Buies Creek– The extraordinary career of Dr. Norman Adrian Wiggins came full circle Monday, April 14, as he delivered the commencement address to Campbell University’s 121st graduating class. A total of 808 degrees were conferred.Older, but still vigorous, Wiggins who served as Campbell’s president from 1967 until 2004 and continues in the role of university chancellor, sought to instill in the graduates the same sense of honor and responsibility he felt as a Campbell graduate of 1948.”I came to Campbell on an athletic scholarship that almost didn’t materialize,” he said. “I didn’t have any money, but President Leslie Campbell assured me that no one at Campbell had any money and encouraged me to come on.”Campbell found work for Wiggins stoking furnaces at Kivett Hall, and he also worked as a farm laborer in the area.Although Wiggins’ initial trip to Campbell was made on foot, he was warmly received and billeted in a house on campus. He recalled the house as the same one he and wife Millie would occupy many years later as president and first lady of Campbell.”I didn’t know it then. I didn’t even know Millie then,” Wiggins said. “But I realized that I had found something that was very different.”Wiggins saw action in World War II, where he served four years in the U.S. Marines. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Laws (cum laude) from Wake Forest College School of Law and a Master of Law and Doctor of the Science of Law from Columbia University. Following a brief career with Planters Bank and Trust, Wiggins taught law and served as General Counsel at Wake Forest. He assumed the presidency of Campbell College on June 6, 1967. Under Wiggins’ leadership, Campbell became accredited as a Level 5 university and established five professional schools–Law, Pharmacy, Divinity, Business and Education. Educational programs were extended beyond Buies Creek to Fort Liberty, Pope Air Force Base, New River Air Base, Camp Lejeune, Research Triangle Park and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A nationally recognized ROTC program was also founded. In addition, Wiggins served North Carolina Baptists as president of the Baptist State Convention and as president of the Southern Baptist Sunday School Board and the National Fellowship of Men. He was named one of the Most Influential Baptist Leaders of the Twentieth Century by the “Biblical Recorder” and one of the top educational leaders in the state in the book, “The North Carolina Century: Tar Heels Who Made a Difference, 1900-2000.””There is a kind of spirit that captures people who come to this school,” Wiggins told the graduates. “There has never been a place more sensitive to others than right here. God is expecting you to do something great for him. You have an obligation today and you know it.”For his distinguished contributions to law, education and the Baptist denomination, Wiggins received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters at Monday’s commencement service. Also receiving honorary degrees were Campbell trustee and benefactor, Edward M. Gore, Sr. and his wife Dinah Eubanks Gore, pharmacist Jimmy S. Jackson and Campbell University Divinity School professor of Pastoral Care Albert Meiburg. Graduate Robert Braxton and Brig. Gen. Susan Lawrence received Algernon Sydney Sullivan awards.Campbell conferred a grand total of 2,129 degrees during the 2006-2007 academic year. Of the 808 degrees awarded at the spring commencement service, 442 were undergraduate degrees and 366 were graduate and professional degrees. Photo Copy: Dr. Norman A. Wiggins, chancellor of Campbell University, delivers the 121st commencement address. (Photo by Bennett Scarborough)
Wiggins Highlights Illustrious Career with Commencement Address