Reflections on a Legacy of Leadership: the Fountain Family and Dr. Randy Woodson

We wrote in June about one name that stands out among notable figures – mostly ball players and war heroes – from Fordyce, Arkansas (population: 4,300):

“Nestled in after Ray Porter (World War II general) and Kevin Williams (defensive tackle for the Minnesota Vikings) is a name with a different sort of resume attached to it: Dr. William ‘Randy’ Woodson, plant scientist and former chancellor, N.C. State University.”

At a gathering of North Carolina business leaders, recently retired energy executive David Fountain spoke about Dr. Woodson. Mr. Fountain described the impact on his own life of decisions made by his grandfather and grandmother a century ago, and analogized that to the impact Dr. Woodson has had on tens of thousands of NC State students over the years.

We think it contains lessons applicable to most everyone. The Fountain Family has graciously permitted us to recount it this morning.

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Robert Roy Fountain was born in 1895 into a family of struggling tobacco farmers in the remote community of “Back Swamp” in Onslow County, N.C. He entered the world poor and had no reason to expect that his children and grandchildren would not do the same. Out of necessity, Roy and his seven brothers were put to work on the farm at an early age. His parents applied what the family called “The John Smith Rule,” a nod to Captain John Smith’s famous 1607 order at the Jamestown settlement – “He who does not work shall not eat!”

In 1917, at age 22, Roy was drafted into the U.S. Army as America entered World War I. He served as a Sergeant of Artillery in France and always said that he was placed in the artillery because he knew how to drive a team of mules! When the war was over, he returned to Onslow County, working extreme hours to save the family farm through the deep post-war depression. That done, and with the encouragement of a younger brother who had entered NC State two years earlier, Roy was accepted into the College of Agriculture, despite only having completed eight years of formal schooling.

During his time in Raleigh, Roy excelled. While majoring in Poultry Science, he became a campus leader as Editor of The Technician student newspaper, Drum Major of the band, and campus boxing champion, among other things. Recognizing that “The path out of poverty goes right through the schoolhouse door,” Roy graduated at the head of his class in 1927.

Following graduation, Roy embarked on a successful career in the insurance industry, enticed by a regular paycheck. He married Hilda Burton, also of Onslow County and a 1929 graduate of the North Carolina College for Women (now UNC-Greensboro). The couple eventually settled in High Point, the place that Roy’s children and grandchildren would call home for over 50 years.

In recognition of the boost that education provided to the Fountain family, Roy’s three sons subsequently endowed a scholarship at NC State’s College of Agriculture in his name, along with a similar scholarship at UNC-Greensboro in their mother’s name. Over the last century, Roy and Hilda’s three sons and nine grandchildren have gone on to further distinction.

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Roy’s grandson, David Fountain, recounted some of this history to a group of gathered business leaders earlier this year. He said that his grandfather and grandmother changed the arc of opportunity for the Fountain family – of every generation that has come after them – when they made the courageous decision to leave their families’ farms and enroll in college.

And Dr. Woodson, David said, has changed the arc of opportunity for thousands of families during his 15 years as chancellor at NC State. During Dr. Woodson’s tenure, the university’s applicant pool and graduation rate both went up, its graduate indebtedness went down, and its engineering programs ranked near the top in the country. NC State’s prominent climb, coupled with Dr. Woodson’s sheer longevity in a challenging job, places him among the most successful and respected chancellors in the history of the UNC System.

That’s what happens when competence meets devotion. Whether it’s Roy and Hilda Fountain, Dr. Woodson, or North Carolina’s business leaders, good things happen when people with competence devote themselves to a mission. In so doing, they can change lives, families, and even states for decades to come.