William C. Ferguson (died October 14, 2015) was a telecommunications executive who served as chairman and CEO of

NYNEX NYNEX Corporation was an American telephone company that served five states of New England (Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont) as well as most of the state of New York from January 1, 1984 to August 14, 1997. Histor ...

."William Ferguson"
(paid obituary), ''The New York Times'', October 23, 2015. __TOC__

Early life

William "Bill" Ferguson was born in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

in 1930 to William and Betty Ferguson. His parents, a Scottish immigrant and a

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

farm girl, moved the family to

Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city prop ...

, where Ferguson spent much of his early childhood. Ten years later, the family moved to

Trenton, Michigan Trenton is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, United States. At the 2010 census, the city population was 18,853. A Shawnee village was built in the area by war chief Blue Jacket after the 1795 Treaty of Greenville. The area later became the site ...

. At age 14, Ferguson met Joyce Soby, his future wife and close partner in his philanthropic work, on a school hayride. At Trenton High School, Ferguson played basketball, football, and baseball and graduated in 1948, becoming the first member of his family to receive more than a ninth-grade education. In order to fund his college tuition, Ferguson held several jobs throughout high school and college summers: loading rims in box cars at Firestone, working on a labor gang at Penn Salt in

Wyandotte, Michigan Wyandotte ( ) is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 25,058 at the 2020 census. Wyandotte is located in southeastern Michigan, approximately south of Detroit on the Detroit River, and it is part of the coll ...

, and caddying at Grosse Ile Golf and Country Club. June of ’52 was a busy one: graduating college, marrying his high-school sweetheart and joining

Michigan Bell Michigan Bell is the subsidiary of AT&T serving the state of Michigan. Following the Bell System divestiture on January 8, 1984, the company became a subsidiary of Ameritech, the Regional Bell operating company that served the midwestern United St ...

as a management trainee, only to be drafted into the U.S. Army in September 1952. Stationed in Fort Monmouth, NJ, as a Corporal teaching electronics at the Signal Corps School, Bill returned to Michigan Bell in Detroit in 1954 to continue his career. An avid three- handicap golfer, Bill was a member of the Grosse Ile Golf and Country Club in Michigan,

Winged Foot Golf Club Winged Foot Golf Club is a private golf club in the northeastern United States, located in Mamaroneck, New York, a suburb northeast of New York City. The club was founded in 1921, by a group largely made up of members of The New York Athletic Cl ...

in New York, Jupiter Hills Country Club in Florida and several clubs in Hilton Head, SC. Faith also played a role in Bill's life, calling the

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelic ...

es of Trenton, MI, and Armonk, NY, his sanctuaries.

Education

Ferguson graduated from

Albion College Albion College is a private liberal arts college in Albion, Michigan. The college was founded in 1835 and its undergraduate population was approximately 1,500 students in 2014. They participate in NCAA Division III and the Michigan Interco ...

in 1952 with a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

Liberal Arts Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term '' art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically th ...

, majoring in mathematics with physics and economics minors, and also earning a Secondary Teaching Certificate. He later received

honorary doctorates An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

from Albion, New York Institute of Technology and

Pace University Pace University is a private university with its main campus in New York City and secondary campuses in Westchester County, New York. It was established in 1906 by the brothers Homer St. Clair Pace and Charles A. Pace as a business school. Pace ...

. As an Albion student, Bill was a four-year participant in

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

and member of the 1950 MIAA Championship Baseball Team. In 1997 he was inducted into the Albion College sports Hall of Fame, and served as the master of ceremonies of the Albion Hall of Fame dinner from 1989 to 1994. Bill was also a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity.

Career

Ferguson had 40 years of telecommunication experience including serving as president and CEO of

New York Telephone The New York Telephone Company (NYTel) was organized in 1896, taking over the New York City operations of the American Bell Telephone Company. Predecessor companies The Telephone Company of New York was formed under franchise in 1876. The princi ...

and executive vice president and chief operating officer of

Telephone. Ferguson joined Michigan Bell in 1952 and was elected an officer in 1971. He became vice president for New York Telephone in 1977, then returned to Michigan Bell in 1978 as executive VP and COO, holding that position until 1983, when he was appointed president and CEO of New York Telephone. Ferguson remained in that position until 1987 when he was elected vice chairman of

’s two major subsidiaries ( New England Telephone and

). He retired as chairman and CEO of NYNEX in April 1995, after holding that position for six years. Ferguson remained on the NYNEX board of directors until the end of 1995.

Philanthropy and service

A firm believer in a liberal arts education, Bill tirelessly gave back to his alma mater throughout his lifetime. Member of the

board of trustees from 1980 to 2004 and chairman from ’89 to ’96, acting president of the college from 1995 to 1996, visiting professor, guest speaker and recipient of an honorary doctorate.
In 1996, he and Joyce established and supported numerous scholarships and endowments, with the most notable support being the Ferguson Student, Technology and Administrative Services Building dedicated in 2002. With the help of his wife Joyce, William established scholarships for Albion College students in education, communications studies, music, and the Carl A. Gerstacker Institute for Business and Management. The Fergusons also established endowments to support the Art and Art History Department, faculty development, Whitehouse Nature Center, and the groundbreaking Ferguson Center for Technology-Aided Teaching. The Fergusons dedicated the Ferguson Dance Studio in Kresge Gymnasium to their three daughters: Laura Ferguson, Ellen Keleman, and Joanne Gerrish. In 2002, the William C. Ferguson Student, Technology, and Administrative building was dedicated as a new home for the college president's office; the offices of academic affairs, finance and management, information technology, institutional advancement, and student affairs; and a twenty-four hour computer lab.
An active member of several corporate boards, including

Viacom Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to: * Viacom (1952–2006), a former American media conglomerate * Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom * Viacom18, a joint venture between Par ...

, General RE,

Best Foods Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporatio ...

, Corn Products, Eircom, HSBC USA and others, Ferguson also held many charitable posts such as chairman of the board,

United Way United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit fundraising affiliates. United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public, prior to 2016. United Way organizations raise funds ...

Tri-State and chairman of the United Way New York City Drive, vice chairman of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and vice chairman of the Detroit Chamber of Commerce.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferguson, William C. 1930 births 2015 deaths American chief executives Albion College alumni Albion Britons baseball players American chief operating officers