Sanford’s legacy, never forgotten

“We will not flinch from change. We will lead it. We will not turn away from challenge. We will welcome it.” These words would influence both his tenure at Duke University as well as his esteemed life of public service and selfless devotion.

A brave and sincere leader who guided with empathy and who was unyielding in his exceptional efforts to improve the lives of others, Terry Sanford is rightly considered one of the foremost innovators of the twentieth century. He embraced a vision so unusual—so idealistic, yet would see it through in a pragmatic manner once thought to have been impossible during his lifetime. 

With such determination, it ought not to register surprise that Sanford would become a U.S. Senator, Governor of North Carolina, two-time U.S. presidential candidate and, most importantly, President of Duke University.

As governor, Sanford was a strong proponent of public education and, thus, introduced a statewide network of educational television, doubled state expenditures on public schools and consolidated the state’s public universities into the University of North Carolina. He further ensured the establishment of the North Carolina Community College System, the Governor’s School of North Carolina for the academically gifted, the North Carolina Advancement School for the underachieving and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts—the first public arts conservatory in the nation. The success of the governor’s policies also afforded him the opportunity to hire more teachers, increase their salaries and institute effective training programs. Though the source of numerous controversial tax increases, these proposals triggered the enrollment of 150,000 full-time and 400,000 part-time students in what would become the nation’s second largest community college system, a significant increase in local industry investments and the creation of over 100,000 jobs. 

Additionally, Sanford’s relationship with President John F. Kennedy resulted in generous provisions of federal funding and, hence, the expansion of the Research Triangle Park—an effort which would attract the Environmental Protection Agency and major corporations to the state. Access to education and economic mobility were not Sanford’s only concerns, however, for racial acceptance was a condition he had long advocated for, regardless of the state’s political climate. In fact, Sanford sent his own son to a desegregated public school, despite the substantial unpopularity of such a decision, in order to express support for racial desegregation. He founded the Good Neighbor Council, so as to encourage employment without regard to race, and the North Carolina Fund—a precursor to President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty that, among many other goals, aimed to reduce poverty among minorities and further the cause of civil rights. In the face of insurmountable opposition, Sanford named blacks to high state positions and furthered monumental reforms which reduced racial disparities in the state’s prison system. With such advancements, it’s no wonder that, during the March on Washington, the NAACP’s Roy Wilkins called on politicians to “be as forthright as the governor of North Carolina,” with a call for equality and inclusivity unheard in years prior. 

Soon after, Sanford became President of Duke University, a position he would grace for the next 15 years. Faced with racial tensions and protests of the war in Vietnam, “Uncle Terry,” as he called himself, listened to and respected the concerns of students—at one point declaring into a bullhorn, “Let us all fight Washington together”—when most administrators were hesitant to set foot on the Main Quad. Resultantly, he won the hearts of all who walked upon Duke’s campus during his tenure.

Sanford is commonly accredited, by many, with converting Duke from a relatively-unknown liberal arts college to a world-renowned research institution. His election impelled the opening of the Fuqua School of Business and the completion of the William R. Perkins Library. In addition, he established the Institute of Policy Sciences and Public Affairs—today’s Sanford School of Public Policy—formalized the women’s athletic program, started the Women’s Studies Program, instituted the Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture and presided over the merger of the Woman’s College and Trinity College as well as the dedication of both Duke Hospital North and the Bryan Center. 

Consequently, Sanford’s legacy, as both North Carolina governor and President of Duke University, is felt to this very day.  This legacy, though exemplified by his inimitable achievements, is best preserved by Stanford’s very message—his articulation of this university’s ultimate goal—that resonates throughout our community to this very day:

“Duke aspires to leave its students with an abiding concern for justice, with a resolve for compassion and concern for others, with minds unfettered by racial and other prejudices, with a dedication to service to society, with an intellectual sharpness and with an ability to think straight now and throughout life.” “All of these goals,” he concluded, “are worthy of outrageous ambitions.” Sanford himself had satisfied these goals and sought to implement from them a framework for the University for generations to come. 

Next month, Perkins Library will begin hosting an exhibition entitled “Outrageous Ambitions: How a One-Room Schoolhouse Became a Research University,” chronicling Sanford and others’ roles in fundamentally transforming this institution. Sanford’s dedication to making education more accessible, increasing acceptance of minorities and charting a pathway to the future, in the face of then-contemporary beliefs and economic realities, is the very reason his life is being celebrated to this very day. 

He displayed compassion and concern for those most ignored—with a mind unconstrained by the prejudices of his times, dedicated his whole life to effectively serving those who had been exposed to staggering racial and economic hardship and saw through what he had envisioned from the very beginning. Indeed, Sanford was a true visionary—a role model, but above all, a hero.

And to me—in my eyes, he is a hero who will never be forgotten.

Mousa Alshanteer is a Trinity sophomore and the editorial page managing editor. His biweekly column is part of the weekly Editor’s Note feature and will run on alternate Thursdays. Send Mousa a message on Twitter @MousaAlshanteer.