Gov. Bev Perdue today confirmed that state flags should remain lowered to half-staff on all state facilities in honor of former University of North Carolina System President William Friday through sunset Wednesday. All North Carolinians are invited to join in this tribute.
A public memorial service for Friday will be hosted by UNC-Chapel Hill at 10 a.m. Wednesday in Memorial Hall. He died at age 92 on Friday morning, which marked the 219th anniversary of the University of North Carolina.
UNC-TV will carry a live broadcast of the memorial service at 10 a.m. Wednesday morning, with a repeat broadcast of the service Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. Friday was president of the University of North Carolina system for 30 years, from 1956 to 1986, a nationally-recognized leader in higher education, and was the host of UNC-TV’s longest-running program, “North Carolina People with William Friday,” which went on the air in 1971 and has been on the air weekly ever since.