Asa T. Spaulding Jr.

Dr. Asa Timothy Spaulding, Jr.

Durham

Dr. Asa Timothy Spaulding, Jr. was born September 21, 1934 in Durham, North Carolina, the first of four children of the late Asa T. Spaulding, Sr. (former president of N.C. Mutual Life Insurance Company) and the late Elna Bridgeforth Spaulding (former Durham County Commissioner). He died peacefully at home on Monday, October 25th after a lengthy illness.

Asa, Jr. first devoted time to his educational pursuits. He attended Morehouse College in Atlanta and North Carolina Central University in Durham from which he held undergraduate and graduate degrees in Business Administration. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Barber-Scotia College, and he completed additional studies at Atlanta University and New York University.

Continuing the family's legacy of career success, Asa served as an Asst. Vice-President of N.C.Mutual Life Insurance Company; and he served as the 12th President of Barber-Scotia College in Concord, N.C. In addition, he loved working as a university lecturer in the areas of governance, management, and policy development.

Having worked in business and education, Asa tried his hand in broadcasting and was successful as a talk show host and news anchor, where he prepared and presented political commentary and analysis for radio and television. He also served as Vice-President for Administration and later, Vice-President for Corporate and Public Affairs of the Durham Life Broadcasting, Inc.

Politics was in his blood and he ran as the Republican nominee for N.C. Secretary of State in 1976, where he was the first African-American candidate in the south to receive over 500,000 votes in a statewide contest. He also ran for Mayor of Durham in 1983, and received over 47% of the votes.

Later in his career, Asa developed his own management consulting firm, Asa Spaulding and Associates, that assisted businesses, government, and schools with strategic planning, public affairs, and communication. Not only could Asa speak well, he could write well, too. He used to write a syndicated weekly commentary, published by the National Newspaper Publishers Association, that appeared in over 220 news outlets around the country.

Asa was actively involved with numerous educational, business, and civic organizations. His involvement with higher education was particularly extensive and joyful. He served as a member of the UNC Board of Governors from 1981 to 1993, and served as Secretary of the UNC Board of Governors from 1988-90; member of the NC Community Foundation Board of Directors; Trustee Board Chair, Barber-Scotia College; Board of Visitor's Chair, St. Augustine's University; and member of N.C. State University and Fayetteville State University Foundation Boards. Other business and professional board affiliations included the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation State Advisory Panel; the Durham Planning and Zoning Commission; the Learning Institute of North Carolina; Chairman of the N.C. Advisory Committee of the US Commission on Civil Rights; and President of the Foundation for Economic and Educational Development, to name a few. Having served his community in such an admirable way, he became the recipient of the Order of the Long Leaf Pine in 1975 and again in 1988, one of North Carolina's highest civilian awards for citizens who have maintained a record of outstanding public service to the state.

He is survived by his wife, Beulah Listenbee Spaulding; four children, Pamela Spaulding (Durham), Asa T. Spaulding, III /Miranda (Newark, Delaware), Sonja Listenbee (Wisconsin), Tirrell Listenbee/ LaTonya (Garner); three grandchildren, Ellison, Cyrus, Tyra; two brothers, Aaron (Durham) and Kenneth/Wendy (Durham); one sister, Patricia Spaulding Moore (Chicago), and a host of nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Family visitation will be held on Sunday, November 1st from 5-7 p.m., and funeral services will be held on Monday, November 2nd at 11:00 a.m., both of which will be held at White Rock Baptist Church, 3400 Fayetteville Road, Durham, NC.