William Fisher, Pitt alumnus and beloved local education leader, died at 100

William “Bill” Aldophus Granberry Fisher — a revered University of Pittsburgh alumnus and pioneering educator who became the first Black principal to serve at a predominantly white Pittsburgh public high school — died on April 13. He was 100.

Described as a caring, dedicated force of nature, Fisher earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Pitt in 1948 and set about making the public school system, of which he was a product, work for everyone. He believed all students deserved the best education possible.

In 1971, Fisher made history when he became the first African American principal of Taylor Allderdice High School in the city’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood.

He started the job amid the tumult of desegregation. It was a tense and sometimes violent time: Fights were common, and students would often leave school to escape the aggravations. Nonetheless, he soon became a beloved and cherished principal, thanks in part to his warm but firm rapport with his pupils. Former students say Fisher saw potential in each of them and pushed everyone to be their best.

He earned the nickname “Hook” for his insistence that young men take off their caps indoors or else hang them up on hooks in his office and for his pursuit of students who cut school — he’d hook them back into their classes.

Fisher retired in 1991, but not before shaping the lives of hundreds of students, many of whom would go on to Pitt. For African American students and teachers, he paved the way for them to rise into leadership roles within Pittsburgh Public Schools.

“William Fisher, a proud alumnus of the School of Education, exemplified the transformative power of education. As the first Black principal at Allderdice High School, he left an indelible mark on countless students, inspiring them to make a positive impact on the world,” said Eboni M. Zamani-Gallaher, Renée and Richard Goldman Dean and Professor at Pitt’s School of Education.

Above all, she added, Fisher “stood as a possibility model for others, demonstrating the remarkable achievements attainable with an education degree. His legacy continues to endure through the many lives he touched.” 

During his senior year, Fisher became the first Black male student to be elected by his peers to an honorary group then called the Pitt Hall of Fame, a recognition of exemplary leadership. His name is inscribed in stone along the walk of achievement from Heinz Memorial Chapel to the Cathedral of Learning. 

After graduating from the University, Fisher worked for a few years as a clerk and a manager for the Pennsylvania Unemployment Office in Pittsburgh’s Hill District. Then, in 1955, he became a teacher at the neighborhood’s Fifth Avenue High School, taking his first steps toward his trailblazing education career.

Early on, Fisher created the first parent-teacher organization at a Pittsburgh public high school and taught the district’s first class in Negro history. In the second year of his teaching career, he was honored as one of the 10 best teachers in Pittsburgh with the Edgar Stern Award.

It would not be long before Fisher went on to earn a master’s degree in education from Duquesne University. Shortly after, he soared into high-level administration, becoming a vice principal at Westinghouse High in Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood and, eventually, returning as vice principal to Fifth Avenue High, where he stayed for 11 years.

His next move was to Taylor Allderdice High School in 1971. Few would forget his service as principal.

In June 2024, the class of 1972 gathered to celebrate its 50th reunion. Fisher, who had just turned 100, was an honored guest, hailed for his firmness and dedication to the students and the school.

The son of a garbage hauler, Fisher grew up in the city’s East End, where he and his little brother were raised by their grandmother, Nora Durham, after their mother died at 24 from tuberculosis. At Peabody High (now Obama Academy), he was editor of the yearbook, president of the Latin Club and valedictorian of his class. He first enrolled at Pitt in 1942 but was soon conscripted to serve in World War II. He came back to campus in 1946, this time with help from the GI Bill.

“I was thrilled to be at Pitt,” recalled Fisher in 2023 interview with Pitt Magazine. “Getting accepted meant I could live up to the expectations that my grandmother had for me to succeed.”

He participated in the University’s Interfraternity Council, Men’s Council and Debate Club and served as a Pitt Player, doing scenery and backstage work for the theater ensemble.

But Fisher perhaps found his greatest calling with Alpha Phi Alpha, the first Black male fraternity on Pitt’s campus. The brotherhood provided Fisher a deeper belonging and reinforced a personal belief in “being the master of your fate.”

In 2022, Fisher received a Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Pitt African American Alumni Council (AAAC). AAAC National President Thomas Brooks said Fisher’s service to the University and the fraternity “exemplified the highest ideals of service and leadership, inspiring generations past and present.”

Details on funeral arrangements have not been disclosed.

Photography by Aimee Obidzinski