UNCW Origins -- Wilmington College

Transcriptions of oral history interviews. The collection's categories are Voices of UNCW, Southeast North Carolina, Arts, and Military.

Retired librarian David McIver Jones shares his memories of growing up in Wilmington, including his time at New Hanover High School and attending Wilmington College and the University of North Carolina Wilmington during the late 1960s.

Herbert and Sylvia Fisher discuss their history with Wilmington College and UNCW. They graduated from New Hanover High School (Class of '49) and both enrolled in Wilmington College. Sylvia (Watson) Fisher was the first Wilmington College Queen in 1950. After graduation in 1953, Mr. Fisher opened The Varsity -- a grill, pharmacy, and soda shop -- a block away from the college.

David Miller, Professor of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation (HPER), discusses his time teaching at UNCW and his experience as a Wilmington College student-athlete. He also discuses his belief in the important role of athletics in higher education. Dr. Miller was recruited by Coach Bill Brooks to play baseball. He was a member of the Wilmington College team when the team won the No. 1 spot in junior college baseball during his freshman year. During his sophomore year, the team was No. 2 nationwide. He graduated from Wilmington College with an associate's degree and continued his education elsewhere. Returning to his alma mater, Dr. Miller served in various administrative roles, including director of UNCW summer school, chair of HPER, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, and professor.

In this interview, Georgia Bowden, Herman Johnson, Eva Mae Smith and Lela Pierce Thompson discuss their education and experiences at Williston College and Wilmington College during and after segregation.

Jim Medlin graduated from New Hanover High School in 1950 and then attended the two-year institution Wilmington College. He studied pre-engineering. In this interview, he discusses professors, extracurricular activities, and traditions of Wilmington College.

In this interview, Georgia Bowden, Herman Johnson, Eva Mae Smith and Lela Pierce Thompson discuss their education and experiences at Williston College and Wilmington College during and after segregation.

In this interview, Louise Gorham, longtime supporter of UNCW, discusses her time as a student at Wilmington College from 1957-1959. She describes early faculty, the Isaac Bear Building and her involvement later with the Friends of UNCW.

Transcribed oral history interviews of alumni and teachers from Williston High School in Wilmington, NC.

Interview with Bertha B. Todd who was the first and last librarian at Williston High School. She discusses her career in education and librarianship in Wilmington, as well as her role in community service and race relations. Following integration and the closing of Williston, she transferred to Hoggard High. Mrs. Todd intervened to prevent riots during integration.

Mrs. Betty Holden Stike taught in the North Carolina public schools for 24 years and then at Wilmington College and UNCW from 1964 until 1985.

Calvin Doss began teaching at Wilmington College part-time in 1956, and was full-time starting in 1957 teaching math and pre-engineering. While working at Wilmington College, he earned a Ph.D. in Education at UNC-Chapel Hill. Then, he taught education and psychology and later served as Associate Dean of the School of Education. He also supervised maintenance and buildings from 1961-1966. Dr. Doss retired from UNCW in 1993. The interview includes anecdotes and humorous stories that relay what life was like when the college was based in the Isaac Bear building on Market Street, and later just starting out on its own campus.

Mrs. Dorothy P. Marshall came to Wilmington College as secretary to the Dean and part-time instructor in business education. While holding various administrative positions over her 43-year career at Wilmington College and UNCW, she mainly served as the school's registrar.

James F. Parnell recounts his career at Wilmington College and UNC-Wilmington. Dr. Parnell came to Wilmington College in 1964, having just completed his Ph.D. at North Carolina State University. He became the fourth member of the biology department. Topics discussed include: the North Carolina Sea Grant program and how it helped fund research at UNCW; Dr. Parnell's research specialization in vertebrate zoology with a specific focus on birds: Dr. Parnell's two years as department chair in the late 1960s; and his observations regarding teaching and researching in the biology department for 32 years, until his retirement in 1995.

Mary Bellamy, assistant professor emerita, taught at Wilmington College from 1947-1950. She then taught at Wilmington College and UNCW from 1961 until her retirement in 1988. She discusses earning her master's degree in romance languages and literature in 1952, her family, and some of her colleagues at the college and university who were important to her,.

William Jasper (Bill) Brooks served as the first Athletics Director as well as basketball and baseball coach. Mr. Brooks came to Wilmington in 1951 to hold a dual appointment for New Hanover High School and Wilmington College. He began full-time at Wilmington College in 1956. He served as chair of the physical education department until his retirement in 1991. Mr. Brooks has been inducted into the NC Sports Hall of Fame and the UNCW Sports Hall of Fame. In this interview, Mr. Brooks discusses some of the students, faculty, and administrators he worked with over the years as he built the athletic program at UNCW. These people include faculty members in physical education (David Miller, Mel Gibson, and David Warner), UNCW administrators Charles Cahill, Marshall Crews, and William Randall, and many students/alumni.

Mr. Berry Williams discusses his work in the door-to-door campaign to support the bond for a county-wide tax increase in March of 1947. With the passage of this tax levy, Wilmington College opened. Mr. Williams reflects on his involvement with the community, including his term as mayor of Wilmington, 1985-1987. Mrs. Williams began her employment at Wilmington College in 1967. She discusses her roles in various departments for over 20 years.

Mr. John J. Burney, Jr., discusses UNCW and Wilmington College from its founding to the present day. As a a graduate of New Hanover High School, Mr. Burney knew many of the first students and teachers of Wilmington College, since many of them came from the high school. He talks about them and about some of the first members of the Wilmington College Board of Trustees, including Addison Hewlett. He discusses the roles of John T. Hoggard, T.T. Hamilton, and William H. Wagoner in the development of the college and university.

Mrs. Holland is interviewed about her maternal grandfather, John Thomas Hoggard, who was a founder and the second president of Wilmington College.