UNCW Student Affairs History

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.

In this interview, Adrienne Jackson discusses the development of the nursing school at UNCW. She also touches on the general history of and changes in nursing programs, as well as her own career as a nurse and educator.

In this interview, alumna Brenda Pate discusses her experiences as a student at Wilmington College and UNCW.

Interview with Linda Moore, who has worked at UNCW in Student Affairs and in the Division of University Advancement. In this interview, she focuses on her career in the University Union.

In this interview, Michael Smith, a 1972 graduate of UNCW's School of Nursing, recollects his memories working at Wilmington's Babies Hospital while in high school, as well as his experiences as one of UNCW Nursing School's first male nursing students-- and the remainder of his career, which has included time in England's national health care system and his training as a nurse anesthetist.

Ms. Tammy Blizzard began working at UNCW in 1976 as an accounting clerk. Ms. Blizzard rose through the ranks and retired in 1999 as Comptroller. Her volunteer work for UNCW includes chairing the Alumni Association in 1997--the year of UNCW's 50th anniversary. Ms. Blizzard and her husband are UNCW alumni who met at a Seahawks basketball game. Ms. Blizzard received the BS and MS in accountancy at UNCW while working full-time. Topics dicussed include working for the university while taking classes, volunteer work, and life in retirement.

A videotape interview with Dr. J. Marshall Crews, Coach Bill Brooks, and sports announcer Wayne Jackson. They discuss their experiences and the history of UNCW.

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.