RELEASE DATE: Friday, January 05, 2007
CONTACT:
North Carolina Community
College leaders, friends and supporters remember
Dr. Dallas Herring
Dr. Dallas Herring of Rose Hill, NC, acknowledged as the father of the North Carolina Community College System, passed away Friday, January 5. These are statements from leaders and friends of the North Carolina Community College System. A brief biography of Dr. Herring follows.
Photo of Dr. Herring by Nelson Best, James Sprunt Community College.
Click HERE for more photos. Click on thumbnails for larger images.
Ms. Hilda Pinnix-Ragland of
Cary
Chair, State Board of Community Colleges
"With the passing of Dr. Dallas Herring, the citizens of North Carolina have lost perhaps the greatest champion for education that we could ever have hoped for. For nearly a century, we were blessed by his keen intellect, his persuasive personality, and his passion to create everywhere an understanding of the necessity for a lifetime of learning. Dr. Herring constantly reminded us that education is not just a privilege, but a right that should be both guarded and guaranteed to every citizen capable of benefiting from it.
"His total devotion to a grand vision of an enlightened society helped North Carolina to define its educational goals and purposes during the Twentieth Century, and then to design and implement the steps that will allow all our citizens to follow their own dreams into the Twenty-First. Dallas Herring’s lifetime of achievement has helped to make our system of educational leadership worthy of comparison with the best in the world. He will long be remembered for his tireless devotion toward raising the technical competence of our people, to improving the level of an educated citizenry, and to providing enrichment in the lives of those who would otherwise be passed by.
"He often said that it is the mission of the North Carolina Community College System to take people where they are and help them get where they wanted to be. His legacy to the people of this state lies in that remarkable challenge, and his loss today gives each of us pause to rededicate ourselves toward that same lofty goal that Dallas Herring set for us – to open ever wider the doors of opportunity to all of those who call North Carolina home."
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H. Martin Lancaster, President
North Carolina Community College System (1997 - present)
"Dr. Dallas Herring is probably the person I quote most frequently because he was such a visionary. His philosophy has undergirded the community colleges in North Carolina since their inception. North Carolina would not have a community college system -- certainly it would not have one that embraces all the good things higher education represents -- if not for Dr. Herring."
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James Holshouser, Governor of North Carolina 1973-1977
(a period of great growth in the North Carolina Community College System)
"Dallas Herring was a marvelous example of selfless public service, in the best sense of the word. There is no question of his place in history as the father of the North Carolina Community College System. While many were involved in the development of community colleges in the state, no one had more impact that Dallas Herring."
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W. DALLAS HERRING
Biography prepared by Peggy Beach, System Office, NC Community College System
William Dallas Herring devoted his life to opening the doors of opportunity and learning for all North Carolinians.
Herring was born in Rose Hill in 1916. He began his public service career at 23 when the people of Rose Hill named him the youngest mayor in the country. During his tenure as mayor (from 1939 to 1951), streets were paved, water and sewer systems were provided and a town hall and fire department were established. From 1951 to 1955, Herring served as Chair of the Duplin County Board of Education. Under his leadership, an evaluation of county schools led to the consolidation of 15 schools. During a 20-year tenure as Chairman of the State Board of Education, Herring led innovations and improvements in curriculum improvement, class size, pay increases, teacher aides and kindergartens.
In the 1950's, state officials recognized the need for education beyond high school. When Herring joined the State Board of Education, Governor Luther Hodges asked him to develop a plan for industrial education. In 1957, the General Assembly adopted Herring's plan and initiated a statewide system of industrial education centers. That same year, the General Assembly adopted the first Community College Act, which developed a system of junior colleges. By 1961, there were five public junior colleges emphasizing arts and sciences and seven industrial education centers focusing on technical and vocational education. The need to coordinate the two systems was apparent to Herring and to Governor Terry Sanford. Their efforts succeeded on May 17, 1963, when the General Assembly established the North Carolina Community College System.
In the last 40 years, Herring has continued to advise community college leaders. He served as a trustee of James Sprunt Community College from 1971 to 1986. Community college presidents and administrators frequently visit Herring at his home in Rose Hill to consult with him.
Herring has received numerous awards including The North Carolina Award, the highest civilian award in North Carolina, and three honorary doctorates. James Sprunt Community College has a building, a lecture series and a scholarship named in his honor. North Carolina State University has the W. Dallas Herring Distinguished Professorship. In 1983, in recognition of the System's 20th anniversary, the State Board of Community Colleges recognized Herring as an individual who made a significant contribution to the establishment, development and enhancement of the North Carolina Community College System. Two years later, this award became the I.E. Ready Award, the highest honor given by the State Board of Community Colleges.
At a 1996 dinner in Herring's honor, Bob Scott, former Governor and former System President, said that the one word to describe Herring is "vision." Scott said that Herring "had that extra gift of turning that vision into an actual program."
Editor's Note: To read more about W. Dallas Herring, read his biography in The North Carolina Century: Tar Heels Who Made a Difference, 1900-2000, Howard E. Covington Jr. and Marion A. Ellis, Coeditors. Also read What Has Happened to the Golden Door?, W. Dallas Herring.
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