NCSU Libraries Focus Online

Volume 22 number 3 - Spring 2002

By Terrell Armistead Crow, Communications and Information

James K. Ferrell believed in the notion of service, and he practiced it his entire life, both personally and professionally. Ferrell, a native of Missouri born in 1923, served in the Pacific Theater during World War II, where he was wounded. He received a Purple Heart, but he rarely spoke of this to friends and colleagues.

Ferrell returned to his home state after the war and earned both a bachelor's and a master's degree from the University of Missouri, beginning his lifelong career in chemical engineering. He received the first doctorate awarded by NC State in that field in 1954 and put it to good use working in industry. Nonetheless, the need to explore new initiatives and to give something back to NC State prompted Ferrell's return to the university in 1961 as a full professor. Ferrell truly found his calling, serving as an extraordinarily productive faculty member and administrator at NCSU for the next forty years.

When he died at the age of seventy-eight on November 27, 2001, Ferrell's long-standing support for the NCSU Libraries led his family to request that memorial donations be made to the James K. Ferrell Endowment at the NCSU Libraries. Thomas Elleman, professor emeritus of nuclear engineering at NCSU, was a close friend and colleague of Ferrell's for many years. Elleman notes,

"Jim supported the library because it had suffered from cuts to its budget and collections. He felt strongly that it was a real disadvantage for the chemical engineering department when the library had to cut collections his department needed. He was proud of the department and wanted its faculty and students to have what they needed in library resources."

J. Lawrence Apple, NC State professor emeritus of plant pathology and president of the Friends of the Library Board of Directors, met Jim Ferrell during their graduate school days at NCSU and worked with him in the Association of Retired Faculty (ARF). Apple readily understands Ferrell's support of the library.

"Jim always felt that the library was a key element of the educational process. He was one of the supporters of ARF's long-term initiatives for the library, and this is reflected in the family's desire to have memorial donations given for that purpose in Jim's memory. "

Ferrell provided leadership and guidance to many programs at the university. Hal Hopfenburg, the Camille Dreyfus Professor of Chemical Engineering at NC State, astutely described Ferrell as "a great citizen for his college and his department." In 1966 Ferrell became head of the Department of Chemical Engineering, which he carefully nurtured to national prominence during his tenure there until 1980, when Hopfenburg succeeded him as department head. Bill Willis (vice president of Technology Systems for Cable and Wireless), a former NCSU graduate student and university vice provost who worked with Ferrell on major computing initiatives, remembers studying Ferrell's management style. Willis recalls that Ferrell encouraged associates and students to find solutions and develop initiatives that would help the department, the college, and the university. Willis says,

"There are two things to know about Jim Ferrell. One, he recognized good ideas and people when he ran into them. Second, he empowered people to make decisions, and then he was there when things needed to come together to move along. He helped people achieve their goals without ever making the decisions for them. He saw the potential in people and brought it out. . . . Jim would always step up in terms of delivery. He was always there when the university, or department, or students needed him."

Among the innovations Ferrell brought to the College of Engineering was the Eos computer system, and he helped to organize the Triangle University Computation Center that linked NC State, Duke University, and UNC-Chapel Hill. Ferrell also directed energy and environmental research programs in the College of Engineering and served as the college's dean of research and as interim dean. NC State and other institutions formally honored his work with many awards, including the Holladay Medal for Excellence (1993). Ferrell became a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineering and was named Alcoa Professor of Chemical Engineering in 1967.

Following his official retirement in 1991, NC State still sought Ferrell's help. There were many things Ferrell enjoyed doing outside of the university. He loved spending time with his family at the beach. He was a craftsman who built furniture and a musician who played the classical guitar. He brewed his own beer and enjoyed reading. Nevertheless, Ferrell regularly returned to NC State when asked. Elleman says that Ferrell's leadership skills made him invaluable to others. "Jim felt committed to NC State. He'd retire and then get called back; there were several cycles of that. He felt obligated to help, even when he really didn't want to." Elleman adds, "Jim was a really nice guy with the ability to zero in on what was important and then cut through red tape and arrive at solutions. He provided leadership when it was needed and could lead his department, college, and university in new directions."

Willis believes Ferrell's support for the Libraries reflected his passion for building a consensus and working for the good of the entire university, not just a single department or college.

"He supported the library as he did other things. It was always about 'we.' He built something into a bigger whole, . . . and he pulled things together to gain ground. Jim saw the library as a resource that was important to the entire university--so he didn't worry about part of the budget being taken from him--he'd say what he thought was right and lead the advance to help the library."

Willis helped to found the James K. Ferrell Endowment at the NCSU Libraries in 1999 to honor his mentor [see Focus, vol. 20.3 (2000): 8]. Ferrell's widow Dorothy, son John, and daughter Janet selected this endowment as the best way to honor James Ferrell's lifetime accomplishments and commitment to NC State. Those interested in making donations to the endowment should write a check to the Friends of the Library with "James K. Ferrell Library Endowment" recorded on the memo line. Mail the check to the Friends of the Library, NCSU, Campus Box 7111, Raleigh, N.C. 27695.