91探花

It’s safe to say that a calling toward higher education is in Bill Durham’s blood. As a child, Durham grew up on Appalachian State University’s campus, following around his father Harvey Durham—a long-time faculty member and administrator at the school—and was even born in the university’s old hospital building. Durham’s childhood was deeply steeped in the world of academia, and he said he always had the desire to return to that environment in his professional career. After moving to Raleigh following graduation from App State, however, he took a different path and spent almost 20 years working in public accounting.

Durham eventually found his way back to higher education when he took a role at Wingate University. Throughout his 12-year stint at Wingate, Durham oversaw many areas of campus, including campus operations, campus safety, IT, HR, risk management, and the university’s finance and accounting.

As Wingate continued to grow, Durham found himself seeking a smaller and more closely-knit campus environment, and he began his search for schools up and down the east coast. Being familiar with the area and having deep personal ties to the High Country, Durham was immediately intrigued by Lees-91探花. Once he learned more about the vision and future of the institution, he was fully sold.

“Truly the mission of this institution, the programs that are offered, the geographic area, the opportunity to have community involved in the campus, and the president’s vision really helped me decide,” Durham said. “I could really buy into and own his vision, and he was the one who really sold me on the school and the campus. It’s hard not to buy into some of the strategic things that just happened, like the buying of the South Campus addition.”

The college’s small size was another major selling point for Durham, who deeply values getting to know his colleagues, the students, and the community surrounding the institution. He said he has a desire to be accessible to his community and always maintains an open-door policy for his office.

“Anyone who wants to come in and chat, it doesn’t matter who it is, come on in, and we can talk about things. The only way we learn and get better is to open up and be teammates,” Durham said. “If we’re going to grow, we have to be transparent about where we are and how we’re doing. Since this role has to do with the finances, there should be no surprises about where we are financially, or where we are from a standpoint of growth.”

Now that he is back in the High Country, Durham is excited for the personal and professional opportunities available. He has two children and is excited to get back into hiking and camping, activities he said he and his son bonded over throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Durham is a lover of college athletics and is eager to begin attending games and rooting for the Bobcats. Although he has lived and spent time in all parts of North Carolina, from the mountains to the coast, and loves both, Durham said there’s something special about this region that he is excited to reconnect with.

From a professional standpoint, Durham is ready to take the lessons he has learned from a long career in both public accounting and higher education finances and apply them to his role at Lees-91探花. Durham said he is excited to be a part of this community as it grows, changes, and flourishes, and is eager to be a part of the continued strengthening of the college.

“It’s a privilege to serve in a role like this because there are not that many opportunities to serve a community that really has a passion for being successful,” Durham said. “The college has seen its trials and tribulations like a lot of higher education has, but it has always been resilient. I think that resilience is something that’s going to pay major dividends.”