A00376 - Albert Nathaniel Whiting (Amherst College Class of 1938), Longest Living African American Alumni and Chancellor of North Carolina Central University

 The next name on my Memorial List is Albert Nathaniel Whiting, the classmate of Elvin Harry Wanzo. One of the great distinctions of Albert Whiting is his longevity.  Based on my information, he is the longest living Amherst College African American Alumni in the history of the College.  He caught my attention first in 2017 when I wrote the following: 

From:skipjen2865@aol.com

To:skipjen2865@aol.com

Thu, May 25, 2017 at 2:01 AM

While recuperating from my latest battle with a pituitary gland adenoma, I received the latest edition of the Amherst magazine.  Of note for me, were the Class Notes for the Class of 1938, the most senior class listed in the notes.  The Class Notes for the Class of 1938 note the passing of George Bria, on March 18, 2017 at the age of 101, and state "Al Whiting is the last surviving member of the class of 1938."  At a time when I find it natural to ponder the increasing brevity of life, to see that Brother Al Whiting has managed to extend his life as long as he has and to endure beyond all others to become, perhaps, Amherst's most senior alumni.  For me, that is a rather remarkable achievement in and of itself and one that I think about a lot these days. Who knows, perhaps, I too can overcome these temporary obstacles to endure just as Albert has.  It is a thought... and it is the reason why Al Whiting is today my hero ... and why he will be so for many days to come.

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and he became a treasured connection when the College and his daughter, Brooke Whiting, allowed me to write the In Memory for him.  Below is the In Memory page I wrote.  

Peace,

Everett "Skip" Jenkins

Class of 1975

Fairfield, California

January 11, 2025

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In Memory

Albert Nathaniel Whiting, the last surviving member of the class of 1938, and the person who is believed to have been the oldest surviving Amherst alumni, passed away on June 4, 2020, in Columbia, Md. He was 102.

Albert Whiting was born to Hilda and Hezekiah Whiting on July 3, 1917, in Jersey City, N.J. After graduating from Amherst College, Albert earned a master’s degree from Fisk University and a doctorate degree in sociology from American University.  

During World War II, Albert served his country as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He married Lottie Luck Whiting on June 10, 1950, in Danville, Va., and was the father of Dr. Brooke Whiting and his adopted daughter, Dr. Lila Ammons.

Dr. Whiting served as a professor of sociology at Bennett College and Atlanta University and as faculty dean at Morris Brown College. He also served as assistant dean of Morgan State College from 1957 to 1959, and then as dean from 1959 to 1967.

Dr. Whiting was elected president of North Carolina College at Durham on July 20, 1966, and assumed his duties in July 1967.  Under his leadership, North Carolina College became North Carolina Central University (NCCU). During his tenure, first as president and beginning in 1972 as chancellor, North Carolina Central University added its fifth school, the School of Business in 1972, and increased enrollment. Upon his arrival, the institution’s enrollment was a little more than 3,000 students. By the time Dr. Whiting retired in 1983, the enrollment had grown to more than 5,000 students. 

Albert Whiting was called the “builder” of North Carolina Central University. As president and chancellor, he oversaw substantial growth of the physical plant that included 12 buildings. His most ambitious project was the construction of a four-building physical education complex, as well as the construction of Eagleson Hall, the Alfonso Elder Student Union and the annex to James E. Shepard Memorial Library.  

Chancellor Whiting initiated the first major fundraising campaign aimed at creating a university endowment for North Carolina Central University. He also helped to establish the NCCU Foundation, Inc. When Chancellor Whiting arrived at NCCU, the operating budget was $5.5 million. When he retired in 1983, it had risen to $34 million. 

After retiring from NCCU, Chancellor Emeritus Whiting relocated to Columbia, Md. There he served on the University of Maryland’s Board of Regents and the Board of Directors for the University of Maryland’s hospital system. 

However, in his retirement, he also maintained a strong connection to NCCU. In 1988, he returned to serve as the Founder’s Day speaker and, on Nov. 3, 1989, the Albert N. Whiting Criminal Justice Building was dedicated in his honor. On July 3, 2017, Chancellor Emeritus Whiting was recognized by the entire NCCU community on the centennial of his birth. 

Albert Whiting’s wife, Lottie, passed away in 2004. He is survived by his daughters, Brooke and Lila.  

As for his continuing connection with his college alma mater, Albert Nathaniel Whiting was the recipient of an honorary degree from Amherst College in 1968. Also, in the Spring 2012 edition of Amherst, as he was approaching his 95th birthday, the Class Notes reported that “Al Whiting has crafted a riveting memoir of his Amherst days as one of only two African-Americans in our class. The faculty treated him well, but he recalls fraternities shunning blacks and he became a founder of the independent Lord Jeffery Amherst Club. After college, as an army officer in WWII, and later, he and his family suffered repeated episodes of racial discrimination, which he narrates vividly. But he has warm memories of Religious Professor Jim Cleland, his faculty adviser. Years later, Al and Cleland, who became dean of the chapel at Duke University, enjoyed fellow membership in the Watauga Club, composed of distinguished North Carolinians.”

Everett “Skip” Jenkins ’75