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This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.
Size | 98.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 36,000 items) |
Abstract | The Willis P. Whichard Papers document the career of a white lawyer, judge, legislator, and educator from Durham, N.C. The collection includes legislative correspondence, committee, and resource files; judicial subject files; materials relating to the North Carolina General Statutes Commission, North Carolina land policy and land use, the Southern Growth Policies Board, and ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment in North Carolina; speeches; collected North Carolina political ephemera; personal papers; and photographs. |
Creator | Whichard, Willis P. |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
Language | English |
Processed by: Manuscripts Department Staff, 1998; Margaret Dickson, July 2007; Nancy Kaiser, July 2018.
Encoded by: Margaret Dickson, July 2007
Updated: May 2019, April 2022
Back to TopThe following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
Willis Padgett Whichard (1940- ) was a lawyer, judge, legislator, and educator. He served as a member of the North Carolina General Statutes Commission, 1969-1973; the Southern Growth Policies Board, 1971-1980; the North Carolina House of Representatives, 1970-1974; and the North Carolina Senate, 1975-1980. From 1980 to 1986, he was judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals, and, from 1986 through 1998, he was an Associate Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. On 1 July 1999, Whichard became dean of the School of Law at Campbell University in Buies Creek, N.C.
24 May 1940 | Born to Willis Guilford and Beulah Padgett Whichard. |
1946-1958 | Attended Durham City Schools. |
4 June 1961 | Married Leona Irene Paschal and they had two children, Jennifer Diane and Ida Gilbert. |
1962 | A.B., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. |
1965 | J.D., University of North Carolina School of Law. |
1965- | Member of the American Bar Association, the North Carolina Bar Association, the Durham County Bar Association, North Carolina State Bar, Order of the Coif, Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Alpha Delta, and Phi Delta Phi. |
1966-1980 | Practiced law with the firm of Powe, Porter, Alphin and Whichard in Durham, N.C. |
1965-1966 | Law Clerk to William H. Bobbitt (Former Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court). |
1966-1972 | Served in the Army National Guard and was a life member of the National Guard Association. |
1966-1975 | Durham Jaycees |
1968 and 1969 | March of Dimes (Durham County) Campaign Director. |
1969-1974 | Chapter Chairman of the National Foundation of the March of Dimes. |
1970-1974 | Served in the North Carolina House of Representatives. |
1971-1973, 1975-1977 | Member, Legislative Research Commission |
1971 | Recipient of the Distinguished Service Award of Young Man of the Year in Durham. |
1971-1979 | Board member, Durham County Chapter of the American Red Cross. |
1971-1978 | Transition of Youth, Inc. |
1971-1980 | Southern Growth Policies Board (Vice-Chairman, 1975-1978). |
1972-1973 | Member, Governor's Advisory Committee on Youth Development. |
1972-1975 | Senior Citizens Coordinating Council. |
1973-1977 | Member, Durham YMCA Board of Directors. |
1974- | Member, Kiwanis Club of Tobaccoland. |
1975 | Outstanding Legislator Award, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers. |
1975 | Outstanding Youth Service Award, North Carolina Juvenile Correctional Society. |
1975-1980 | Served in the North Carolina Senate. |
1978-1979 | President, University of North Carolina Law Alumni Association. |
1980-1986 | Judge, North Carolina Court of Appeals. |
1983 | Outstanding Appellate Judge Award, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers. |
1984 | LL.M., University of Virginia. |
1986-1998 | Associate Justice, North Carolina Supreme Court. |
1987- | Member, North Carolina Central University School of Law Board of Visitors. |
1988-1994 | Member, North Carolina Child Advocacy Institute Board of Directors. |
1988- | Chair, North Carolina Supreme Court Permanent Families Task Force. |
1991-1994 | Member, Straight Talk Blue Ribbon Panel. |
1992- | Braxton Bragg Craven American Inn of Court (President, 1995). |
1993- | Member, North Carolina Courts Commission. |
1994 | S.J.D., University of Virginia. Dissertation: The sixth justice: a life of James Iredell. |
1999- | Dean, Norman A. Wiggins School of Law, Campbell University. |
(Source: North Carolina Manual, 1983, p. 787; Clipping Collection, North Carolina Collection, University of North Carolina Library.)
Back to TopThis material has been roughly arranged into the following categories: legislative correspondence files, 1971-1979, relating chiefly to Willis P. Whichard's career as a North Carolina legislator; legislative subject files, 1969-1980, relating to Whichard's legislative career; legislative committee files, 1972-1973, 1975, and 1979, relating to Whichard's service on the Legislative Research Commission, the Juvenile Code Revision Commission, and the Governor's Advisory Committee on Youth Development, including legislative reports, printed materials, drafts of bills, notes, and a few items of correspondence; legislative resource materials, 1977-1980, relating to Whichard's legislative career, including printed material, newspaper clippings, drafts of bills, speeches, notes, a few letters, and two files on Terry Sanford's presidential campaign in 1976 and James B. Hunt's gubernatorial campaign in 1980; miscellaneous and related legislative files, 1971-1980, relating to Whichard's public career, including miscellaneous correspondence, printed material, and miscellaneous subject files; North Carolina General Statutes Commission files, 1969-1973, documenting Whichard's service on the General Statutes Commission, including commission reports, legislative bills, commission minutes, correspondence, and other materials; North Carolina Land Policy and Land Use materials, 1974-1976, documenting Whichard's service on the North Carolina Land Policy Council and his interests in land use and land management, consisting chiefly of subject files; Southern Growth Policies Board materials, 1974-1979, relating to Whichard's service on the Southern Growth and Policies Board, including correspondence, subject notes, printed material, Southern Growth and Policies Board reports, and other material; personal files, 1976-1978, relating chiefly to Whichard's legislative career and interests in North Carolina politics, including correspondence, newspaper clippings, and subject notes. Subsequent additions to the collection include materials relating to Whichard's career as a judge, 1979-1986, including correspondence, printed material, newspaper clippings, and other material, on subjects such as adoption, parole, the Prison and Jail Project of North Carolina, and the North Carolina State Bar Association. There are also items relating to legal work for the North Carolina Home Builders Association and on municipal bond proposals for the City of Atlanta; the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment in North Carolina, 1972-1979; speeches delivered throughout his career, offering a substantive view of political rhetoric and issues in North Carolina politics in the last half of the 20th century; collected North Carolina political ephemera; scrapbooks; and several photograph albums and a small amount of loose photographs.
Note that the additions have not been integrated into the original deposit but may include legislative and judicial material that overlaps with content in the first nine series.
Back to TopArrangement: By year, then roughly alphabetically.
Items relating to Whichard's career as a North Carolina legislator. Correspondence consists chiefly of letters from Whichard's constituents about legislative issues such as the soft drink tax, ERA, the death penalty, and environmental legislation. Correspondence also includes letters from legislative colleagues and government officials about North Carolina legislative and political affairs.
Box 1-5
Box 1Box 2Box 3Box 4Box 5 |
Legislative Files: Correspondence |
Arrangement: Roughly alphabetically by subject.
Items relating to Whichard's legislative career. These files also include some non-legislative material documenting Whichard's service with various state agencies and non-legislative committees. Subjects include abortion, appropriations, the Democratic Party, ERA, higher education, taxes, and tobacco. Types of material include printed items, legislative reports, drafts of legislative bills, Whichard's notes, memorandums, and some correspondence.
Box 6-18
Box 6Box 7Box 8Box 9Box 10Box 11Box 12Box 13Box 14Box 15Box 16Box 17Box 18 |
Legislative Files: Subject Files |
Arrangement: Roughly by committee.
Items relating to Whichard's service on the Legislative Research Commission, the Juvenile Code Revision Commission, and the Governor's Advisory Committee on Youth Development. Types of material include legislative reports, printed material, drafts of bills, Whichard's notes, and a few items of correspondence.
Box 19-20
Box 19Box 20 |
Legislative Files: Committee Files |
Arrangement: Roughly alphabetically by subject.
Items relating to Whichard's legislative career, including printed material, newspaper clippings, drafts of bills, speeches, Whichard's notes, and a few letters. Notable items include two files on Terry Sanford's presidential campaign in 1976, and James B. Hunt's gubernatorial campaign in 1980.
Box 21 |
Legislative Files: Resource Materials |
Items relating to Whichard's public career, including miscellaneous correspondence, printed material, and miscellaneous subject files.
Box 22 |
Legislative Files: Miscellaneous and Related Files |
Arrangement: Partially arranged by bill docket number.
Items documenting Whichard's service on the General Statutes Commission. These files include commission reports, legislative bills, commission minutes, correspondence, and other material.
Box 23 |
North Carolina General Statutes Commission Files |
Arrangement: Roughly by one of two categories, either North Carolina Land Policy Council or land use material.
Items documenting Whichard's service on the North Carolina Land Policy Council and his interests in land use and land management. This material consists chiefly of subject files.
Box 24 |
North Carolina Land Policy and Land Use Material |
Items relating to Whichard's service on the Southern Growth and Policies Board. The files include correspondence, subject notes, printed material, Southern Growth and Policies Board reports, and other material relating to the Southern Growth and Policies Board.
Box 25-27
Box 25Box 26Box 27 |
Southern Growth Policies Board |
Arrangement: Alphabetically by subject.
Items relating chiefly to Whichard's legislative career and his interests in North Carolina politics. The files include correspondence, newspaper clippings, subject notes, and other material.
Box 28 |
Personal Files |
Arrangement: As received.
Acquisitions Information: Accession 86112
Arrangement: Roughly arranged topically in alphabetical order.
Items relating to Whichard's judicial career, including correspondence, printed material, newspaper clippings, and other material. Subjects included are adoption, parole, the Prison and Jail Project of North Carolina (committee seeking alternatives to prison incarceration), and the North Carolina State Bar Association. Also interfiled are materials relating to Whichard's personal and civic interests, such as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Self Help Study Committee, the American Cancer Society, and the UNC Law Alumni Association.
Box 29-32
Box 29Box 30Box 31Box 32 |
Judicial Files |
Acquisitions Information: Accession 90005
Items relating to the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment in North Carolina. Whichard was a sponsor of bills supporting North Carolina ratification of the Amendment; letters from constituents who supported or disagreed with his stand on the Amendment make up a large part of this material.
Box 33-34
Box 33Box 34 |
Equal Rights Amendment Files |
Acquisitions Information: Accession 98270
Arrangement: Alphabetically by folder title.
These files have been re-foldered and filed in alphabetical order. Original folder titles have been retained. No other processing has been done.
Acquisitions Information: Accession 99917
One form letter with a personalized note to the Whichards from James B. Hunt and his family when they lived in Nepal while Hunt worked for the Ford Foundation, 15 June 1965, and one letter of reference for Dr. David J. Rowe, candidate for senior minister at the Binkley Memorial Baptist Church in Chapel Hill, N.C., from President Jimmy Carter to Whichard, 5 June 1989.
Box 45 |
Letters, 1965, 1989 |
Acquisitions Information: Accession 100221
This addition is not available for immediate or same day access. Please contact Research and Instructional Service staff at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu to discuss options for consulting this collection.
Legislative and government correspondence.
Acquisitions Information: Accession 100984
This addition is not available for immediate or same day access. Please contact Research and Instructional Service staff at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu to discuss options for consulting this collection.
Speeches.
Acquisitions Information: Accession 101602
This addition is not available for immediate or same day access. Please contact Research and Instructional Service staff at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu to discuss options for consulting this collection.
Legal files are arranged into two groups. The first group relates to the North Carolina Home Builders Association, which appears to have been represented by the Powe, Porter, Alphin & Whichard, P.A. law firm, and includes correspondence and other materials relating to legislation on residential development, legal issues, financial billing, and other papers. The second group of materials pertain to James L. Stuart, who apparently worked on municipal bond proposals for the City of Atlanta.
Acquisitions Information: Accession 103181 and 20220110.3.
The bulk of this addition is not available for immediate or same day access. Please contact Research and Instructional Service staff at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu to discuss options for consulting this collection.
Subject files and correspondence documenting Whichard's political career in the North Carolina legislature and judiciary, including campaign materials; speeches delivered throughout his career, offering a substantive view of political rhetoric and issues in North Carolina politics in the last half of the twentieth century; collected North Carolina political ephemera; loose personal papers; scrapbooks; and several photograph albums and a small amount of loose photographs.
Oversize Paper Folder OPF-4426/1 |
Campaign posters and other campaign materials |