J. Carlyle Sitterson

Who was J. Carlyle Sitterson?

Joseph Carlyle "Lyle" Sitterson was an American educator who served as chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from February 16, 1966 to January 31, 1972.

A native of Kinston, North Carolina, Sitterson first came to UNC in 1927 as an undergraduate student. He remained at the University, joining the faculty of the history department in 1935 and later earning his Ph.D., also in history. In 1955, Sitterson became the dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, becoming vice chancellor in 1965 under Chancellor Paul F. Sharp.

On February 16, 1966, Sitterson was installed as chancellor of the University, succeeding outgoing Chancellor Paul Sharp. Sitterson took office in the midst of the controversy surrounding the North Carolina Speaker Ban Law, a state law passed on June 26, 1963 by the North Carolina General Assembly which forbade individuals who were known to be members of the Communist Party or had invoked the Fifth Amendment in connection with congressional investigations of communist activities from speaking on any of the campuses of the University of North Carolina.

Student leaders and faculty members of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill led a campus movement in opposition to the law which climaxed with the invitation of speakers Herbert Aptheker and Frank Wilkinson. Two weeks into his chancellorship, Sitterson denied the students' request to allow Aptheker and Wilkinson to speak on campus. On March 2, 1966, Frank Wilkinson spoke to a crowd of more than 2,000 students from across a wall that separated the campus of the University from the surrounding town of Chapel Hill - thereby avoiding trespass of the law. On March 9, 1966, Aptheker followed in Wilkinson's footsteps, speaking to a similar sized crowd from a position across the wall. The denial of the speakers' invitations was used as the basis for the lawsuit which, in 1968, eventually overturned the North Carolina Speaker Ban Law before a U.S. District Court in Greensboro, North Carolina. Student leaders took the role as the plaintiffs in the lawsuit while Sitterson, UNC System President William C. Friday;, the University of North Carolina and even the State of North Carolina were the defendants.