Terry Sanford

James Terry Sanford (August 20, 1917 – April 18, 1998) was a Southern Democratic politician. A native of North Carolina, he was a North Carolina state senator from 1953 to 1961, governor of North Carolina from 1961 to 1965, and United States Senator from 1986 to 1993. He served as President of Duke University from 1969 to 1985. Sanford was noted for his progressive leadership in the fields of civil rights and education.

Youth

He was born in Laurinburg, North Carolina to his parents, Cecil and Elizabeth. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, graduating with his bachelor's degree in 1939. He served as a special agent in the FBI for two years. During World War II he enlisted as a private in the US Army as a paratrooper, saw combat with the 517th Parachute Infantry Regiment, was awarded the Bronze Star, attained the rank of first lieutenant, and was discharged in 1946. He married Margaret Rose Knight on 4 July 1942, and had two children with her, a son, Terry Jr. and a daughter, Elizabeth.

Gubernatorial Career

Sanford was elected to the governorship of North Carolina in 1961 and served to 1965. Driven by his belief that a person could accomplish anything with a good education, Sanford nearly doubled North Carolina's expenditures on public schools during his term. He consolidated the University of North Carolina school system to ensure its solvency and strength. He conceived the idea for the state's Governor's Schools for talented children. He established the North Carolina School of the Arts to keep creative children in their home state. And he fought for racial desegregation-even sent his son to a desegregated public school-at a time when such a position was politically unpopular and possibly dangerous.

Duke University

He served as President of Duke University from 1969 to 1985. At Duke University, he founded the Institute for Public Policy Studies in 1971. In 1994, a new building was completed and the institute was renamed the Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy in his honor.

Through a combination of careful attention to the feelings and thoughts of students, shrewd administrative appointments and sound fiscal leadership, Sanford elevated the University from a respected liberal arts institution in the South to one of the nation's preeminent academic powerhouses. In the Allen Building, home of the University administration, just as in the governor's office, he preached the values of education. Education at the University during the Vietnam War, however, encompassed a lot more than chalkboards and grade point averages, and Sanford, who assumed the reins of a tumultuous University in 1969, understood that fact better than anyone else.

Faced with student protests, including Allen Building takeovers, almost from the moment he set foot on campus, Sanford artfully defused the activists' tensions without belittling their interests. He admired the pluck and determination of the protesters and, perhaps more importantly, urged them to learn as they acted.

During his tenure as president of Duke University, he mounted two unsuccessful campaigns for the Democratic nomination for the presidency of the United States in 1972 and 1976.

Senate Career

Sanford won the Democratic nomination to succeed Senator John P. East in 1986. East committed suicide in July of that year, and Sanford's Republican opponent, Congressman Jim Broyhill, was appointed to hold the seat through November. Sanford defeated Broyhill by three percentage points in the November election. He took office a day later, as a special election to serve the last two months of East's term had taken place the same day.

Compared to most Southern Democrats, Sanford was fairly liberal. He chaired the Senate Select Ethics Committee in 1992. He lost his bid for reelection in 1992 against Lauch Faircloth, a former Democrat who turned Republican with substantial backing from the political organization of Sanford's Senate colleague, Jesse Helms.

Later Life

Sanford spent the twilight of his life as vital as the young. He wrote books, taught classes at the University and campaigned mightily for the construction of a major performing arts center in the Triangle area that would provide a permanent home for the American Dance Festival, the North Carolina Symphony and the Carolina Ballet.

Sanford announced in late December of 1997, that he had been diagnosed with inoperable esophageal cancer, and that his doctors had told him he had just a few months remaining. After his release from the hospital, Sanford's condition slowly deteriorated.

Sanford died peacefully in his sleep while surrounded by his family at his Durham home. He was 80 years old. Sanford is buried in the historic Duke Chapel at Duke University. ^*

Legacy

Sanford's long and productive life touched countless Americans, and word of his passing was countered with words of praise from those who respected him.

According to President John F. Kennedy's personal secretary Evelyn Lincoln, Sanford was Kennedy's choice for vice president on the 1964 Democratic ticket. In 1968 she wrote a book titled Kennedy and Johnson in which she reported that President Kennedy told her that Lyndon B. Johnson would be replaced as Vice President. Lincoln wrote of that November 19, 1963 conversation, just before Kennedy was assassinated:

"His work and his influence literally changed the face and future of the South, making him one of the most influential Americans of the last 50 years," President Bill Clinton said in a statement issued from the Summit of the Americas in Santiago, Chile. "Most important, he was a wonderful man who fought for the right things in the right way. I was lucky to count him as my friend."

In recognition of Sanford's efforts in education and in countless other areas, a 1981 Harvard University survey named him one of the 10 best governors of the 20th century. It is all the more remarkable, then, that Sanford's work as University president at least equaled-if not exceeded-his achievements as governor.

The Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy at Duke University is named in his honor. The Terry Sanford High School in Fayetteville, NC is also named in his honor.

References