Norman Adrian Wiggins (February 6, 1924 – August 1, 2007) was the third president of
Campbell University
Campbell University is a private Baptist university in Buies Creek, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina (Southern Baptist Convention). Southern Baptist ConventionColleges and Universities sbc.net ...
Burlington, North Carolina
Burlington is a city in Alamance County, North Carolina, Alamance and Guilford County, North Carolina, Guilford counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the principal city of the Burlington, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Are ...
on February 6, 1924.
In 1942, Wiggins enrolled in Campbell College, which was 70 miles from his home. In 1943, he was pressed to serve as a Marine in the Pacific during World War II. After returning to Campbell in 1947, he went on to receive his Associate of Arts degree. He also met the love of his life, Mildred Harmon, and married her on April 14, 1948. By 1950, he had earned a Bachelor of Arts (magna cum laude) from Wake Forest College. In 1952, he graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (cum laude) from Wake Forest College School of Law. In his lifetime, he did achieve Master of Law and Doctor of the Science of Law from
Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...
.
Career
On June 6, 1967, Wiggins became president of what was then known as Campbell College. He would remain in the position until 2003, when he retired at 79 and was honored with the title of
chancellor
Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
. During his tenure, his passionate leadership inspired the establishment of five professional schools, which led to Campbell College's transformation to a university in 1979. Campbell now enrolls roughly 10,000 students, making it one of the largest Baptist universities in the country.
The
Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law
The Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law (also known as Campbell Law School or Campbell University School of Law) is a private law school in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1976, the law school is one of six graduate programs ...
was named after him.
Death
Wiggins died in a
Winston-Salem
Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...
hospital of complications from lymphoma. He had taken a short leave as university president in 2001 after being diagnosed with that form of cancer. He was survived by Millie Wiggins, his wife of more than 50 years.