Winfred L. Godwin, 71, Leader Of a Southern Education Group

By WOLFGANG SAXON
Published: July 17, 1997

Winfred Lamar Godwin, who played a central role in advancing education in the South and shaping educational objectives for the year 2000, died last Friday at his home in Smyrna, Ga. He was 71.

The cause was complications from supranuclear palsy, a form of paralysis, said Bracey Campbell, a spokesman for the Southern Regional Education Board.

Dr. Godwin headed the board, which is based in Atlanta, for 28 years until his retirement in 1989. The board, the first such regional educational compact in the United States, helped raise standards of elementary, secondary and higher education throughout its 15 member states.

As its president, Dr. Godwin worked closely with the states' governors, as well as legislators, civic leaders and educators, to set higher goals and to achieve them. His service brought major initiatives to lift the region up to national levels of quality in the classroom.

Dr. Godwin joined the regional board in 1953 as a staff associate, was promoted to associate director in 1957 and became president in 1961. He also served as staff director of the Commission on Goals for Higher Education in the South, whose report became a guide for the expansion of Southern colleges and universities.

Winfred Godwin was born in Montgomery, Ala., and graduated from Birmingham-Southern College. He received his master's and doctoral degrees from the University of North Carolina.

As president of the Southern Regional Education Board, Dr. Godwin devised a system for states to plan and coordinate their efforts in higher education. He started an information service for political leaders on educational issues and a clearing house for statistics on education. And he initiated programs of improved instruction in the health professions, better use of educational television and increased opportunities for minority students.

He is survived by his wife, Anne Ellis Godwin; a son, Charles D., of New Bern, N.C.; two daughters, Catherine Godwin and Mary C. Ansley, both of Atlanta; a brother, Frank L., of Birmingham, Ala.; two sisters, Melba G. Johnston of Montgomery and Ethel C. Hawley of New Paris, Ohio, and six grandchildren.