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Former Durham Tech Board of Trustees member James I. Bolden, an important figure in Durham Tech’s history and key contributor to improving opportunity and life outcomes for people across the region, died Feb. 20, 2025, at the age of 100.
A native of Caswell County, Mr. Bolden graduated from N.C. Central University and worked for more than three decades for NC Mutual. He started in the stock room and retired as Vice President of Personnel. While at NC Mutual, he was appointed to serve on the Durham Tech Board of Trustees.
Mr. Bolden served as a member of the College’s Board of Trustees for nearly three decades, from 1979 to 2007.
“Trustee Bolden served for 28 years,” said Durham Tech President J.B. Buxton. “For three decades he made an imprint on the values, priorities, and ambitions of the College.”
Mr. Bolden was part of many important moments in the College’s history, including Durham Tech’s evolution from a technical institute to a community college, the hiring of the first black community college president in North Carolina, expansion to Orange County, and major increases in enrollment and facilities. He was extraordinarily devoted to the College, with former fellow trustees not recalling him ever missing a meeting. Following his retirement from the Board, a scholarship was established in his honor that has benefited Durham Tech students for years.
“The record of Trustee Bolden’s life is clear: He loved the people of this community,” Buxton said.
In addition to his service as a Trustee at Durham Tech, he was an active member at St. Joseph’s, and volunteered with the Boy Scouts, the RSVP program and at W.G. Pearson Elementary.
“Trustee Bolden loved and was loyal to Durham Tech because he loved and wanted the best for the people in our community,” Buxton said. “And part of his legacy is that Durham Tech continues that mission to connect the full range of talent in our community to the full range of opportunities.”
The late Dr. Phail Wynn, who served while Mr. Bolden was on the board, said the following in a tribute to him upon his retirement from the board:
“The way Mr. Bolden sees it, the world is full of those who need some help. Some people help one or two along the road of life. Others help a few more. Mr. Bolden has helped countless people by encouraging them to take classes here, to better themselves, to learn an occupation. Through his loyalty, devotion, and many years of service, Mr. Bolden has kept the mission of the College front and center. In his own words, our College is all about preparing people to earn a living.”