Oral history interview with William C. Friday, December 18, 1990

About this book

William C. Friday served as the president of the University of North Carolina from 1957 to 1986. During his tenure, he worked closely with Anne Queen. Trained in seminary, Queen had become the associate director of the campus YWCA in 1956. From 1964-1975, she served as director of the newly merged YMCA-YWCA. In this interview, Friday discusses his professional relationship with Queen and describes her leadership qualities. Friday emphasizes Queen's relationship with University of North Carolina students, describing her as the "den mother" of the student body. Friday explains that students trusted Queen because she was a good listener and because she led by example rather than by pontification. Friday describes how Queen's leadership was particularly important as women became fully integrated into the university system and as students participated in various protest movements during the 1960s. In addition to describing Queen's role at the University of North Carolina, Friday also briefly reflects on the tradition of liberalism on campus, comparing his own presidency to that of Frank Porter Graham in the 1930s and 1940s.