John Jordan's Remarks Honoring Bill Friday

Article Date: Thursday, January 14, 2010

President Wester, members and friends of the Fiday family, governors, distinguished guests:

It is a happy day indeed when a very old lawyer can come into one of the temples of his profession, along with brothers and sisters at the bar, among them cherished friends, and have a small part in saluting one of our own who is one of North Carolina’s most respected sons, William Clyde Friday, president emeritus of the University of North Carolina.

You already know of his legendary service as President during which time he led the institution to the pinnacle of its reputation and prestige. When he retired from his presidency he laid down one worthy burden only to take up another. He became the Chief Officer of the Kenan Trust which over the years has done so much for education in North Carolina. Bill Friday continued that great mission and under his leadership saw it expand. But even after that he didn’t quit as we are pleasantly reminded when we watch his weekly television interviews, a program that would have made legendary Tar Heel Edward R. Morrow proud.

Whiteville attorney Carlton Williamson, left, and John Jordan.

Today, I primarily want to briefly share with you some personal recollections from the 65 years since Bill Friday walked into Albert Coates Criminal Law classroom beginning the 1945 law school term, sat down beside me, held out his hand and said, “Hello, I’m Bill Friday.” Then and there was forged a bond that has survived for six and a half (sometimes stormy) decades, a bond that I proudly share now with all of North Carolina.

It is well and good for us to recognize in this particular place that Bll Friday is a lawyer and a good one. I have personally seen that as he valiently defended the university’s independence when it was encroched upon by the federal government, when he rushed to the General Assembly to protest the surprise passage of the infamous Speaker Ban bill; when he courageously discontinued the very popular Dixie Classic basketball tournament following a point shaving scandal. On these and other occasions he used well his ability as a lawyer blended with his innate personal diplomacy. When Bill Friday made his choice of a career, higher education’s gain became the legal profession’s loss.

He was a good law student, too, studying under a law faculty known to several generations of North Carolina lawyers as the “great seven” which included, in addition to Coates, such scholars as the veteran Dean Wettach, Freddie B. McCall, “master of the rule in Shelly’s Case,” and who took great pride in his skill playing tympany in the North Carolina Symphony. There were also Brandis, Dalzell, and Baer as well as Professor Millard Breckinridge, who taught us the law of negotiable instruments. But none of us had any idea what a skilled personal negotiator he was until Justice Susie Sharp’s biography was published last year.

But what stands out in the law school years was the small study group of which Bill Friday was a part. Among them with Friday were, William Aycock, William Dees, and Dickson Phillips. It is significant that not a one of these magnificent men, throughout their long and fruitful careers ever stopped serving the people of North Carolina through the University they revered. Bill Friday, of course, became president of the University and led its greatest expansion; Bill Aycock became professor of law, the Chancellor of UNC Chapel Hill at one of its most difficult times, then returned to the classroom where he was repeatedly recognized for his exceptional teaching abilities; William Dees, an eminent estates lawyer from Goldsboro, who was the first chairman of the Board of Governors and who with President Friday made the monumental contribution of implementing the present system of university governance, and Dickson Phillips, who came to the law faculty from the courtroom, became dean of the law school before being named to the United States Court of Appeals to be recognized there for his erudite and skillfully written opinions.

Could there be a more wholesome beginning for this man who was to lead the University so far and contribute so much?

Ida and Bill Friday enjoy John Jordan's remarks.

But Bill’s and my joint efforts to make the law our mistress didn’t end there. Then came the testing time: the three-day examination for admission to the bar. We shared a room at the old Sir Walter Hotel in Raleigh for the examination. At night we would discuss the questions we had faced that day and try to anticipate those coming on the morrow. I was very anxious. You might say nearly “ranting and raving” anxious. Not so Bill Friday. In the calm and casual manner that became his trademark he gave me assurance that we were alright, that we would pass the examination and upon receipt of the feared telephone call from Ed Cannon, Secretary of the State Bar, we would be lawyers at last; events proved Bill right.

Then came the turning point, and Bill took the high road. He had many options. He would have made an excellent courtroom lawyer. He chose not to. He could have entered the textile industry at a high level for which he was well educated at North Carolina State University. He chose not to. Instead he chose higher education. Bill did it because he believed that in this way he could do the most good for the most people in our state.

Bill immediately joined the administration of the Consolidated University system. There he worked with some of our greatest leaders in education, men like the beloved Dr. Frank Graham and others. In a few years Bill Friday began his presidency at the age of 36, the youngest university president in the nation. When he stepped down 30 years later his tenure had been the longest in the nation and the University had grown from 5 to 16 campuses.

During his presidency he added a new dimension to education in North Carolina. By use of university radio and television he provided great music, drama, art and elegant entertainment to every home in the state no matter how remote. In addition, he initiated a service of sending the finest doctors and health care providers from the university’s medical schools and hospitals directly into communities of North Carolina that unfortunately have only limited medical and hospital care. Bill Friday left a legacy of national admiration for both himself and the state for the progress and opportunity offered here.

Once on a visit to St. Paul’s Cathedral in London I stood in the crypt before the mammoth tombs of England’s two greatest heroes; Admiral Lord Nelson and the Duke of Wellington, conquerors of Napoleon. These salutes to their lives and accomplishments are imposing, but then, I saw a modest slab in a nearby corner of the crypt identifying the resting place of Sir Christopher Wrenn the great architect who built St. Paul’s itself as well as more than 100 of London’s churches. That small stone bears only the simple inscription; “if you seek my monument look around you.”

And so it is with Bill Friday. As we traverse the state of North Carolina we see the spires of sixteen campuses offering education, health and hospital services, culture and guidance in every endeavor of our people. There was a time when some wanted to close certain of these institutions and do away with their campuses. Bill Friday said: "No. We will close none. We will make them stronger. We will make all sixteen campuses better.” And he did so. These are his monuments, just look around you. As I said earlier I remember Bill Friday as that fellow I first met in a Chapel Hill classroom after we both had returned home from what had been the greatest experience of our lives and were now readying ourselves for those to come. He went on to do great things for you and me and for all whose lives he touched. You and I will not see his likes again. So forget not that first time when a smiling, clear eyed fellow turned to you and said, "Hello, I’m Bill Friday.”