University Day 1985

Saturday, October 12, 1985 marked the 192nd birthday of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. UNC System President William Friday delivered what many believe was his final major address to the university before his scheduled retirement in July. WUNC now presents that address. We gather this morning on the 192nd birthday of the University of Chapel Hill to renew our common dedication, to gather our strength and to move forward in the certain knowledge that this place splendidly serves this commonwealth and it serves the world community of scholarship and learning. For these 30 years it has been my privilege to associate with you in the service of this great institution. These visits must come to an end, but I do ask that for these few minutes we open our

minds and hearts and remembrance of our immediate past and in rededication to the great future yet to be realized. We can recall together that these have been years of upheaval and years of change, but through it all there has been a steady movement toward better performance, greater service and a stronger university, free to realize its mission and love and respect it as alma mater. Some sometimes says that on occasions like these there should be some recitation of statistics, but not today. I have only one and I came upon it yesterday and I share with the members of the faculty because together each commencement when we present the diplomas, we affirm the educational

excellence of that class and it might interest you to know that in these years together we have signed 118,756 diplomas. But together we have carried forward the desegregation process seeking to provide the equal opportunity that has not been accorded, the minority citizens of our state. Much has been achieved, but this great task is not complete and it's going to require our continuing best effort to fulfill our moral and our constitutional responsibilities. The experience of student unrest in the 1960s reaffirmed the importance of student self-government here, long so much a part of this place. One of the destructive damaging manifestations was experienced here because students acted

responsibly while exercising their freedom of expression. And that freedom was made stronger by the struggle over the speaker band law which brought a renewed deeper commitment to freedom that has remained firm here for nearly two decades. And it has required that kind of freedom to underpin the great teaching and the distinguished scholarly research and inquiry and the kind and quality of public service given to our people that are indeed the hallmark of this university. Happily each year recognition is paid the great teachers among us through a series of awards and regional and national recognition. And through peer group review and evaluation, the quality of research activity and of the university itself have been measured against national norms and found strong. It is by constant effort that we have been able to maintain here, the splendid faculty

whose work has made the university at Chapel Hill known the world over as a major research university. Now that great strength was a major force in creating the research triangle through which the state established the first national model of the effective union of corporate government and university leadership to build a distinguished center of research and discovery. And the National Humanity Center, the Microelectronics Center, and now a biotechnology program among other endeavors are also anchored by this demonstrated competence. Within the dramatic growth in numbers of students, we have experienced a rapid rise in the number of young women enrolling at Chapel Hill. Their presence here and their level of preparation have been of major significance and value in making yet another step forward in our society toward the achievement of equal opportunity.

And the building of the great health science complex here at the area health education centers across the state have served as a national model in the education of health professionals and in the delivery of health care helping to bring to a fulfillment. The commitments made by this university in the 1940s in the good health program. And the use of public television by the schools and the many fresh joint adventures launched in concert with the public schools maintains here the tradition and the essential inseparability of this university and the public schools in Chancellor Fordham and his colleagues deserve high commendation for their many initiatives here. But most important of all, we've seen generations of our students leave this place and enter into their lives of productive service by their works and their contributions.

The greatness of Chapel Hill is seen and recognized across this state and across our country. And with each new generation of students, our commitment to them and to this place is renewed. Now there's much more that could be said about these years, but let these comments suffice please to make the point I wish to make today. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill represents a splendid manifestation of the hope and faith our people hold for the future. Whatever is required to enhance it, to guarantee its freedom, to ensure its resources, and to make certain the opportunity for it to continue to give responsible, creative and determined leadership in the continuing effort for a better society.

There is required to do these things, fellow alumni and fellow citizens, must be done. Why? This is the only way that we can ensure the future of North Carolina and the future of this university as a respected member of the world community of learning and scholarship. Our commitment to this commanding principle has guided this university and many struggles over these years, and especially in dealing with the structure and governance of universities and the political climate in which we must live. Over these last three decades there have been dramatic changes in the structure and governance of this university. We've grown from a tight little family of three to a large family of sixteen. And sometimes it is said that the ability of this institution to make its own decisions, to chart its own destiny, has been compromised.

That feeling is natural, and it is certainly fortified by the web of regulations and the pressures for accountability that are so much a part of us. But in retrospect, we all know that statewide governance and planning is essential if we're going to make the wisest use of our resources. And as a public university generously supported by public funds, we must be responsive to state government, and we must be prepared to account for our use of public resources. By the same token, it is imperative that our lawmakers and our political leaders understand that governance is a means to an end and not an end in and of itself. Within this system of governance that we have evolved then, can this university continue to flourish and maintain its essential freedom? I believe it can, and I believe this system is one in which that freedom is not only possible,

but is indeed nurtured. And I believe our structure in this Board of Governors have established and maintained a sound balance between the necessities for statewide responsibility and institutional freedom. More important, the Board and we who serve it are determined to protect that freedom against excessive intrusions. This system of governance recognizes and acts upon the clear formal perception of the special place of the University of Chapel Hill, the place it holds by virtue of its established quality and primacy of status among all educational enterprises. Structural arrangements and statutory declarations can do much to ensure and protect an institution and they should be in place. I believe, however, that the extent to which the University of Chapel Hill will continue

to have and to hold its rightful special place will depend in some stature part on the University itself and on the quality of performance by those of us privileged to serve it. We have responsibilities to meet and we have duties to perform and it's going to depend upon our capacity and our willingness to lead the changing society in which we live and to sustain this institution's role as the respected servant of all of our people. Over the last quarter century, I've witnessed a growing appreciation flowing from the citizens to this University because the people of North Carolina believe something worthy and important and of great benefit happens here. They see results, they experience the institution's impact and they're grateful for its services. The evidence is clear then that a major research university not only can exist but can flourish

and grow within a state system such as ours. And I believe the secret has been the loving, caring relationship between the University and thoughtful North Carolinians now on abiding trust to be deeply treasured. The question then is what of the future of this great place? Well, there are signs and conditions out there that must concern us some with which we must need. The absence of a forceful and aggressive national policy implementing a declared first priority status for the strength and quality of our country's national educational enterprise, the lack of that is damaging and costly to this country. The gains of a few years ago are not being maintained and the nation suffers. The great research universities of the country are vital to the economic growth we must attain.

They provide the technology, the basic research and discovery as well as the highly trained manpower that are essential to the nation's defense and increasingly the scholars and scientists are applying their knowledge and their intellectual power to solving the serious social problems we have. In one dimension distinguished research universities are the instrument by which we achieve and fulfill our declared national purposes. Therefore, their well-being is indeed a major national concern. As federal assistance has been reduced if not lost altogether, the states have begun to assume some additional funding obligations and fortunately for the University at Chapel Hill. This response has been solid and encouraging. Clearly, however, the financing of higher education will command further attention and study and possibly require greater sacrifice by us all to maintain the great quality of this

institution. Fourth Carolina is changing and it's growing and the rate of change in growth likely will accelerate. Transition growth will be substantial. Industrial and corporate growth will rest heavily on the discovery and dissemination of knowledge, the information industry so-called and personal preparation is certainly mandatory. The transition being experienced in agriculture and the modernization of our basic industries and the protection of the environment and natural resources are immediate issues to be resolved by us. The report of the Commission on the Future of North Carolina documents these trends and patterns of change that are already in place. Now to keep pace and to lead, the University at Chapel Hill cannot hold to the status quo nor can it regard change as a distressing inconvenience.

Neither is it time to ring our hands. The state looks to this university for leadership and the gathered strength of this place is now and must continue to be utilized to give direction and sound guidance to the growth and transition we are experiencing. This is our duty and it should be made. Another circumstance we need to be mindful of is the fact that higher education today has become the arena for study in America and this phenomenon touches us directly. Attention has shifted somewhat from the elementary and secondary schools to the baccalaureate and graduate institutions. As of this hour, national studies of higher education are being sponsored by the Education Commission of the States, the National Governors Conference, the Carnegie Foundation and more studies are promised.

Here in North Carolina, we have just been studied by the Governor's Efficiency Commission. We are now under study by the Smith Reynolds Foundation and committees and commissions of our General Assembly are inquiring into a wide range of activities. Now I would remind those who come for these purposes. At 14 years ago, the Board of Governors was established by the General Assembly to plan and develop a system of public higher education for this state and its role and function should be fully respected. It has built a system acknowledged to be one of the best anywhere and I urge that all be slow to tamper with this method of governance under which the University at Chapel Hill and our other public universities have benefited and prospered so much. In our appropriate effort to cut taxes and public expenditures are to create new forms of structure.

Great care must be exercised, less we substantially weaken. The greatest asset the state of North Carolina possesses and that's its educational system and I include the public schools and the community colleges and our private friends in that state. The fact is the University has been under study almost every year for the last 20 and we welcome legitimate inquiries and we welcome visits. But I want to point out that sometimes studies are used as a means of obtaining elements of control over universities by advocating excessive demands for accountability and by the imposition of unnecessary reporting requirements and the life. Institutional freedom is also attacked by the enactment of speaker band laws and the making of charges relating to religious and political beliefs and the professional

competence of our university personnel sometimes is questioned. Just last week came the story announcing secret monitoring of hundreds of professors to do what to promote greater balance and accuracy in the classroom. Friends these forces will grow in power and strength if we do no more than remain solid and deplore what we see in here and sometimes experience. We all know that the vitality of our democracy rests in great measure upon expressed reason opposition and debate and those of us here know something else. We know that freedom of inquiry, freedom to speak the truth as one finds it, freedom to publish the result of scholarly and scientific inquiry, freedom to discuss and debate ideas.

These freedoms are fundamental to the very existence of this university. I believe there is a vast reservoir of goodwill and strength out among North Carolinians that underpins this place and I believe these citizens believe in a university where these freedoms are exercised responsibly and with courage and with humility. And I believe this is true because they know successive generations of students have been educated here to provide leadership that motivates the best and not the worst within us. And because they do seek to build a stronger, better society for all of our people. This is why vigilance is required of us all, unless these fundamental freedoms be lost. In bringing these remarks to an end, please permit me a personal word.

Like all other veterans of World War II, I and I came back to Chapel Hill in February of 1946 with all of our worldly possessions in the trunk of a small, two-seated automobile. I was enrolling in the School of Law. Ice was on the ground here then and the fierce cold wind was blowing everywhere. Our living quarters consisted of an attic we had managed to rent. I opened the text for my first class in property law and found the first five cases there written in Latin. You're right, I had an attended Chapel Hill as an undergraduate and I couldn't read a word. So you can see I was off to a brilliant start. Later that week, I renewed a friendship with William A. Carp and with William D's

with whom I had associated in student government in earlier years and life became more cheerful. These ensuing years have grown swiftly and they have afforded a busy and exciting, and sometimes stressful life for Adam and me. But we know that it has been a very privileged existence because this university commands respect everywhere. No doors closed and no opportunity is denied. I appreciate the four barrens you've shown me as I was allowed to grow and develop in this position. And I'm grateful for your good will, expecting no more than I had to give in being tolerant of my many mistakes and errors of judgment. As we worked together, overcoming every adversity and in realizing every achievement.

I really wish there was some way I could repay the splendid men and women with whom I have worked in my own office and their wonderful people. Or each of the chancellors who've served Chapel Hill so well and with such uncommon devotion. Or some way that I could repay the many things done by dear friends such as those of you here this morning and colleagues like all of you to make this journey a happier one. If in turn I have been helpful or useful as we've worked together, then I'm grateful. The University at Chapel Hill is a special place. Now I do not say that in a spirit of arrogance. I say it because for most of us, it was a place of self-realization and personal development.

And we hold very precious and dear those memories of those very happy years. We learned and we grew and we later understood that we must give back to society the very best within us to improve the well-being of those around us who are less fortunate. Here we also learned that respect for the dignity and worth of every person and the protection of their rights and freedoms, a fundamental to our society and essential to our own well-being. Indeed we learned to be useful and responsible people and we began to understand that profound truth that sustains life and that is that love one for another is indeed the greatest commandment of all. And through this personal commitment of love and service and caring

under a divine providence lies our real hope for peace among men the world over, men and women. This is the spirit of Chapel Hill that Ida and I know. So for her and our daughters, Mary and Betsy, who are here this morning, we thank you for the best years a family could ever hope for. We thank you for being here this morning and we say to you with tiny Tim, God bless us every one. Heartless I. University of North Carolina's system president William Flyday with the University Day address at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I'm Femme and Tchel Henderson for WUNC.