Former UNC system head William Friday hospitalized

Chapel Hill, N.C. — Former University of North Carolina System President William Friday is in critical condition in UNC Hospitals, a spokeswoman with the hospital confirmed Wednesday.

No other details about Friday's health were immediately available.

In 2009, Friday had a heart valve replaced two months after suffering a mild heart attack.

Since retiring from his position at the head of the UNC system in 1986, Friday has stayed busy with his UNC-TV interview show, "North Carolina People."

In January, Friday weighed in on the tuition debate, saying that he would prefer that the system's 16 university campuses make the needed cuts to staff and program to avoid the hefty tuition increases they have proposed.

Friday led the UNC system for 30 years, a period that included desegregation, challenges to free speech and the creation of a 16-campus state university system.

Enrollment began to surge during his tenure, setting the stage for major expansions and battles over tuition increases in the years since he retired.

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Latest Comments

"If this man had gotten his way, those of us in the eastern part of the state would still have to travel to the triangle for any ailment more serious than a paper cut." -avrecon

Oh come on! You don't need a medical school in order to have a state-of-the-art medical facility! Do people in Charlotte drive all the way to Winston or Columbia SC when they need to go to the hospital?

I'm sure there were good arguments both for and against setting up a fourth medical school in North Carolina back in the 70s, and you eventually got one out there, so congratulations. But you folks who act like Dr. Friday had some kind of personal vendetta against eastern NC sound like a bunch of whiners.

Kaitlyn
May 17, 2012 3:06 p.m.

I'll take the word of Dr. Leo Jenkins over yours "honesty"

avrecon
May 17, 2012 2:18 p.m.

Yes he sure was against anything east of I95......he is from the Wallace-Rose Hill area. You are WRONG about him being against the eastern section of NC

Honesty first
May 17, 2012 2:12 p.m.

If this man had gotten his way, those of us in the eastern part of the state would still have to travel to the triangle for any ailment more serious than a paper cut.

avrecon
May 17, 2012 1:54 p.m.

I hope that he recovers.

He did a lot of things for the state and like any influential figure, not all is black and white. Some things were very good while others may have been shortsighted in retrospect such as his treatment of ECU and view of the eastern part of the state.

I feel a person should be judged for his contributions in the context of the time he made them and not judge them on hindsight.

For example, it would be hard to judge Jefferson and Washington by today's standards of equality for women and others when those views were not of that time period. By today's standards, most would not see eye to eye with them on certain views but we still regard them as great achievers who changed society.

I feel the same way about Dr. Friday. Overall the positives outweigh things we can look at in hindsight.