Bob and Margaret Ward: Three Decades of Alumni Dedication

This article describes the contributions of Bob and Margaret Ward, alumni of East Carolina University. This and other articles may be found in the University Archives.

Citation for this article is: Askew, Susan. "Bob and Margaret Ward: Three Decades of Alumni Dedication," ECU Report, Winter 1992, Volume 23, No. 2.

---

In the 30 years since Robert and Margaret Ward graduated from East Carolina University, the Burlington couple has contributed significantly to the growth and progress of their alma mater.

Robert Ward '62 serves on the ECU Board of Trustees.He is also a member of the Business Advisory Council for the School of Business, the board of directors of The ECU Foundation, Inc., the Pirate's Club executive committee and the Chancellor's Society.

He served on the steering committee for the 1986 School of Business Golden Anniversary Campaign and is a leader in alumni activities in the Piedmont Triad area. In 1988, the Alumni Association presented him with an Outstanding Alumni Award.

Margaret Ann Cude Ward '62, '63 is president of the Alamance County Chapter of the Alumni Association and serves on the Alumni Association Board of Directors.

When the ECU Parents Association began in 1989, Mrs. Ward helped generate parent interest in the organization and was a speaker at its first meeting. She will receive the Distinguished Service Award at the Alumni Day Luncheon in April.

"It's a joy to get out and be supportive of our university," Mrs. Ward said. "There is something really special here in Greenville, and I want the rest of the world to realize that they're missing out if they don't know about it."

Supporting her alma mater is something Margaret Ward learned by example from her parents, who both were school principals in Guilford County.

"My parents both graduated from Guilford College and always went to alumni meetings and were involved in alumni activities," she said."They wanted me to go to Guilford, but I wanted to go away to school. I wanted to be a teacher and East Carolina was the obvious choice."

The Wards grew up in Greensboro. Although they attended different high schools, the two were teenage sweethearts.When Margaret left Greensboro for East Carolina, so did Bob. They were married in 1961.

Bob Ward may have enrolled in East Carolina for romantic reasons, but he said the school armed him with a "quality education."

"I received a good accounting background which prepared me to take a national exam -- to compete nationally with anybody," he said. "In 1964 when I was certified (as a CPA), there were only 2,418 of us. I was well prepared to be successful at my chosen career."

Ward's success began as an undergraduate at East Carolina. He was listed in Who's Who in American Universities and Colleges and served a term as treasurer of the Student Government Association. A member of Lambda Chi fraternity, he was also treasurer of the Inter-Fraternity Council. He received the BA degree in business administration in 1962.

After graduation, Ward went to work for A.M. Pullen & Co. of Raleigh as a staff accountant. In 1965 he entered the textile business as the accounting manager for Stedman Manufacturing Co. of Asheboro.In 1967 Ward moved to Universal Textured Yarns, Inc., of Mebane, where he was a vice president.The company became Unifi, Inc., in 1971.

Today Bob Ward is executive vice president of finance and administration and a member of the board of directors of Unifi, Inc., of Greensboro. The company is one of the world's largest texturizers of synthetic fibers, with manufacturing facilities in North Carolina, France and the Republic of Ireland, and sales offices in New York, London and Japan.

Ward's professional and civic involvements are numerous. He is past president of the N.C. Chapter of the Financial Executives Institute and a member of the N.C. Association of Certified Public Accountants.

He serves on the Board of Visitors of Elon College, and formerly on the board of directors for the Burlington YMCA. The Ward family are members of Front Street Methodist Church.He has coached football, baseball and basketball teams in various youth recreation leagues in the Burlington area.

Margaret Ward received the BS degree in education in 1962 and the MAEd in 1963. She taught school for three years until their sons, David and Robert, were born.

David, 26, is a 1987 graduate of Wofford College and attended business classes at ECU in 1989. He is married to the former Kim Childers, also a Wofford grauate. Robert, 24, is a 1991 graduate of ECU with a bachelor's degree in leisure system studies. His wife, the former Mary Staton Stocks, graduated from ECU in 1990 with a bachelor's degree in history.

The Wards say that being parents motivated their interest in many activities through the years.

"We've always been involved in whatever our children were doing at the time," said Mrs. Ward, "whether it was youth programs at the YMCA, or recreation leagues, or being president of the PTA."

"Bob used to coach all the sports, and I was the one having the team over for cookouts and picking up children who didn't have rides to the games," she said.

"I think Bob hates it that the children are grown and he doesn't have an excuse to coach.I know he'll be back in Little League when we have grandchildren playing," Margaret said.

Now that their sons are adults, the Wards spend more time playing golf and tennis, and they enjoy occasional family ski vacations. Much of their time, though, is occupied with East Carolina University.

The Wards are strong believers in the importance of total student development. Last year they contributed $500,000 to the ECU Educational Foundation, earmarked for student development and academic counseling programs for student athletes.

"Student development is very important -- academic counseling and the entire aspect," Ward said. "We want to see that these students get a good, well-rounded education and that they're supported in every way necessary to blend academics with athletics," he said.

The ECU Board of Trustees voted in December to honor the Wards for their long and varied service to the university with the naming of the Ward Sports Medicine/Physical Education Building in which the Student Development Program is housed.

"This was quite an honor," Ward said. "How can you not be excited -- and just very proud -- to have your name associated with such a fine university in this way?"

Earlier this year, the Wards donated to ECU a residence and lot on East Fifth Street across from the main campus, where their sons lived while studying at East Carolina. The home will be called the Ward Guest House and will house special visitors to the university. They made an additional gift to The ECU Foundation, Inc., to furnish the home.

Additionally, since 1986 the couple has sponsored a University Scholars Award, providing an outstanding ECU student with a full, four-year scholarship.

The Wards are excited about East Carolina University's growth in recent years, and look forward to seeing it mature over the next decade.

"More and more in the next 10 to 20 years we'll see the children of alumni graduate from East Carolina, bringing a groundswell of new alumni interest and involvement," Ward said. "That alone will increase the recognition of the university for the good things it's doing."

"A lot of fine things are happening here -- it's just a matter of getting that message out," he said. "The Peach Bowl this year went a long way in doing that.

"We've got an excellent institution here, with dedicated and positive people. I'm just very happy and proud to be a part of East Carolina's success and its future."