Hardin, Paul, 1931-

Paul Hardin, III became the eighth president of Wofford College on September 1, 1968. A graduate of Duke University who was first in his class at Duke Law School, Hardin practiced law in Birmingham for two years before joining the faculty of the law school at Duke. He rose through the ranks, and was a full professor in 1967 when the Wofford Board of Trustees elected him to succeed Charles Marsh as president of the college. He took office on September 1, 1968 and was inaugurated the following April. As president, Hardin served during four years of rapid change at Wofford. The son of South Carolina's Methodist bishop, Hardin had to mediate between the college's various constituencies, including the students, faculty, alumni, and the Methodist church. He also sought to direct student activism in a constructive manner. Under his administration, the Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities was written. His administration saw the liberalization of the alcohol policy and the first moves toward full coeducation. The college also instituted an open speaker's policy. None of these moves was without controversy, and his files reflect this. Hardin's administration saw a more free form of debate than had existed in previous years, with Hardin himself attempting to participate in and direct the debate. His term ended somewhat abruptly, when he accepted the presidency of Southern Methodist University in the spring of 1972.