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Longtime student trustee Bill Griffith dies at age 98

“Today, Duke students experience daily the profound impact of Bill Griffiths’ vision and investment in this campus and our student community,” said Mary Pat McMahon, vice president and vice provost for student affairs.

“His decades at Duke were marked by his commitment to innovative student leadership, the arts and much more. Today, whether students are in class, performing in the Griffith Theater, participating in immersive student-run events like Experiential Orientation, or participating in DUU (Duke University Union) or DSG (Duke Student Government), they are following in Bill’s footsteps .”

Larry Moneta, who served as vice president for student affairs from 2001 to 2019, said Griffith’s legacy was one of the reasons he was drawn to Duke. Griffith, he said, was a national figure who influenced the student affairs profession across the country.

“Bill was my mentor and a mentor to many in the field of student affairs,” Moneta said. “I took the job at Duke in part because of Bill’s legacy and reputation. His tenure at Duke was remarkable in many ways, and his care and advocacy for students ensured the success of thousands of alumni who will always remember him as a gentle giant who always had students’ best interests in mind.

“Duke’s leadership in the arts, student diversity and student leadership development can all be attributed to the extraordinary efforts of Bill Griffith.”

Griffith played a key role in founding the Duke Student Union and in shaping Duke Student Government, Project WILD, Community Service Center, Women’s Center, Black Student Alliance, Career Development Center, Counseling and Psychological Services, and the Publications Board and many other successful ventures at Duke.

Griffith is also credited with promoting the arts at Duke, including founding the Duke Artists Series and the National Association of College and University Concert Managers, a national organization for college arts administrators.

Perhaps his best-known role in administration-student relations came in 1969, when Griffith was dean of student affairs and black students, angered by the administration’s lack of responsiveness in providing higher wages for workers, occupied the first floor of the Allen Building. The students also called for a black cultural center, an African American studies curriculum and other issues. Griffith helped mediate during that tense event and recalled the experience in 2013, the 50th anniversary of Duke’s integrated student body.

“I realized why the students were doing this,” he said. “The black students wanted better treatment from the administration. I felt like the Duke situation with the vigil was different than what was going on at other campus locations. It was never physically destructive. It was pretty unique. I actually got calls from news outlets saying, “Call us if things get tough.”

“I give credit to the students. That’s exactly how they did it.”

Griffith’s legacy continues at Duke. The William and Carol Griffith Theater in the Bryan Center is named for Griffith and his wife, and the William J. and Carol T. Griffith Endowment has supported a variety of student programs, including the Center for Race Relations and the Graduate and Professional Student Council, Springternational , the Arts Theme House and the Duke Photo Group.

In 1992, an award was renamed the William J. Griffith University Service Award, recognizing graduates for their significant contributions to Duke and the greater community.

In the more than four decades that Griffith was associated with Duke, he placed great emphasis on supporting the faculty, staff, students and alumni, who he said represented the university’s strength. “The entire university becomes a better place, a greater university, because of all of you — students, faculty, administrators,” Griffith said after retiring from Duke. “I will stay here for a long time. I have to see what will happen next.”

After his retirement, Griffith spent years promoting the arts on campus through his work for the Nasher Museum of Art. He also founded and directed the Duke University Retiree Outreach to engage retirees in local service activities. He was also known for his many years of success on the tennis court and his love of running.

Griffith is survived by his wife, Carol (’52); his two daughters, Trena Griffith-Hawkins (Richard Hawkins) and Brown Griffith Little (Mark Little); and granddaughters Cameron Hawkins Gambrell (Tony Gambrell), Carol Rose Little and Grace Little.

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