University Provost Emeritus Edwin Wilson received the North Carolina Award Nov. 19 at the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh. Wilson, along with six others, received the prestigious award, which was instituted in 1961 by the General Assembly of the State Legislature to recognize notable accomplishments by North Carolina citizens in the fields of scholarship, research, the fine arts and public leadership.

According to a letter of congratulations in the awards program, the North Carolina Award is the highest honor the State can bestow on an individual. Wilson joins the ranks of well-known North Carolina Award recipients Andy Griffith, Maya Angelou, Billy Graham and Elizabeth Dole.

A five-member committee that is currently chaired by university President Thomas K. Hearn Jr., chooses the winners. According to the program, the committee chose to honor Wilson this year in recognition of his "enormous contributions to the university and devotion to North Carolina."

Wilson wasn't expecting the honor, though. "I was surprised," he said. "I had no idea this would ever happen."

Born and raised in North Carolina, Wilson has only lived outside the state during his service in the United States Navy and throughout his graduate studies. "It is not only the state of my birth, it is the home of my destiny and my love," he said.

Wilson was born the youngest of five children in Leaksville in 1923. At the age of 16 he attended Wake Forest College with plans of becoming a newspaper journalist. After graduating in 1943, Wilson served in the U.S. Navy for three years. He then returned to the university to teach English for a year, after which he attended Harvard where he received his doctoral degree in English.

Upon his completion of graduate school in 1952, Wilson came back, once again, to his alma mater. Since that time, he has worn several hats on the university's behalf, including that of professor, administrator, provost and vice president in charge of special projects. Wilson has also served as the school's representative in the National Collegiate Athletic Association and as president of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Though he officially retired from the administration at the end of this summer, Wilson plans to remain active in university life and in pursuing his own desires. "I plan simply to do writing, traveling and perhaps to even teach a class," he said.

Wilson said his greatest joys and the things of which he is most proud revolve around the university and its development. "I suppose that really I have enjoyed teaching and received more satisfaction from it than anything else I've done," he said, noting that professorship has afforded him the opportunity to build relationships with many students over the years.

Wilson is very proud of the growth and maturation of the university that he has witnessed during his career. According to Wilson, the university has stayed true to its ideals and remains, essentially, the same institution he first encountered even in the face of increasing national prestige and recognition. "I think Wake Forest has done well in blending change with the basic understanding of the college it has always been," he said.