Barefoot, A. C.

Aldos Cortez Barefoot earned his Bachelors and Masters degrees in wood technology from North Carolina State College in the late 1940s, and then received a doctorate from Duke University in 1958 for his research on the manufacture of plywood. Though Barefoot's career often took him overseas for extended periods of time, he remained a member of the faculty at NC State. In 1962, Barefoot was named an Associate Professor, he was promoted to Professor in 1968, and in 1975, Barefoot was named Head of the University Studies Division at North Carolina State University.

North Carolina State University Professor Emeritus, A. C. (Aldos Cortez) Barefoot, was born in Angier, North Carolina on February 25, 1927. He attended public schools in Angier and then served in the Navy during World War II. After the war he graduated from North Carolina State College with Bachelors and Masters degrees in wood technology. Barefoot worked in the plywood industry for a short time before returning to do additional graduate work in experimental statistics. He completed two years of statistics course work and then returned to the study of forestry. In 1958 he was granted a doctorate at Duke University. His doctoral research was in the manufacture of plywood from tropical species of wood, and in the anatomy of the yellow poplar. While working on the doctorate he began his academic career as an Assistant Professor at North Carolina State College where he taught courses in wood anatomy, sawmilling, quality control, and gluing.

On August 6, 1949, A. C. Barefoot married Naomi Pugh from Shiloh, North Carolina. Between 1952 and 1956 the couple had three children, Al, Jim, and Becky. In 1961 the family moved to Chittagong, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) where Barefoot served as the Forestry Advisor to the Pakistan Forest Research Laboratory, and aided in the development of programs for research on the woods of East Pakistan. In 1962 Barefoot returned to North Carolina State College and was promoted to Associate Professor. He was promoted to Professor in 1968, and appointed Leader of the Wood Products Extension Service in 1972.

In 1969, the governor of North Carolina, Robert W. Scott, appointed Barefoot as chairman of "The Teachers and State Employee's Benefits Legislative Commission." The group brought about major changes in the benefits accorded to employees of the state of North Carolina. Improvements in the state employment retirement system were obtained, and statewide funded hospitalization and disablity salary continuation plans for teachers and state employees were introduced. For the first time, as a result of the Commission, North Carolina's university faculty members were allowed to join the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association with matching contributions funded by the state. As a result of Barefoot's efforts, the North Carolina Association of Educators, and the North Carolina State Employees Association, both recognized Barefoot by awarding him for his 'Outstanding Contributions.'

In the early 1970s Barefoot did consulting work in the Amazon basin and used his skill in dendrochronology to aid in archeological studies conducted at Winchester, England. In 1973 Barefoot was awarded a Fulbright-Hays Award, and was made a Visiting Fellow at the University of Oxford, Wolfson College, Oxford, England. Barefoot's work in dating archeological materials by dendrochronological methods gained him some international renown when he sucessfully dated wooden items from archeological studies done by Oxford's Winchester Research Unit.

Chief among the artifacts that Barefoot was responsible for aiding in accurately dating was a huge wooden disk that had hung on the wall of Winchester Castle for more than six hundred years. The disk was known as "King Arthur's Round Table". It was discovered, through analysis by Barefoot and a team of scientists, that the table had been built during the reign of Edward I, circa 1300 A.D., probably to commemorate a tournament. Later, King Edward III, founder of the Order of the Garter, had the table top hung on the castle wall as a symbol of his interest in chivalric ideals. Later still, King Henry VIII had the table painted with a portrait, possibly using his own likeness as King Arthur to identify himself with the legendary king of ancient Britain. Barefoot contributed to a book about the project written by Oxford scholar Martin Biddle, titled, "King Arthur's Round Table." Professor Barefoot was also featured in a television special produced by the BBC that followed, and documented the entire procedure.

In 1975 Barefoot was named as Head of the University Studies Division at North Carolina State University. In the late 1970s and early 1980s Barefoot was called on once again to contribute his energy to state employee benefits when he sat upon the the North Carolina Commission on Prepaid Health Plans. The Commission was successful in bringing about extended health care coverage for state employees in North Carolina, and introduced the concept of the Health Maintenance Organization, (HMO), to the region. In addition to his work as a university professor, department head, international forestry consultant, archeological sleuth, and champion of North Carolina state employee benefits, Barefoot has also enjoyed success as a tree farmer and real estate developer in North Carolina.

Barefoot's religious and civic involvement include membership at Pullen Memorial Baptist Church, Masons, Kiwanis, Boy Scouts of America, North Carolina State University Alumni Association, NCSU Faculty Club, and member of the Board of Directors for the North Carolina State Employees Association. Professional and honor society memberships include, Phi Kappa Phi, Sigma Xi, Alpha Zeta, Xi Sigma Pi, Fellow of the Institute of Wood Science, Forest Products Research Society, Tree Ring Society, North Carolina Association of Educators, North Carolina Christmas Tree Growers Association, Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry, and the International Society of Tropical Foresters.