[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 127 (Friday, August 3, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1728]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                IN MEMORIAL OF DR. NORMAN ADRIAN WIGGINS

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                           HON. BOB ETHERIDGE

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, August 2, 2007

  Mr. ETHERIDGE. Madam Speaker, today I rise to honor the life of Dr. 
Norman Adrian Wiggins, who died August 1, 2007. In his passing I lost a 
good friend, Campbell University lost her Chancellor, North Carolina 
lost one of its most outstanding citizens and a man who was 
instrumental in his community, county, and State.
  A native of Burlington, North Carolina, Dr. Wiggins was a veteran of 
World War II, where he served in the United States Marine Corps. After 
returning from his service to our Nation, he began his educational 
pilgrimage and earned the Associate of Arts degree from Campbell Junior 
College, the Bachelor of Arts degree from Wake Forest College, the 
Bachelor of Laws degree from the Wake Forest College School of Law and 
the Master of Law and Doctor of the Science of Law from Columbia 
University School of Law.
  On June 6, 1967, Dr. Wiggins became the 3rd president of Campbell 
College and immediately began piloting a new course for the 
institution. It would lead to the establishment of one of the most 
outstanding trust management programs in the Nation, an award-winning 
and nationally recognized Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC), 
and the establishment of five professional schools--the Norman Adrian 
Wiggins School of Law, the Lundy-Fetterman School of Business, the 
School of Education, the School of Pharmacy and the Divinity School. He 
also led in the College's move to university status in 1979. Under Dr. 
Wiggins' leadership, Campbell's educational programs were extended 
beyond the Buies Creek campus as the University was among the first 
private schools to offer extended education opportunities to military 
installations, including Fort Bragg, Pope Air Force Base, New River Air 
Base and Camp Lejeune. Dr. Wiggins' most notable international venture 
was the creation of the partnership between Campbell University and 
Tunku Abdul Rahman College in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, a partnership 
that has lasted more than twenty-five years.
  Dr. Wiggins was a devoted Christian; he served North Carolina 
Baptists at the State and national levels. He was one of only two 
Baptist college presidents to serve as president of the North Carolina 
Baptist State Convention. He also served as president of the Southern 
Baptist Sunday School Board and the National Fellowship of Men. In May 
2003, following a thirty-six year tenure as president of Campbell 
University, Dr. Wiggins retired. In recognition of his exemplary 
service, the Board of Trustees named Dr. Wiggins Chancellor of the 
University. Dr. Wiggins is survived by his wife Millie Wiggins.
  Madam Speaker, Dr. Wiggins had a commitment to excellence in 
everything he did, and he had a way of bringing out excellence in 
everyone around him. That commitment is evident in all aspects of 
Campbell University. Under Dr. Wiggins' leadership Campbell experienced 
unprecedented growth in facilities, dollars and quality. The number of 
students' lives he changed in a positive way is immeasurable. Campbell 
University, Harnett County and the entire State of North Carolina are 
better in countless ways because of the efforts of Dr. Wiggins.

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