Key local figure
J. Carlyle Sitterson taught history at UNC in Chapel Hill from 1935, became dean of the School of Arts and Sciences in 1955 and led the campus as chancellor from 1966, through desegregation efforts, protests against the Vietnam War and campus unrest. Born in Kinston in 1911, he retired as a Kenan Professor of History in 1981 and died in 1995.
Source: UNC Libraries: J. Carlyle Sitterson Papers, 1930s-1999s
Also found in catalogs as J. Carlyle (Joseph Carlyle) Sitterson.
On the Friends’ Local Authors roster as J. Carlyle Sitterson → · Library of Congress authority record ↗
26 indexed records are connected with this person, and the index includes one work by J. Carlyle Sitterson.
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Related works found in catalogs and archives across North Carolina. Each links to the institution that holds or provides it.
Ashley Davis arrived as a student at University of North Carolina in 1968 and became involved with the Black Student Movement (BSM). Still in its infancy, the BSM was a growing force on campus, and in 1969, the food wor…
Address to Chapel Hill Historical Society by Dr. J.C. Sitterson "Industrial Development of North Carolina"
Unknown event (possibly graduation) at "Carmichael Gymnasium and Auditorium" on UNC-Chapel Hill campus; seated in first row behind speaker (3rd from the top) is Dr. … Carlyle Sitterson
President John F. … Carlyle Sitterson, Sec. of Commerce Luther Hodges, UNC President Emeritus Frank Porter Graham, Former UNC President Gor
President John F. Kennedy speaking at a podium at Kenan Stadium at the University of North Carolina. … Carlyle Sitterson, UNC Chancellor William Ay
Dated events connected with this person, earliest first. See the whole chronology →
Sitterson, who had begun teaching history at UNC in 1935 while completing his doctorate, became dean of the School of Arts and Sciences in 1955. He was appointed vice-chancellor in 1965.
Sitterson was the chief administrative officer of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from February 16, 1966 to January 31, 1972. His records as chancellor cover desegregation and the federal HEW lawsuit, the Speaker Ban law, protest against the Vietnam War and campus unrest.
The day after the full board of trustees adopted speaker regulations on February 28, Paul Dickson and leaders of the Carolina Forum, the YMCA, the YWCA, the Daily Tar Heel, the Di-Phi, Students for a Democratic Society and the Carolina Political Union formally told Acting Chancellor J. Carlyle Sitterson that Wilkinson was invited for March 2 and Aptheker for March 9. Wilkinson spoke to the Duke Bar Association in Durham that day.
People: J. Carlyle Sitterson · Paul Dickson III · Herbert Aptheker · George E. Nicholson III · Robert S. Powell Jr. · James A. Medford · Eunice H. Milton · John E. Greenbacker Jr. · Eric Van Loon · Gary Waller · Stuart Matthews
That evening campus security officer Arthur Beaumont, acting on the chancellor's orders, kept Wilkinson, Paul Dickson and about 200 students out of Carroll Hall, and the group moved to the Hillel House on Cameron Avenue, where almost 350 people heard Wilkinson speak on HUAC. He told them a test case with several plaintiffs would be prepared at once.
People: J. Carlyle Sitterson · Paul Dickson III
After Acting Chancellor J. Carlyle Sitterson refused him campus speaking privileges, Frank Wilkinson spoke for about 10 minutes from the Franklin Street sidewalk while about 1,200 students and faculty stood across the low stone wall on McCorkle Place. Student body president Paul Dickson introduced him and predicted a court case.
Part of Speaker Ban controversy, 1963–1968 · 11 events
People: Frank Wilkinson · J. Carlyle Sitterson · Paul Dickson III
Paul Dickson and the heads of Carolina Forum, the YMCA, the YWCA, Di-Phi, the Carolina Political Union and SDS wrote to Chancellor J. Carlyle Sitterson asking that Wilkinson speak on March 23 and Aptheker on March 25, or on later dates.
Part of Speaker Ban controversy, 1963–1968 · 11 events
People: J. Carlyle Sitterson · Paul Dickson III · George E. Nicholson III · Robert S. Powell Jr. · James A. Medford · Eunice H. Milton · John E. Greenbacker Jr. · Eric Van Loon · Gary Waller · Stuart Matthews
Minutes after Sitterson refused the students' request, Paul Dickson and eleven other student leaders, joined by Wilkinson and Aptheker as plaintiffs, sued Sitterson, President William C. Friday and the trustees in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. Attorney McNeill Smith took the case without fee.
Part of Speaker Ban controversy, 1963–1968 · 11 events
People: J. Carlyle Sitterson · Paul Dickson III · Herbert Aptheker · William C. Friday · George E. Nicholson III · Robert S. Powell Jr. · James A. Medford · Eunice H. Milton · John E. Greenbacker Jr. · Eric Van Loon · Gary Waller · Stuart Matthews
A three-judge federal court in Greensboro ruled North Carolina's Speaker Ban law unconstitutional because it was too vague. The suit had been filed in March 1966 by UNC student leaders and the two barred speakers, Frank Wilkinson and Herbert Aptheker, and UNC's leaders hoped the ruling ended the long controversy.
Part of Speaker Ban controversy, 1963–1968 · 11 events
People: J. Carlyle Sitterson · Paul Dickson III
With the lake nearly empty, the university spent about $100,000 on a pipe connecting Chapel Hill to Durham's water system and bought Durham water. Lawn watering and car washing were banned under penalty of fine, and there was concern that classes would be suspended before levels recovered by the end of 1969.
People: J. Carlyle Sitterson
On February 23, 1969 food service workers at UNC's Lenoir Hall left their counters and sat down at the cafeteria tables, and by the next morning nearly 100 dining hall employees had refused to report for work. The strike ended on March 21 when the University agreed to raise the hourly minimum from $1.60 to $1.80, pay roughly $180,000 in back wages, and appoint a Black supervisor.
Part of UNC food workers’ and housekeepers’ struggles, 1969 to 1996 · 5 events
People: Mary Smith · Elizabeth Brooks · J. Carlyle Sitterson · Robert W. Scott · Julius L. Chambers
About 250 of UNC's 275 cafeteria workers, organized as the UNC Non-Academic Employees Union, struck SAGA Food Services on November 7, 1969 over pay, job reclassification, and the firing of workers for union activity. They voted on November 21 to affiliate with AFSCME, and the strike was settled in December after Ralph Abernathy visited the strikers and Black students from across the state threatened to converge on the campus.
Part of UNC food workers’ and housekeepers’ struggles, 1969 to 1996 · 5 events
People: J. Carlyle Sitterson
After the Kent State shootings and the invasion of Cambodia, UNC students began a class boycott on May 5, 1970, and more than 4,000 people marched through downtown Chapel Hill the next day. Classes were not cancelled; the faculty instead voted to let striking students take grades on work completed or finish courses later.
Part of UNC’s student strike against the Vietnam War, May 1970
People: J. Carlyle Sitterson
The Department of Computer Science moved into its new building over the summer of 1987, and the formal dedication of Sitterson Hall, named for former chancellor J. Carlyle Sitterson, was held on University Day with Sitterson present and former governor Hunt giving the main address.
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