Dr. Keats Sparrow
Editor of "First of Patriot and the Best of Men"

Before his retirement in August of 2006, Kinston native Dr. Keats Sparrow had a long
career at East Carolina University where he was a Professor of English and held
several administrative appointments, including the Chairmanship of the English
Department and the Deanship of Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences.  He is the author of several books and scores of articles and has served as President of the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association, the North Carolina-Virginia College English Association, and the Huguenot Society of North Carolina.  He served on the First Flight Centennial Commission, the Tryon Palace Commission, and the Global TransPark Commission and continues to serve on the Historical Bath Commission and the Lenoir County Colonial Commission.  He is active in a number of other organizations, including the North Carolina Society of Colonial Wars, the St. Andrew's Society of North Carolina, and the North Carolina Society of the Cincinnati.  He has won many awards for his scholarship and public service including the National Council of Teachers of English Best Book Award and the Christopher C. Crittenden Memorial Award for important contributions to the preservation of North Carolina History.  At the time of his retirement, the ECU Board of Trustees conferred upon him the title Dean Emeritus of Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences and designated the Harriot College conference room the W. Keats Sparrow Conference Room in his honor.  His colleagues and friends also established an endowment of over $100,000 to support the W. Keats Sparrow Distinguished Chair in the Liberal Arts, an honorary title to be held by all subsequent deans of ECU's Harriot College.