Page 8 Fayetteville State University Homecomlng’96 Special Edition
Chief Executive Officers of Fayetteville
Robert Harris
i
Robert Harris was born in Fayetteville,
•North Carolina in 1839. His family moved to
Cleveland, Ohio where he received his
education. When the Howard School was
established in 1867, Harris was chosen as the
principal. When the State of North Carolina
assumed responsibility for the school in 1877,
Harris remained as principal until his death
in 1880.
George H. Williams
George H. Williams was born in
Fayetteville, North Carolina in 1861. He
received his early training at the Howard
School and graduated from the State Colored
Normal School in 1879. Williams, who was a
mail carrier, well-known churchman and
businessman of Fayetteville, joined the faculty
of the State Colored Normal School in 1880. In
1888 when Dr. E. E. Smith was appointed
minister resident and consul-general of the
United States to Liberia, Williams was chosen
to guide the destiny of the institution. He
served as principal until 1895.
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The Reverend L.E. Fairley
The Reverend L. E. Fairley was a graduate of
Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. He was
appointed pastor of the Haymont Presbyterian
Church in Fayetteville, North Carolina in 1890 and
served there-with distinction. In 1897, Reverend
Fairley joined the faculty of the State Colored
Normal School. During the Spanish-American War,
when Dr. Smith was cdled to serve as Adjutant of
the Third North Carolina Volunteer Infantry,
Reverend Fairley became acting principal of State
Normal during his absence (1898 - 1899).
Dr, Ezekiel
Ezra Smith
Dr. Ezekiel Ezra Smith, educator, clergyman
and U.S. ambassador, was born to free parents in
Duplin County, North Carolina. Since there were
no schools for Blacks at that time, he had no formal
education during his early childhood, but learned
from his White playmates. After the Civil War
ended, he walked three miles each day to attend a
school in Wilmington that had been established by
the Freedmen’s Bureau. He continued his education i , *
\ at Shaw Collegiate Institute in Raleigh wh^e he | j;
graduated with an A.B. degree in 1875. In 1897, he : -.-y-. .^ ^^
I wuii cboscn principal of a school in Goldsboro, where he founded the BGTinct Entcrprisct one of the first Black nfewsp^)er^n the state.
' In 1883, Dr. Smith was chosen to fill the vacancy created when Charles W. Chesnutt resigned from the position of principal at Fayetteville State Normal
'School. The school was still located in the old Howard School Building on Gillespie Street. In 1888, Dr. Smith was appointed by President Grover
Cleveland to the post of rninister resident and consul-general of the United States to Liberia. After two years in Liberia, Dr. Smith returned to the United
States and accepted the position of principal at the Catholic High School (later Stephens-Lee School) in Asheville, and later at the Normal School in
Goldsboro. He served at each of the schools for one semester before returning to Fayetteville State Normal School.
In the year 1898, the United States declared war on Spain and once again Dr. Smith was called upon to leave his post as head of Fayetteville State
I Normal School to serve until 1899. He then returned to Fayetteville State Normal School. During his administration, the school moved to its present
' location (1907) and the first building was erected in 1908. Later, he and his wife gave enough land to increase the size of the new campus from 50 to 92
acres. By the time Dr. Smith retired in 1933, there were eight brick buildings and several cottages on the campus.,
I
Charles Waddell Chesnutt
■ 'harles Waddell Chesnutt was bom in Cleveland, Ohio on June 20, 1858. His parents, Ann Maria
, and Andrew Jackson Chesnutt, who were free Negroes in Cumberland County before the Civil War, had
■ m )ved to Ohio. They returned to Fayetteville when Charles was eight-years-old. Young Chesnutt
■ Ml: li-d.the Howard School and studied under Robert Harris. He had a brilliant mind and was thirsty for
learning. He read widely to gain knowledge of th^ classics, French and German. The Howard School
bi’cnme the State Colored Normal School in 1877, and Chesnutt, who had gained considerable teaching
f.xpericnce, was made assistant to the Principal Harris when he was only nineteen-years-old. When
Harris died in 1880, Chesnutt became the second principal of the institution.
hi 1878, he married Susan Perry and to this union four children were bom. His daughter, Helen, has
■vrilten a book on her father’s life which was published by the University of North Carolina Press in
; 1952. Chesnutt proved to be an inspirational educational leader for three years. During this period of
i time, he used much of his spare time to become a qualified stenographer. He resigned as principal of
I State Normal in 1883 and moved first to New York City and then to Cleveland, Ohio. While eamipg a
I living as a stenographer and a court reporter, he studied law and passed the Ohio bar examination in
: 1887. Chesnutt’s real ambition was to be a great writer. He spent much time writing and seemed to be driven
jby a strong urge to create. His works began to be published regularly in 1885. They were so well
r:;ceived that in 1899 he gave up his business as attomey-at-law and set up a literary office in his home.
He still worked as a court reporter since earnings from his writings were not sufficient to support his
j family. His first book. The Conjure Woman, a collection of his stories, appeared in 1889. It was
j followed by The Wife of His Youth and Other Stories of the Color Line (1889), The Life of Douglass
I (1889), The House Behind the Cedars (1900), The Marrow of Tradition (1901), and The Colonel’s Dream
(1905). In addition to these, many short stories were regularly published in various magazines. In 1928, he
' was awarded the coveted Springam Medal at that time given annually by the NAACP for distinguished
achievement. Chesnutt’s last literary production, Post-Bellum-Pre-Harlem, was published in 1931.
' Hi passed on November 15, 1932 at his home in Cleveland after having lived a rich, full life. He is
I recognized as one of the first North Carolinians to achieve eminence in the field of literature and letters.
Dr. Charles Lyons
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In 1969, the college was designed as a regional university by act of the legislature, and Dr. Charles
“A” Lyons Jr. became president. Under his dynamic leadership, Fayetteville State University has
evolving into an institution poised on the launching pad for flight into the mainstream of higher
education. By legislative act, on July 1, 1972, Fayetteville State University became a constituent
institution of the University of North Carolina and Dr. Lyons became its first chancellor. During Dr.
Lyons’ administration significant progress was made relative to enrollment, academic programming, and
capital expansion. Of considerable importance was the addition of the Fort Bragg University Center and
expansion of the University’s Continuing Education Program.
Dr. Lyons was. bom in Conetoe, North Carolina. He received his undergraduate degree from Shaw
University and his master’s and doctorate degrees from the Ohio State University. He also studied at
John Hopkins University, Columbia University, Gokhals Institute of Politics and Economics (India), and
the Harvard School of Business Administration. He began his professional career as a teacher of English
and social studies in the Raleigh City Schools. Afterwards, he was a teaching graduate assistant in the
department of political science at Ohio State University; associate professor of political science at
Grambling College, Grambling, Louisiana; professor of political science at Elizabeth City State College;
dean of the college, Elizabeth City State College; executive secretary. North Carolina Teachers’
Association; and director of admissions, Howard University.
Following his appointment as president in 1969 and Chancellor in 1972, Dr. Lyons worked
diligently to develop Fayetteville State University into a “full service institution.” During his
administration, additional property was acquired for expansion of the university. Several physical
improvements took place on the campus to include the G.L. Butler Learning Center, a new dormitory, a
Continuing Education Building, a Pre-School Laboratory School Building, a new Student Center and
extensive campus beautification and landscaping. Major renovations were also done in the J.W.
Seabrook Auditorium and the Communications Center. Fayetteville State University grew to a campus
of 155 acres with 29 buildings, and an enrollment of 1,940 on tiie main campus.
Dr. James Ward
Seabrook
Dr. James Ward Seabrook, educator, was
born in Sumter, South Carolina, the son of
Morris James and Lucy (Hadden) Seabrook.
He received his college education at Biddle
University, New York University, Columbia
University and the University of Chicago. He
taught at the Slater State Normal School in
Winston-Salem (1910-1912), Kittrell College
(1912-1913), and Johnson C. Smith University
(1914-1922). He served as dean of Fayetteville
State Normal School (1922-1933) and was
elected its president in 1933. During his
administration, the institution became a four
year college and the name was changed to
Fayetteville State College. By 1939, the
college had eight new brick buildings and
received both state and regional accreditation.
In addition to this, the school acquired
membership in the American'Association of
Colleges for Teacher Education. Dr. Seabrook
retired as president in 1956. After his
retirement from Fayetteville State Teachers
College, he served as interim president at
Jonnson C. Smitli University.
Dr. Rudolph Jones
Dr. Rudolph Jones was elected as president
of Fayetteville State Teachers College in 1956
upon retirement of Dr. Seabrook. He was bom in
Winton, North Carolina, the son of E.R. and
Annie Walden Jones. He receive his undergraduate
college education at Shaw University and his
graduate work at Catholic University of
America where he earned both the master’s and
doctorate degrees in economics. Dr. Jones
served as teacher and principal in the public
schools of North Carolina. In addition, he served
as an administrator of the NYA program in North
Carolina and with the Office of Price Stabilization in
Washington, D.C.
In 1952, he came to Fayetteville State
Teachers College as dean. During his adnainistration
as president, significant changes were made. The
charter of the college was revised in 1959 which
authorized the expansion of the curriculum to
include majors in secondary education and
programs leading to degrees outside the teaching
field. The name of the institution was changed to
Fayetteville State College.
, Also during Dr. Jones’ administration,
additions to the physical plant were provided to
take care of a rapidly expanding enrollment
Two new dormitories, Zebulon R. Vance Hall and
Dunie A. Bryant Hall, the Emil Rosenthal
Building, the Science Annex, the Charles W.
Chesnutt Library and the Women’s Physical
Education Building were completed. The new
Administration BuUding was under constraction
and the Rudolph Jones Student Center was on
the drawing board when Dr. Jones resigned in
1969. In 1976, the board of trustees honored him
by naming him president emeritus.*