Enoch Walter Sikes was born 19 May 1868 in Union County, North Carolina, the son of John C. and Jane Austin Sikes. After receiving his early education in the field schools of North Carolina, he was graduated in 1891 from Wake Forest College with a master of arts degree in history. In 1894 he continued the study of history at Johns Hopkins University under Henry Adams and Woodrow Wilson. At Johns Hopkins, Sikes wrote his doctoral dissertation entitled The Transition of North Carolina from Colony to Commonwealth and received a Ph. D. degree in 1897.

Sikes returned to Wake Forest in 1897 to teach history and political science. In 1900 he married Ruth Wingate, the daughter of the president of the college. From their marriage two children, Ruth Janet and Walter were born.

In addition to the responsibilities of professor and father, Sikes served as a state senator in the North Carolina legislature from 1910-1911, and as Dean of Wake Forest College during his last year at that institution.

In 1916 Sikes accepted the presidency of Coker College at Hartsville, South Carolina - a post he kept until July 1925 when the Board of Trustees at Clemson College elected him president. At Clemson, Sikes recommended many reforms, among them the creation of a department of arts and sciences. He also served in leadership positions of civic and religious organizations, for example, Rotary, Kiwanis, and the South Carolina Baptist Convention. He retired in July 1940, died six months later, 9 January 1941, and was buried at Cemetery Hill in Clemson. The author of several books, Sikes also lectured on a variety of topics.