CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Former University of North Carolina President Bill Friday has died. He was 92.

Friday's personal assistant Virginia Taylor said Friday that the giant in North Carolina education died in his sleep at his Chapel Hill home.

Friday stepped down as UNC president in 1986 after serving 30 years. He remained active in public life, hosting the show "North Carolina People" on public television. He suffered a heart attack in 2008 and was hospitalized again in May, but Taylor said he had not been ill prior to his death.

As UNC president, Friday helped build the 16-campus system in an academic powerhouse. He led the school through integration and after his retirement he kept pushing to keep college affordable in North Carolina.