| The Luther H. Hodges
Professorship in Business Administration honors the former N.C.
governor and U.S. Secretary of Commerce, who graduated from the
University in 1919. This professorship was
established in 1977 following a successful three-year campaign by his
friends and former colleagues. The drive was headed by Hodges’ close
associate, Hugh Morton of Wilmington and Grandfather Mountain. It
supports the teaching and research efforts of a distinguished scholar in
the field of business ethics. The funds also support management
development programs designed to help corporations and managers deal
with ethical issues.
"Governor Hodges had a special feeling about how
business should be conducted," Morton said. "He developed his own . . .
code of business ethics during 30 years of leading roles in one of the
country’s larger corporations. . . . We feel this type of memorial is
especially appropriate because shortly before his death the Governor
proposed that American universities play a leading role in the
establishment of a code of ethics for business and government."
Born in Virginia's Pittsylvania County in 1898, Hodges
moved with his family to Leaksville (now Eden). At UNC, he was president
of his senior class, president of the student council and a member of
the Order of the Golden Fleece. Hodges served as treasurer and president
of the Dialectic Literary Society and was voted best all-around man in
his graduating class. |
After receiving a B.A. in
business in 1919, Hodges returned to Leaksville to serve as secretary to
the general manager of the Marshall Field textile plants in the area. In
quick succession, he became manager and production manager of the local
plants. He was later promoted to sales and production manager of all 20
Marshall Field mills, and in 1943, he was made vice president of the
textile company. He retired from Marshall Field in 1950 to begin a
career in public service. In 1950, he was chosen
as chief of the Industry Division of the Economic Cooperation
Administration -- the Marshall Plan -- which helped West Germany rebuild
its industrial plants following World War II. Although he had not
previously held any elected office, he was elected lieutenant governor
of North Carolina in 1952. Two years later, when Gov. William B. Umstead
died in office, Hodges became governor. He was elected to serve an
additional four-year term in 1956. President John F. Kennedy appointed
Hodges as U.S. Secretary of Commerce in 1962. He was reappointed to that
post by President Lyndon B. Johnson.
Hodges served as chairman of the Board of Trustees of
the University and as chairman of the Board of the Research Triangle
Foundation, an organization which he helped found as governor. In 1946,
the University awarded him an honorary LL.D.
Hodges was married to the former Martha Elizabeth
Blakeney, with whom he had three children: Betsy, Nancy and Luther Jr.
(B.A. ’57). After Martha's death in 1967, Hodges married Louise
Finlayson.
Hodges died in 1974. |
