Durham Tech president emeritus to speak at commencement

Durham Technical Community College President Emeritus Dr. Phail Wynn Jr., will be the speaker for the College’s commencement on Monday, May 21, at the Durham Performing Arts Center.

“Dr. Phail Wynn dedicated 30 years to Durham Tech and helped shape the College as it exists today. We are very pleased to have Dr. Wynn speak at our spring commencement, and we are looking forward to his inspiring words on this tremendous occasion,” said Durham Tech President Bill Ingram.

Wynn began his time at Durham Tech in July 1977, when the College was known as Durham Technical Institute, as the Assistant to the President. He was promoted to Vice President of Support Services in January 1979. After being appointed as Interim President in May 1980, Wynn became the first African American community college president in the North Carolina System and the third and, at the time, youngest president of Durham Tech in November 1980.

Wynn stayed on with the College until Dec. 31, 2007, and was given the title of President Emeritus by the Board of Trustees. Two days after his retirement from Durham Tech, Wynn started his position as Vice President of Duke University’s Office of Durham and Regional Affairs; he is expected to retire from that position on June 30.

Wynn has earned numerous accolades throughout his career, including the Order of the Long Leaf Pine in 2000 from former North Carolina Governor James B. Hunt, Jr. NC State University awarded Wynn both the 1991 and 2005 I.E. Ready Distinguished Graduate Award for Leadership Excellence in Community College Education; Wynn earned a master’s degree and his doctorate from N.C. State’s College of Education and Psychology. He has also received the 1995 Civic Honor Award from the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce, of which he is the former Chairman, and the 2012 I.E. Ready Award, the highest honor bestowed by the State Board of Community Colleges.

Wynn’s views on education can best be summed up by his quote that’s inscribed in the glass above the welcome desk of the Phail Wynn, Jr. Student Services Center on Durham Tech’s Main Campus: “The road to knowledge is a journey that has no end. The rapidly changing nature of our global society requires all citizens to become lifelong learners – to continue gaining new skills and new knowledge throughout their lives.”

Commencement will start at 7 p.m. on May 21. Doors will open for guests at 6 p.m.

Durham Performing Arts Center, or DPAC, is located at 123 Vivian St.