Robert P. Kennel: Poulton’s legacy

Regarding the June 23 editorial “Poulton’s days”: Over the past year, I visited several times with former N.C. State Chancellor Bruce Poulton at his and Betty’s beloved lake home, checking information for a background book I have written on Jim Valvano.

The book contains several letters from Poulton seeking my help in trying to reason with the UNC Board of Governors because I was a former athlete, a proud alumnus and first president of the N.C. State Parents’ Association, which Poulton had started.

He primarily wanted the overblown Valvano situation handled by the N.C. State Board of Trustees rather than the UNC Board of Governors. Poulton ultimately resigned his chancellorship in 1989 and was totally unappreciated by the UNC Board of Governors.

But he continued his valuable service to N.C. State in other roles well into the 21st century. His prescient planning for the Centennial Campus beginning in the mid-1980s has now set the stage for an ultimate “Town-Gown Handshake” between Raleigh’s planned Dix Hill destination park and the burgeoning Centennial Campus on their mutual East-West boundary.

Poulton was both a good man and an N.C. State visionary who will become much more appreciated over time.

This story was originally published June 25, 2015 at 5:20 PM with the headline "Robert P. Kennel: Poulton’s legacy."