Loy H. Witherspoon [7], 2010 June 3

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Identifier: OH-UA-WI0069

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Loy H. Witherspoon oral history interview 7, 2010 June 3

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Scope and Contents

In this fourth of seven interviews given by Loy Witherspoon and conducted by Christina Wright, Dr. Witherspoon focuses the conversation on Bonnie Cone, the founder of UNC Charlotte. He discusses Ms. Cone's long relationship with UNC Charlotte, including her efforts to make Charlotte College a four-year institution and part of the University of North Carolina system during the 1940s-1960s, her vision for Dr. Witherspoon to serve a ministerial role on campus, and her being passed over as Chancellor of the university in the 1960s, which he speculates may have been because of her gender. Dr. Witherspoon also describes his concern for an ecumenical approach to ministry on campus, and how he, Ms. Cone, and other faculty members settled in the College Downs neighborhood, adjacent to the university.

Dates

Creation: 2010 June 3

Conditions Governing Access

Original audiovisual materials are closed to patron use. Please contact Special Collections to request the creation of use copies for particular items; requests will be accommodated when possible. The remaining materials are open for research.

Biographical Note

Loy Witherspoon was a 80-year-old man at the time of interview, which took place on the campus of UNC Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was born in Catawba, North Carolina in 1930. He graduated from Duke University with a BA and a BD degree, and from Boston University with a PhD in the New Testament. He was employed with UNC Charlotte from 1964 to 1994, where he led the Department of Philosophy and Religion, then established and chaired the Department of Religious Studies when it split off from philosophy beginning in 1972.