Wilson proud of Norfolk State's "X" factor - Norfolk State University president Dr. Harrison B. Wilson

Black Issues in Higher Education, April 3, 1997 by Debra Adams

from the faculty and staff despite his

hands-on style. He has a reputation for ruling

with an iron fist, delegating little and involving

himself in university matters small and large.

"We have better-prepared students," says

Wilson. "I'm proud of my relationship with

the political aspects of the state [and] the

progress of the faculty. They've been steady

and hardworking. The student body loves me.

The administrative staff has worked their

hearts out."

Politically Astute

One of Virginia's most senior college

presidents, Wilson has championed NSU's

cause throughout the state, working with

governors and general assemblies to acquire

more money -- and stature -- for the public

university. His defining moment, he and

observers agree, came during the late 1970s

when he staved off an attempt to merge

Norfolk State with predominantly white Old

Dominion University, which is also located in

Norfolk. A federal mandate called for either

merging the schools or switching academic

programs between schools. Wilson insisted

that NSU was a cultural center of the

community. The merger never happened and

now 18 percent of NSU's student population

is not Black. His wife, Lucy Wilson, is a

retired associate vice president for student

services at ODU.

"We decided both schools should be

independent," he says. "We're both strong."

At Wilson's retirement announcement, he

reflected on his tenure at Norfolk State.

Pointing to an NSU graduate whom he

described as a country gal from Emporia,

Wilson said that students like Tracey

Holoman "give me inspiration." Holoman had

continued her education when she left NSU

and, last year, received a doctorate in chemical

engineering from the University of Maryland.

"We give kids the kind of confidence to

go anywhere else and fit in a very tough

situation," Wilson bragged. "Evidently, there's

an `X' factor they don't get at other

schools: That's confidence [and] tender

loving care."

Wilson's tenacity won him support in

Richmond -- even if it irritated the politicians

and bureaucrats he dogged. He has helped

NSU grow into "probably one of the

strongest historically Black universities

in the United States," according to Gordon K.

Davies, director of the State Council of Higher

Education.

"I don't know if he played football, but if

he did, he played the single wing -- four yards

and a cloud of dust. And he ran another four

yards. He just doesn't give up," Davies told

The Virginian-Pilot following Wilson's retirement

announcement.

Davies and Wilson have clashed over

NSU's academic standards. The state has

pushed the university to be more selective

in its admission policies to increase its

graduation rate. As a result, NSU plans to

strengthen its admissions requirements this

year. And the university has recently added

counseling and tutoring programs to assist

students. But Davies still questions whether

enough has been done. Wilson responds that

because many students were weak performers

in high school, or attended substandard

schools, or may have come from

lower-income families and have had to take

time off to work to pay for tuition, NSU