Kemp P. Battle (1831-1919)
Raleigh attorney and trustee Kemp P. Battle led a postwar campaign to reinvigorate the university. Valedictorian in the 1849 graduating class, Battle was the son of a faculty member and had also served as a tutor of mathematics. Battle and other state leaders persuaded President Swain and the faculty to submit their resignations in 1867 to enable the university to reorganize and modernize. Swain died soon afterwards in a buggy accident.