Willis D. Weatherford was an American economist, educator, academic administrator, and college president. As the sixth president of Berea College from 1967 to 1984, he strengthened the institution's Appalachian mission, liberal-arts education, interracial commitments, civic service, and Christian concern for students with financial need.
Background
Willis Duke Weatherford was born in Biltmore, North Carolina, on June 24, 1916, the only child of educator and social reformer Willis Duke Weatherford Sr. and Julia McCrory Weatherford. His father was a prominent YMCA leader, founder of Blue Ridge Assembly, advocate of interracial cooperation, and longtime adviser and trustee of Berea College. Weatherford grew up within a family tradition closely associated with education, religion, youth work, race relations, and Appalachian development. His father's work in Appalachian service, YMCA leadership, and interracial cooperation exerted a strong influence on his later public career. Weatherford married Anne Cobbs Smith in 1954, and they raised five children—Edith, Alice, Julia, Susan, and Willis Duke Weatherford III. All five children graduated from Berea College.
Education
Weatherford earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Vanderbilt University in 1937 and a bachelor's degree from Yale University in 1940, identified in institutional biographical material as a degree from Yale Divinity School. He pursued postgraduate study at the University of North Carolina and graduate study in economics at Harvard University, where he served as a teaching fellow and tutor and received a Master of Arts degree in 1943 and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in economics in 1952. His graduate work included labor economics and research concerning the organization of labor in the South. He later received honorary Doctor of Law degrees from Carleton College and Swarthmore College, and honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degrees from Blackburn University, Transylvania University, and Berea College. Tusculum College awarded him an honorary Doctor of Law degree.
Weatherford began his professional life as director of youth work for the Methodist Commission on World Peace from 1943 to 1944. During the Second World War and its aftermath, he served for three years as a relief worker with the American Friends Service Committee, participating in refugee relief in Europe from 1944 to 1947. He subsequently taught economics at Swarthmore College, first as an assistant professor and later as an associate professor; he remained associated with the college for approximately seventeen years and specialized in labor economics. His work also included research in India, service as a rural-development adviser in Malaya, and international volunteer and research activity in Europe, Asia, and the United States. From 1961 to 1965 he directed the Volunteer Assistance Division of Volunteers in Service to America. He became dean of Carleton College in 1965 and served until 1967, when he succeeded Francis S. Hutchins as the sixth president of Berea College. During his presidency from 1967 to 1984, Weatherford promoted Berea's commitments to Appalachian students, liberal education, interracial responsibility, civic service, the dignity of labor, and moral and spiritual development. His administration expanded programs serving the Appalachian region, supported the creation of the Appalachian Center, helped establish the Campus Christian Center, and contributed to the formal articulation of Berea's Great Commitments. He also strengthened the college's financial position, increasing its endowment by more than $40 million during his presidency. After leaving the presidency, he continued serving educational, religious, and community organizations as a trustee, adviser, and honorary trustee.
Achievements
Expanded Berea College's endowment by more than $40 million during his presidency from 1967 to 1984.
Promoted Berea College's regional mission through advocacy for Appalachian students, liberal education, interracial responsibility, civic service, and moral and spiritual development.
Directed international volunteer, refugee-relief, and research work in Europe, Malaya, India, and the United States.
Promoted the creation of Berea College's Appalachian Center and supported programs connecting liberal education with service to Appalachian communities.
Helped establish Berea College's Campus Christian Center and supported the institutional articulation of the Great Commitments.
Works
article
The Roles of Labor in the Economic Development of Pakistan
(Article addressing labor's role in Pakistan's economic de...)
1962
book
Economies of the World Today: Their Organization, Development and Performance
(Book on the organization, development, and performance of...)
1966
Goals of Higher Education
(Book examining the purposes and goals of higher education.)
1960
conference proceedings
Student Life and Higher Education: A Conference for Visiting Fulbright Scholars at Swarthmore, Pa., June 9–13, 1954
(Proceedings of a conference for visiting Fulbright schola...)
1957
monograph
Geographic Differentials of Agricultural Wages in the United States
(Study of regional differences in agricultural wages in th...)
1957
Religion
Weatherford's public work was shaped by Christian service, moral and spiritual development, and interracial responsibility. His documented religious connection included Grace Episcopal Church.
Views
Weatherford held that Berea College could adapt its educational methods to changing conditions without abandoning its distinctive regional mission. He associated liberal education with service to Appalachian communities, racial justice, civic responsibility, the dignity of labor, and the moral and spiritual growth of students. In his presidential vision, participation in mainstream American higher education was acceptable only when it strengthened rather than displaced Berea's special commitments.
Quotations:
"If this means dropping our commitment to a region and its special problems, dropping our service to students in special need and dropping our emphasis on moral and spiritual growth of students, then let us stay out of the mainstream. But if joining the mainstream implies adapting our educational means to better achieve our special purposes in the midst of changing conditions, then let's swim in the middle of the swiftest current."
Membership
Weatherford belonged to the Economic Association and the Association for Asian Studies and was a member of the American Association of University Professors, serving as president of its chapter in 1965. His other documented affiliations included Grace Episcopal Church, Phi Beta Kappa, Omicron Delta Kappa, and Phi Kappa Phi. He served as a trustee of the YMCA, Warren Wilson College, the Frontier Nursing Service, the American Association of Presidents of Independent Colleges and Universities, and Pine Mountain Settlement School. At Pine Mountain Settlement School he chaired the board in 1973 and 1974 and later became an honorary trustee.
Economic Association
,
United States
Association for Asian Studies
,
United States
President of the chapter in 1965.
American Association of University Professors
,
United States
Grace Episcopal Church
,
United States
Phi Beta Kappa
,
United States
Omicron Delta Kappa
,
United States
Phi Kappa Phi
,
United States
Trustee; chairman of the board in 1973 and 1974; honorary trustee from 1979.
Pine Mountain Settlement School
,
United States
1970
Trustee.
Frontier Nursing Service
,
United States
Trustee.
Warren Wilson College
,
United States
Trustee.
YMCA
,
United States
Trustee or board member.
American Association of Presidents of Independent Colleges and Universities
,
United States
Personality
Weatherford was described as possessing quiet, reflective dignity and as a forceful advocate for Berea College's commitments to Appalachia, students in financial need, and liberal education.
Quotes from others about the person
He was described as a man of quiet, reflective dignity and a forceful advocate for Berea College's commitment to Appalachia, poor but deserving students, and liberal education.
Interests
International service, Appalachian development, refugee relief, interracial education, and the study of economic and social conditions affecting rural communities.
Connections
Weatherford's professional and family connections were closely linked to the educational and service traditions of his father, Willis Duke Weatherford Sr., whose work in Appalachian development, youth work, YMCA leadership, race relations, and Berea College influenced his son's career. Weatherford's marriage to Anne Cobbs Smith in 1954 connected him to a family life centered on Berea College; their five children—Edith, Alice, Julia, Susan, and Willis Duke Weatherford III—each graduated from Berea College. Through his presidency of Berea College, he was also connected institutionally with Pine Mountain Settlement School and served as a trustee and later honorary trustee.
Wife:
Anne Cobbs Smith Weatherford
Married Weatherford in 1954; they had five children.
Willis D. Weatherford, Jr. papers
Berea College archival collection documenting Weatherford's professional and personal life and his service as the college's sixth president.
