The position of Secretary of the University was created in 1955 chiefly to act as liaison with the System's Board of Trustees. William C. Friday was the first Secretary, when the System included the University at Chapel Hill, North Carolina State, and the Woman's College in Greensboro. After Friday left the position in 1956, it remained empty until Frederick H. Weaver's appointment in 1961. In 1964, the position was abolished. In 1965, the universities at Asheville and Charlotte were added to the System. The position of Secretary was reinstated when the University System expanded to 16 campuses in 1972 and the Board of Trustees was replaced by the Board of Governors. John P. Kennedy, Jr., filled the position in 1972. Because the Secretary's duties were performed by others when the position was not operative, files similar to the Secretary's may be found among the records of the Vice Presidents for Finance and for University Relations. Correspondence and other files relating to the Secretary's activities with the Boards of Trustees and Governors and to issues affecting the University System from the early 1950s to the early 1970s. Most of these records predate the 1972 expansion of the University System. They contain a great deal of information about higher education in North Carolina, especially about planning for its restructuring during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Also included is material relating to the incorporation into the System of campuses at Charlotte, Asheville, and Wilmington. There are also a few files about East Carolina University's request for a second year of medical education. Of interest are files pertaining to campus unrest and the University's disruption policy, 1968-1970, and files on the Speaker Ban controversy, 1963-1968.
