Chancellor Ponder interviews Bill Friday for "A Conversation with Asheville's University"

Bill Friday, host of the popular UNC-TV show, "North Carolina People," is the special guest of UNC Asheville Chancellor Anne Ponder on "A Conversation with Asheville's University," airing through October 27 on Charter Cable channel 16 in Buncombe County.

Friday, one of North Carolina’s most treasured native sons, served as president of the University of North Carolina system for 30 years until his retirement in 1986. He played major roles in the formation of the current 17-campus University system and the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), as well as in the development of Research Triangle Park and the sponsorship of North Carolina public television.

Chancellor Ponder and Friday discuss the community leaders who worked to create the junior college that later became UNC Asheville, the challenges in establishing the University of North Carolina system and the role of the University system in North Carolina's future.

The 30-minute program airs at 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. daily through Tuesday, Oct. 27.

The program may also be viewed online anytime at www.unca.edu/conversations.