The Chronicle - Colleagues, friends remember Sanford

Richard Rubin and Katherine Stroup

Terry Sanford was a visionary, a leader always looking toward the future. Following the death of the former University president Saturday morning, those persons who knew him began the painful task of looking back to the past. Using the broad brush strokes of reverence and sincere affection, their personal vignettes and woven stories of past interactions form a coherent picture, a portrait of one of America's great activists, a portrait of the University's vibrant leader, a portrait of a friend.

"It's a tragic loss for the nation, and an especially great loss for Duke University," said Keith Brodie, who served under Sanford as chancellor for three years and who succeeded him as president in 1985.

Sanford achieved remarkable success in each of his many endeavors, but few accomplishments were more impressive than his starring role in the University's rapid institutional evolution.

"He really was the person responsible for moving us from a regional, Southern college into this respected, international structure," Brodie said.

In an interview with The Chronicle late Saturday night, Dean of Trinity College William Chafe also hailed Sanford's stewardship of the maturing institution. "I gave a speech tonight that talked about Terry," he said. "I talked about, in Terry's words, Duke's 'outrageous ambitions' to become a national leader. He made those outrageous ambitions possible."

Sanford's remarkable leadership style inspired his colleagues and helped to create an environment where creativity flourished.

"He had a tremendous impact on all of us who worked there because he would not let us settle for anything small," said Tom Butters, former director of athletics who was hired during Sanford's tenure. "His leadership provided the impetus for all of us to excel.

"I had the privilege of working with and for him," Butters added, "and I consider that one of my greatest fortunes."

Although Sanford worked tirelessly to amplify the University's prestige, he maintained his commitment to keeping abreast of student concerns.

"He came to this university at a time when there had been a takeover of the Allen Building, and there were many major demonstrations on the war in Vietnam," Chafe said. "He did not, in any way, say no to [the students'] concerns. Instead, he said: 'I want to hear your point of view.'

"Terry provided a model of how to run a university democratically by making students part of the discussion," Chafe recalled. "That is the model of leadership emulated in the current administration, and that is a model we will always cherish."

Sanford did not merely listen to students' demands; he boasted a level of personal interaction and involvement with them unparalleled by University presidents before or since.

Former Vice President for Student Affairs William Griffith remembered Sanford's unconventional response to the now-infamous student protest that followed the May 1970 shooting at Kent State University. When students began converging on the Allen Building, Sanford quipped that he had been trying to occupy the building himself, and prepared the building for the takeover. "He turned to me and said: 'Bill, call the police... and tell them that I want them to open the Allen Building and open my office and put the lights on,'" Griffith remembered. "I thought that was a wonderful thing to do.... There it was, all open and welcoming to them."

Sanford was responsive not only to mass student uprisings but also to individual student concerns. Durham Mayor Nick Tennyson, Trinity '72, recalled attending one of Sanford's legendary early-morning breakfasts in which the president met with students in the dining hall to discuss their concerns. "I don't remember the issue," Tennyson said. "It certainly wasn't some major world issue... [but] I remember the feeling that what was bothering me at the time was significant and important to him, too."

The incorporation of student input into decision-making remained a hallmark of the University's leadership even after Sanford's 1985 retirement. His legacy continues to inspire administrators, including President Nan Keohane.

"People often talk about having mentors," Keohane said in an interview Friday. "I never really had a mentor. I had a lot of people who helped me through difficult stages in my life. But Terry Sanford was the first real mentor that Iever had. [By 'mentor,' I mean] to have someone you can really look to for guidance, who really supports what you're doing, who gives you a strong sense that you're on the right track... who gives you great advice, but only does it when you ask and is a true model for what you'd like to be."

Sanford's influence not only was omnipresent throughout the University community but also extended far beyond Duke's stone walls and Gothic architecture; as a political figure, Sanford brought his unique brand of intellect, warmth and wit to thousands of North Carolinians.

"He provided leadership in how North Carolina chose to deal with the issue of race," Chafe said. "He did that by placing his own child into an integrated school when almost no one, almost no white person, would dare send their child to a desegregated school. That [move] alone makes him a great man."

Greatness is a word used often by those touched by Sanford's charisma and guidance.

"He was one of the greatest leaders in North Carolina history, and he was my political hero," N.C. Governor Jim Hunt said in a statement. "As a college student, I was inspired by his ideas for education and equal opportunity for people. I plunged into the campaign to elect him governor, and, to me, he was the best one ever."

During a Saturday-night speech at the Summit of the Americas in Santiago, Chile, U.S. President Bill Clinton also spoke about Sanford's legacy as an architect of the "New South."

"He stood for civil rights, education for all and progressive economic development," Clinton said. "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. Most important, he was a wonderful man who fought for the right things in the right way. I was lucky to count him as a friend."

Although his political achievements were noteworthy and numerous, many of Sanford's colleagues were struck more by his magnetic personality.

"He was very affable and gregarious, and an outgoing man who was interested in everyone," Brodie said.

As one listens to this litany of accomplishments and attributes, Sanford begins to assume an almost mythic identity. For many persons who knew him, Sanford was a figure of intense inner strength, perpetual motion and vitality. For them, the shock of Sanford's death has been acute.

"I have the same reaction that I think the whole state of North Carolina has," Butters said, "and that is sadness at this death, but happiness that we have had a leader of this kind to be with us."

"I'm fond of Terry Sanford, and I had a great deal of respect for him," Griffith reminisced. "I felt in my subliminal way that he would never die."

© 1998 The Chronicle / Duke University  Used by permission.

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