David Jordan Whichard II

Image source: David J. Whichard II

David Jordan Whichard II continued his family’s tradition of energetically supporting East Carolina University in numerous ways. Whichard was born March 20, 1927 to David Julian Whichard and Virginia Suther Whichard. His grandfather and namesake, David Jordan Whichard, founded the Daily Reflector newspaper. From the start, the Daily Reflector was an advocate of both Greenville and the creation of a training school for teachers in the East. D. J. Whichard II continued in the family business, early on delivering newspapers. He graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in 1948 with a B.A. in Journalism. While at UNC, he gained valuable experience in journalism by working for the Daily Tar Heel.

After graduation, Whichard first worked as a reporter for the Daily Reflector. By 1954, he was the paper’s editor. In addition to the Daily Reflector, Whichard began publishing, in the 1960s, a number of community newspapers throughout eastern North Carolina. As he gained prominence in the newspaper industry, he served on numerous boards and committees relating to journalism in the Southeast. He served as president of the Southern Newspapers Publishers Association and the North Carolina Press Association. He was also on the Associated Press Board of Directors from 1990-1996. In 1995, Whichard was inducted into the UNC Journalism Hall of Fame.

A lifelong friend of public education, Whichard ensured that the Daily Reflector backed President Leo W. Jenkins and East Carolina College in the drive for university status in the 1960s. From 1963-1973, Whichard served on the East Carolina Board of Trustees. Despite resistance from friends at UNC, Whichard spoke before the North Carolina General Assembly, expressing his strong support for East Carolina in its bid for university status. Whichard emphasized the profound service that East Carolina provided the state. In making his case, Whichard publicly disagreed with Governor Dan Moore, an opponent of East Carolina’s aspirations. Whichard used the Daily Reflector to mobilize Greenville and eastern North Carolina for the drive for university status. Despite widespread opposition, East Carolina achieved university status in 1967.

Whichard was also a strong supporter of the bid to have the state establish a medical school at East Carolina. In the wake of that victory, Whichard served as chairman of the ECU Medical and Health Sciences Foundation and as a member of the North Carolina Board of Higher Education. In every respect, Whichard and the Daily Reflector consistently supported East Carolina’s multifaceted growth in the arts, humanities, athletics, and health sciences.

At the state-level, Whichard served on the State University System Board of Governors from 1973-1989, and on the UNC Chapel-Hill Board of Trustees from 1991-1999. Whichard also served on the boards of Wachovia Bank of North Carolina, the Global TransPark Foundation, and the North Carolina Public Television Foundation.

Whichard was named Greenville’s Citizen of the Year in 1981 in recognition of his multifaceted contributions to the city. Until his passing in 2015, Whichard was an active member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. Continuing the tradition of journalistic service pioneered by his father and grandfather, David Jordan Whichard II made his family’s name virtually synonymous with Greenville’s progressive development through public education, especially as centered in the work of East Carolina University.

Sources

• Bratton, Mary Jo Jackson. East Carolina: The Formative Years, 1907-1982. Greenville, NC: East Carolina University Alumni Association, 1986.
• Copeland, Elizabeth H., ed. Chronicles of Pitt County, North Carolina. Winston-Salem, NC: Hunter Publishing Company, 1982.
• Daily Reflector Negative Collection (#741), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.
• “David Jordan Whichard II.” The News & Observer, August 10, 2015.
• David J. Whichard II Papers (#1229), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.
• Interview with David J. Whichard II and Stuart Savage (#1295), East Carolina Digital Collections, J. Y. Joyner Library, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.
• Livingston, Ginger. “Former Reflector Publisher Dies.” The Daily Reflector, August 10, 2015.

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