William Friday: Power, Purpose, and American Higher Education

by William A. Link

Few North Carolinians are as well known or as widely respected as William Friday. Although he has never run for elected office, the former president of the University of North Carolina has been prominent in public affairs for decades and ranks as one of the most important American university presidents of the post-World War II era. His service on the White House Task Force on Education and his work with the Carnegie Commission on the Future of American Education and the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics have made him an influential figure both inside and outside the Tar Heel state. In this comprehensive biography, William Link traces Friday's long and remarkable career.
Based on interviews with Friday and written with complete access to his personal files, this book places the growth and development of higher education - both in the South and in the nation as a whole - within a broader social and political context.

Genres: Biography

512 pages, Hardcover

First published February 20, 1995

About the author

William A. Link earned his B.A. in history from Davidson College in 1976 and his doctorate in history from the University of Virginia in 1981.
For twenty-three years, he was a professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, teaching courses in North Carolina history, the history of the American South, and twentieth-century American history. In 2004, he became the Richard J. Milbauer chair in history at the University of Florida.