Former chancellor and retired law professor William B. Aycock, who would have turned 100 in October, has died.
Aycock was chancellor from 1957 to 1964.
During his time as chancellor, he famously opposed the Speaker Ban Law, which was passed by the N.C. General Assembly in 1963 to prevent Communist speakers from visiting campus.
Aycock received a bachelor's degree in education from N.C. State University and a master's in history from UNC. He graduated from the UNC School of Law in 1948. He began teaching at the University that same year.
Aycock taught at the law school for 29 years, earning the McCall Teaching Award five times. He was a member of the Order of the Golden Fleece and an honorary member of Phi Beta Kappa.
He was recognized in the law community with the North Carolina Bar Association's Liberty Bell Award and the UNC Law School's Distinguished Alumnus and Lifetime Achievement Awards.
He was given the University Award by the Board of Governors and the William R. Davie Award by the UNC Board of Trustees.
The School of Medicine has a distinguished professorship named in his honor.
Aycock's last public visit to the University was at the ceremony naming the law school's new dean on June 5.
