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Choosing Sitterson’s successor, 1970–1972

How UNC chose a successor to Chancellor J. Carlyle Sitterson between 1970 and 1972: Sitterson’s resignation, the advisory committee and students’ nominations, the delay while the state restructured higher education, and the election and installation of N. Ferebee Taylor.

Chancellor J. Carlyle Sitterson announced in July 1970 that he would return to teaching. A committee chaired by Ike Andrews sent President William Friday three names in 1971, but Friday held back his choice while the General Assembly restructured higher education, and Sitterson stayed through the fall. In December 1971 the trustees chose N. Ferebee Taylor, who took office on February 1, 1972 and was installed on University Day that October.

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The full story

At a Raleigh news conference on July 10, 1970, Chancellor J. Carlyle Sitterson announced that he would leave the chancellorship on September 1, 1971 to teach history full time, and the Tar Heel reported that some trustees had disapproved of his handling of student strikes. The advisory committee President William Friday named to nominate a successor, chaired by state Rep. Ike F. Andrews, met for the first time on September 12, and in October student body president Tom Bello asked students to send it names. By April 1971 the committee had given Friday three names. In July Friday announced that Sitterson would stay through the fall semester at his request, since Friday was holding back his choice until the General Assembly's special session on restructuring higher education settled what powers a chancellor would have. In December 1971, on Friday's recommendation, the trustees unanimously chose N. Ferebee Taylor, the University's vice president for administration and a 1942 graduate, to succeed Sitterson on February 1, 1972. On University Day, October 12, 1972, Friday installed Taylor in Memorial Hall as the fifth chancellor at Chapel Hill, before Governor Bob Scott and former chancellors Sitterson, Robert B. House and William Aycock. Taylor served until January 31, 1980.

In the chronology

Events in this storyline, in date order. See these 8 dated events in the chronology →

  1. Chancellor J. Carlyle Sitterson resigns to return to teaching At a Raleigh news conference on July 10, Carlyle Sitterson announced he would leave the chancellorship on September 1, 1971, to teach history full time as a Kenan professor, saying the University needed a leader with more years to give. The Tar Heel reported that some trustees had disapproved of his handling of student strikes. People: J. Carlyle Sitterson Place: UNC, Chapel Hill (announced in Raleigh)Search the index · The Daily Tar Heel, July 23, 1970, p. 1
  2. The advisory committee to find Sitterson's successor holds its first meeting The committee President William Friday named to nominate a new chancellor met for the first time on September 12; it was to send Friday three names, from which he would choose one for the trustees. The Daily Tar Heel reported Raymond Dawson, Dickson Phillips and Alexander Heard among the names most mentioned. People: William C. Friday Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: Raymond Dawson, Alexander HeardSearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, September 15, 1970, p. 20
  3. Tom Bello asks students to nominate candidates for chancellor With Chancellor J. Carlyle Sitterson returning to teaching, student body president Tom Bello issued an open letter asking students to send names to the Advisory Committee on the Chancellorship, chaired by state Rep. Ike F. Andrews, by November 1. People: Tom Bello, J. Carlyle Sitterson Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: Ike F. AndrewsSearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, October 2, 1970, p. 1 (Bello Urges Ideas For New Chancellor)
  4. The chancellor selection committee sends its nominees to President Friday The advisory committee chaired by Ike F. Andrews gave Consolidated University President William Friday its recommendations for a successor to retiring Chancellor J. Carlyle Sitterson, three names in alphabetical order. Friday was to make his nomination to the trustees on May 24 for a new chancellor to take office September 1. People: William C. Friday, J. Carlyle Sitterson Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: Ike F. AndrewsSearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, April 17, 1971, p. 1
  5. Chancellor Sitterson agrees to stay through the fall while deconsolidation is debated President William C. Friday announced that Chancellor J. Carlyle Sitterson, who had planned to step down September 1, would remain through the fall semester at Friday's request. Friday was holding back his choice from the selection committee's list of three until the General Assembly's special session on restructuring higher education settled what powers a chancellor would have. People: J. Carlyle Sitterson, William C. Friday Place: South Building, UNC, Chapel HillSearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, July 22, 1971, p. 1
  6. University trustees elect N. Ferebee Taylor chancellor at Chapel Hill On President William C. Friday's recommendation, the Consolidated University Board of Trustees unanimously chose N. Ferebee Taylor, the University's vice president for administration and a 1942 Chapel Hill graduate, as chancellor of the Chapel Hill campus, to succeed J. Carlyle Sitterson on February 1, 1972. A trustee committee headed by Ike Andrews had worked on the choice since fall 1970, a search delayed by the fight over restructuring higher education. People: N. Ferebee Taylor, William C. Friday, J. Carlyle Sitterson Place: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill · Also named: Ike AndrewsSearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, January 13, 1972, p. 1
  7. N. Ferebee Taylor serves as chancellor of UNC-Chapel Hill Nelson Ferebee Taylor was the chief administrative officer of the Chapel Hill campus for eight years. His office's records deal with desegregation, the federal Department of Health, Education, and Welfare lawsuit and consent decree, and campus development. People: N. Ferebee Taylor Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: Ferebee TaylorSearch the index · UNC University Archives: Office of Chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Nelson Ferebee Taylor Records #40023 · Also: The Daily Tar Heel, February 1, 1972, p. 4; The Daily Tar Heel, January 29, 1980, p. 1
  8. N. Ferebee Taylor is installed as chancellor on University Day At the University Day convocation in Memorial Hall, President William C. Friday installed N. Ferebee Taylor as the fifth chancellor of the University at Chapel Hill, before Governor Bob Scott and former chancellors Carlyle Sitterson, Robert B. House and William Aycock. Friday also gave the second Distinguished Alumnus Awards to William T. Couch, E. J. Evans, Charles Kuralt, James C. Wallace and Capus M. Waynick. People: N. Ferebee Taylor, William C. Friday Place: Memorial Hall, University, Chapel Hill · Also named: Bob Scott, William Aycock, William T. Couch, Robert B. House, Charles Kuralt, James C. WallaceSearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, October 13, 1972, p. 1

Reading on the places and people in this storyline

No indexed work is about this storyline itself yet. These are about the sites and people its dated events name, those named most often first, so they may discuss the storyline only in part. Follow a link to find a copy or view the material.

About J. Carlyle Sitterson · named in 6 of this story’s entries

Oral history interview with Ashley Davis, April 12, 1974: interview E-0062, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007)

Davis, Ashley · 2007 · University Library, UNC-Chapel Hill

Ashley Davis, who entered UNC in 1968 and joined the Black Student Movement, recalls the 1969 strike by the university's cafeteria workers and the BSM's decision to stand with them when the workers asked. Recorded April 12, 1974, by Russell Rymer for the Southern Oral History Program, the hour-and-a-half interview touches on Chancellor J. Carlyle Sitterson, the Southern Student Organizing Committee and race relations among students on campus. Published online in 2007 by the UNC-Chapel Hill Library in Documenting the American South.

Progress and protests : UNC-Chapel Hill leaders during "the Long Sixties" (1957-1972) : covering chancellors William Brantley Aycock, Paul F. Sharp, and J. Carlyle Sitterson

Roundtree, Lynn · 2024 · Lynn Roundtree

Lynn Roundtree covers the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill between 1957 and 1972 through its three chancellors, William Brantley Aycock, Paul F. Sharp and J. Carlyle Sitterson, set against the student movements of those years. Part of the Coates university leadership series, published by the author in 2024 and running to 926 pages. It is twentieth century campus history.

UNC

The coy mistress caper.

1966 · Time Inc

A four page article clipped from Life, volume 61, number 20, dated November 11, 1966, on a dispute over academic freedom at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The article concerns the instructor Michael Paull, Chancellor J. Carlyle Sitterson, Jesse Helms and Andrew Marvell's poem 'To His Coy Mistress'. Illustrated, with portraits.

UNC

Oral history interview with J. Carlyle Sitterson, November 4 and 6, 1987 interview L-0030, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007).

Sitterson, J. Carlyle · 2007 · University Library, UNC-Chapel Hill

Southern Oral History Program interview with J. Carlyle Sitterson (1911-1995), chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1966, recorded by Pamela Dean on November 4 and 6, 1987, and running an hour and a half. Sitterson recalls the university in the 1960s: student demands over visitation rules, dress codes and privacy, the student movement, and the integration of the faculty. Interview L-0030 in collection #4007, published online in 2007 in Documenting the American South's Oral Histories of the American South.

About William C. Friday · named in 6 of this story’s entries

William Friday

Link, William A. · 1995

Biography of William C. Friday, president of the University of North Carolina system, by historian William A. Link, published by UNC Press in 1995 with the subtitle power, purpose, and American higher education. It covers Friday's career and the history of the university at Chapel Hill and statewide. Part of the Rebecca B. Wall Local History Collection.

William Clyde Friday and Ida Howell Friday

Kyser, Georgia Carroll · 1984 · North Caroliniana Society

Georgia Carroll Kyser's brief biographical tribute to William Clyde Friday and his wife Ida Howell Friday, published by the North Caroliniana Society in 1984. It runs 25 pages with eight pages of plates and illustrations. Friday led the consolidated state university from Chapel Hill, where the couple made their home.

Oral history interview with Bob Scott, April 4, 1990 interview L-0193, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007).

Scott, Robert Walter · 2007 · University Library, UNC-Chapel Hill

Robert W. Scott (1929-2009), North Carolina's governor between 1969 and 1973 and son of Governor Kerr Scott, interviewed by William Link on April 4, 1990 for the Southern Oral History Program. Scott discusses his student years at North Carolina State College in the early 1950s and his dealings with university president William Friday, including the food workers' strike at Chapel Hill, college integration, and the consolidation of the state's universities into the UNC System during his term. One hour thirty-seven minutes. Electronic edition 2007.

Oral history interview with William C. Friday, December 18, 1990: interview L-0049, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007)

Friday, William C. · 2007 · University Library, UNC-Chapel Hill

William C. Friday, UNC system president from 1957 until 1986, was interviewed by Cindy Cheatham in December 1990 about Anne Queen (1911-2005). Queen came to the campus YWCA as associate director in 1956 and led the merged YMCA-YWCA from 1964 to 1975. Friday recalls working with her through the years of student political activity in Chapel Hill and reflects on the place of the Y in university life. About forty minutes; electronic edition from the UNC library, 2007, through Documenting the American South.

About N. Ferebee Taylor · named in 4 of this story’s entries

Chancellor Taylor at Morehead Planetarium

Morton, Hugh M. · 1973

Chancellor N. Ferebee Taylor of UNC-Chapel Hill stands before the sundial at Morehead Planetarium in June 1973, on a color slide by Hugh Morton.

Wider background: UNC & Campus Life · the most widely held histories of the theme this story belongs to; they may not discuss it

Carolina Basketball: A Century of Excellence

Lucas, Adam · 2010 · University of North Carolina Press

Adam Lucas marks one hundred years of basketball at the University of North Carolina in this illustrated history, published by UNC Press in 2010 in association with the athletics department. Chapters follow the program from the game's arrival on campus and the 'White Phantoms' of the Southern Conference through the founding of the ACC, the 1957 season, Dean Smith's changes to the game and the title seasons of 1982, 1993, 2005 and 2009, closing with a century of statistics. 289 pages.

The Blue Divide: Duke, North Carolina, and the Battle on Tobacco Road

Moore, Johnny; Chansky, Art · 2014 · Triumph Books

The Duke and North Carolina basketball rivalry written together by Johnny Moore and Art Chansky, the latter a sports reporter who has followed it since his student days at UNC. The book opens with the 2014 season and moves through recruiting battles old and new, 'Black and Blue Sunday', 'Blood and Roses', and chapters on the rivalry's heroes, leaders and teachers, with a foreword by Jay Bilas and a photo gallery. Published by Triumph Books in 2014, 289 pages.

Miss Mary's Money

Jones, H. G. · 2014 · McFarland & Co.

H. G. Jones follows the fortune of Mary Ruffin Smith (1814-1885), the unmarried heiress whose Orange and Chatham County lands passed at her death to the University of North Carolina and the Episcopal Church. Chapters profile her grandfather Francis Jones, then trace the bequest through a quarrel among Episcopalians over Price Creek, the Chapel of the Cross and the university's buildings. A December 1885 New York Times report called the gift money; Jones shows it was land. Published by McFarland in 2014, 231 pages.

The Chronicles of the Bicentennial Observance of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Tepper, Steven J. · 1998

Steven J. Tepper's chronicle of how the University of North Carolina marked its bicentennial in 1993 and 1994. An appendix reprints the University Day speeches of October 12, 1993, given by Paul Hardin, James B. Hunt Jr., C.D. Spangler, William C. Friday, Charles Kuralt and President Bill Clinton, plus bicentennial addresses by Li Lu, Francis S. Collins and Richard J. Richardson. Published by the university in Chapel Hill, 1998; 284 pages.

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Chapel Hill in Plain Sight

Athas, Daphne · 2010 · Eno Publishers

Twelve essays by novelist Daphne Athas (1923-2020) on the Chapel Hill she knew across the twentieth century. Subjects include Carrboro as 'the Paris of the Piedmont', philosopher Horace Williams, Betty Smith writing in Chapel Hill, Junius Scales, Ab Abernethy and the Intimate Bookshop, Richard Wright's visit, and a set of Chapel Hill murders. Published 2010, 243 pages with illustrations.

What it means to be a Tar Heel: Roy Williams and North Carolina's greatest players

Fowler, Scott · 2010 · Triumph Books

Scott Fowler gathers recollections from Carolina basketball players, decade by decade from the 1950s to the 2000s, organized around Roy Williams and the question in the title. Contributors include Lennie Rosenbluth, Larry Brown, Billy Cunningham, Charlie Scott, Phil Ford, James Worthy, Brad Daugherty, Eric Montross, Vince Carter, Antawn Jamison, Raymond Felton and Sean May, each entry giving position and playing years. Published 2010 by Triumph Books of Chicago, 270 pages, here as an e-book.

The Campus of the First State University

Henderson, Archibald · 1949

Archibald Henderson's history of the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, its buildings and grounds from the founding in the 1790s onward. Henderson, a professor of mathematics and a prolific historian of the university, wrote it in the years around the university's sesquicentennial. Published by the University of North Carolina Press in 1949, 412 pages with illustrations and bibliographical footnotes.

Reviewed in The Journal of Southern History (1949), South Atlantic Quarterly (1950).

The Woman Who Rang the Bell: The Story of Cornelia Spencer Phillips

Russell, Charles Phillips · 1949

Charles Phillips Russell's biography of Cornelia Phillips Spencer (1825-1908), the Chapel Hill writer remembered for ringing the bell of South Building when the university reopened in 1875 after its closure during Reconstruction. It doubles as a history of Chapel Hill and the university. Published by the University of North Carolina Press in 1949, 293 pages with illustrations.

Reviewed in Journal of American History (1949).

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