William Robert Harvey (born January 29, 1941,

Brewton, Alabama Brewton is a city in and the county seat of Escambia County, Alabama, Escambia County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 5,276. Brewton is located in south central Alabama, just north of ...

) is an American educator, academic administrator, and businessman who served as president of

Hampton University Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missionary Association af ...

from 1978 to 2022. He is the longest serving president in the school's history. Harvey became the first African-American owner in the

soft drink A soft drink (see § Terminology for other names) is a drink that usually contains water (often carbonated), a sweetener, and a natural and/or artificial flavoring. The sweetener may be a sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice, a su ...

bottling industry when he and his wife, Norma Baker Harvey, purchased a

Pepsi-Cola Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi was ...

Bottling Company franchise together in 1986. On December 15, 2020, He announced his plans to retire as President of Hampton University by June 2022. He officially retired on June 30, 2022, after serving nearly 44 consecutive years as president.

References

1941 births People from Brewton, Alabama Living people Hampton University faculty Talladega College alumni Virginia State University alumni Harvard University faculty American academic administrators Presidents of Hampton University Educators from Alabama Academics from Alabama 21st-century African-American businesspeople 21st-century American businesspeople Harvard University alumni Harvard University administrators 20th-century African-American businesspeople 20th-century American businesspeople {{US-academic-administrator-1940s-stub

See also

References