Gray, Gordon, 1909-1982

Gordon Gray (1909-1982), government official, publisher, and educator. A graduate of the Yale Law School, Gray began his professional career as an attorney with a New York Law firm. In 1935, however, he returned to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to practice law. At approximately the same time, he acquired financial interests in the publishing and broadcasting fields. As operator of radio station WSJS and publisher of the Winston-Salem Journal and the Twin City Sentinel, Gray eventually abandoned the legal profession. As president and publisher of the Piedmont Publishing Company, Gray retained his business interests in publishing and broadcasting throughout his other careers. In 1938, he served as president of the Young Democratic Clubs of North Carolina. From 1938 to 1942 and from 1946 to 1947, he was a member of the North Carolina State Senate. A lifelong Democrat, Gray served under every president, Democrats and Republicans alike, from Harry Truman to Gerald Ford. During the Truman years, Gray was Assistant Secretary and later Secretary of the Army. He resigned in 1950 to accept the position as president of the University of North Carolina. However, he remained in Washington, D.C. to study United States foreign economic policies as a special assistant to the President. Also, during his tenure as president of the University of North Carolina, he was director of the Psychological Strategy Board. During the early years of the Eisenhower administration, Gray held positions on several committees and boards including the President’s Committee on International Information Activities and the Atomic Energy Commission’s Personnel Security Board. In 1955, he resigned as president of the University of North Carolina and returned to government service on a full- time basis. Involved in advising the president on international and national security affairs, Gray served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs (1955-1957), director of the Office of Defense Mobilization (1957-1958), and Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (1958-1961). After the Eisenhower years drew to a close, Gray became more involved in business activities. He did, however, serve as a member of the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board from 1961 to 1977. During the 1960's and 1970's he was chairman of the board of Triangle Broadcasting Company, chairman of the board of Summit Communications, Inc., and a member of the board of directors of the J.R. Reynolds Tobacco Company. Gray also served as chairman of the board of trustees for the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Gordon Gray has had a distinguished career both in the fields of law and public service. He graduated from the Yale Law School in 1933 and he was admitted to the bar of both New York and North Carolina. He served in the North Carolina State Senate (1939-1942), and then entered military service as a private. In 1943, Gordon Gray was commissioned a second lieutenant of infantry and served with Headquarters (HQ), 12th Army Group in Europe. Following the war, he again served in the state senate. From 1947 to 1950, he was appointed as Assistant Secretary of the Army, Under Secretary of the Army and Secretary of the Army. He accepted the presidency of the University of North Carolina in 1950, and by 1955, he went to the Pentagon where he worked on several presidential assignments.

Gray (1909-1982) was a lawyer, politican, public servant, newspaper publisher, radio and television station owner, and president of the University of North Carolina, 1950-1955.

Gordon Gray (1909-1982) was a lawyer, politician, public servant, newspaper publisher, radio and television station owner, and president of the University of North Carolina, 1950-1955.

Government official.