPL.

More to discover

Keep Reading Local

The Friends connect people with new library materials, local writers and publishers, and resources documenting Orange County.

Browse New Arrivals → Meet Local Authors → Explore Local Publishers →
Two mice reading back to back against a leaf, with the hand-lettered words Friends of the Orange County Public Library
Illustration by Caldecott Medalist Matthew Cordell, gifted to the Friends 2026