"You look at all the things he's done. You'd say: 'This fellow can't hold a job.' "

Best known as a U.S. senator, Duke University president and North Carolina governor, Terry Sanford still found time to serve the community outside of elected office, working to bolster the educational and artistic communities of his home state.

"You look at all the things he's done. You'd say: 'This fellow can't hold a job,'" Sanford joked in The News & Observer of Raleigh last February.

Although he spent most of his life in the revolving door of politics, Sanford nevertheless made a point of stepping out enough to serve North Carolina's money-strapped institutions. On his resumé alongside his numerous honorary degrees, Sanford could list his service on the board of trustees at several institutions, including the University of North Carolina, Shaw University, Methodist College and Howard University.

Sanford's unwavering commitment to education was on display as early as his gubernatorial term, during which he served as chair of the Southern Regional Education Board. The board, comprising 16 state governors from the South, worked to improve higher education and its availability throughout the region. During his four years as governor, public school budgets increased by 50 percent and college budgets swelled by 70 percent. He also founded the state's community college system, now 58 campuses strong-among the largest in the country.

"You are absolutely obligated to be an open door for North Carolina," Sanford explained in The News & Observer. "The most ignorant, illiterate person has the right to come through that door and see what you can do with him. Let's not get so prestige-conscious that we forget what our message is."

Through his work on the education board, Sanford was instrumental in the creation of several N.C. educational institutions. He founded the Governor's School in Winston-Salem, at which gifted students are offered summer courses taught by talented teachers; the North Carolina School of the Arts, a state-supported residential school offering advanced training in the fine arts; and several programs to help teachers reach out to underachieving students and to help those students reach their educational goals.

Outside of the political world, Sanford extended his support of educational endeavors through his activity in several academic organizations, including the Children's Television Workshop, the Carnegie Commission on Educational Television and the National Urban League Education Advisory Committee.

Sanford's work with the National Advisory Council on the Education of Disadvantaged Children best illustrated his second major philanthropic interest: ameliorating the condition of disadvantaged urban citizens. He established the country's first state-level anti-poverty program in conjunction with the Ford, Babcock and Reynolds Foundations. He also served on the board of the National Urban League and as chair of the Appalachian Community Service Network.

In 1981 during his term as University president, Sanford continued his active engagement in politics, publishing "A Danger of Democracy," which analyzed the American presidential nominating procedure.

Sanford aged with unrivaled grace and panache, and, after contemplating the meaning of growing old, he tried his hand at fiction. The result, "Outlive Your Enemies," was published in 1996. This most recent book exudes Sanford's zest for life through his chronicles of the golden years of six old codgers who muse about their lives and the aging process.

For decades, Sanford extended himself for governmental and societal progress, but just prior to his death, Sanford warned that the reform process is by no means complete.

"We almost have the same problems we had then," he told The News & Observer. "Race is far from solved, despite what people say. Children are still neglected. The working man is somewhat improved, but he still puts in more than he gets out."

-Leslie Deak