BUIES CREEK — Campbell
University will name its new library the Wiggins Memorial Library in memory of
former president Norman Adrian Wiggins and in honor of his wife Mildred Harmon
Wiggins.
Wiggins, Campbell’s third
president, died in 2007, leaving a legacy of accomplishments which includes the
establishment of the Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law in the building where
the new library is located. The law school relocated to Raleigh in 2009.
“It is indeed a great honor
for the library to be named after one of the most outstanding leaders in the
history of Campbell University and his wife,” said Library Director Borree
Kwok. “The newly positioned and significantly enhanced library reflects the
Wiggins’ passion and vision for education, providing a dynamic learning
environment for students, and serving as the center of the university’s
intellectual life.”
The library, which also
occupies part of Kivett Hall, contains 59,000 square feet and over 241,000
books, journals and government documents, a wireless network of over 110
computers and approximately 1 million microforms. It also contains a vast
inventory of audio/visual materials such as CDs, DVDs, VHS, audio books and
teaching aid materials.
Norman Wiggins was president
of Campbell University from 1967-2003. During those decades, he led the school
to university status, and, by 2001, Campbell had a thriving four-year
undergraduate liberal arts program as well as five professional schools: the
Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law, the Lundy-Fetterman School of Business,
the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, the School of Education and the
Campbell Divinity School. In addition, Wiggins established the award-winning
Army ROTC program in 1971 that grew to include three other campuses — Fayetteville
State University, Methodist University and the University of North Carolina at
Pembroke. Campbell also established satellite campuses at Fort Bragg, Pope Air
Force Base, Camp Lejeune, Research Triangle Park in Raleigh and a degree
program in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia during Wiggins’ tenure.
Wiggins was president of the
Baptist State Convention of North Carolina from 1984-85 and as one of the
founders of the state Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, he
helped secure public tuition grants for North Carolina students.
Mildred “Millie” Harmon
Wiggins defined the role of First Lady of Campbell University, working quietly
behind the scenes to support her husband and the Campbell mission. A member of
Campbell’s class of 1948, Millie Wiggins is a native of Coats and a graduate of
Campbell College, Wake Forest College and Columbia University. Mrs. Wiggins
taught in the Rocky Mount and Winston-Salem public school systems.