Coastal Carolina University names honorary founders
Barfield, Wall and Williams will join 70 other founders and honorary founders who played important roles in the development of Coastal and the promotion of higher education in the region.
Liston D. Barfield is the first Coastal alumnus to serve in the South Carolina General Assembly, where he was a member from 1985 to 1989 and from 1997 to 2005. A native of Aynor, Barfield served four years in the U.S. Army (including one year in Vietnam). He was a member of Coastal's first full-degree graduation class, earning a bachelor's degree in physical education in 1975. He also earned a certificate in counseling from South Carolina State University and an MBO from Webster University. In 2001, Barfield was named Coastal's "Distinguished Alumnus of the Year." He is the state co-chair for the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and was recenty named ALEC's "Legislator of the Year." Barfield is the state chair for the New Century Project, a member of the South Carolina Commission on International Cooperation and Agreements, and an ex officio member of the Horry County Higher Education Commission. Barfield serves on the Ways and Means Committee of the S.C. House of Representatives and is a member of the S.C. Veteran's Memorial Committee.
Wall (1937-1997) earned a bachelor's degree in economics from Davidson College in 1959, and he earned an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1962. In 1995, he initiated the Wall Fellows program to train business students in leadership, critical thinking and interpersonal skills. At the time of his death in 1997, Wall was chairman and chief executive officer of Canal Industries Inc. and also served as board chairman of New South Inc. and director of Pelican Companies Inc. He was a member of the board of trustees of Davidson College, Coastal Carolina University, Converse College and Brookgreen Gardens.
Williams, of Conway, a retired educator and civic leader, earned a bachelor's degree in pre-law in 1953 and a master's degree in education and public school administration in 1961, both from South Carolina State College. Williams taught in the public schools of Horry County at Chestnut, North Myrtle Beach and Whittemore high schools, and was vice principal at Conway High School. He was principal of North Myrtle Beach High School from 1974 until he retired in 1986 after serving 12 years as the only African-American high school principal in Horry County since integration began in 1970. Williams taught part time at Coastal from 1969 to 1974 and was the university's first African-American instructor. He served as the director of minority student relations at Coastal from 1986 to 1991. Williams has on the board of many organizations in the region, including First Citizens Bank in Conway and Conway Hospital. He has served on the Horry County Higher Education Commission and was chairman of the board of trustees of Horry-Georgetown Technical College from 1977 to 1983. The Conway Area Chamber of Commerce awarded Williams the Laverne H. Creel Lifetime Achievement Award in 1992. He served on Coastal Carolina University's board of trustees from 2000 to 2003. In addition to his career as an educator, Williams has been associated with his family's business, McKiever Funeral Home, for many years.