FSU is a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina System and the second-oldest public institution of higher education in the state. FSU offers nearly 60 degrees at the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels. Read more
With a fall enrollment of 10,734 students, N.C. A&T becomes the largest HBCU in the nation.
The landmark is created to honor Frederick Law Olmsted, the Father of American Landscape Architecture and the designer of several projects at the nearby Biltmore Estate. Olmsted’s design for an arboretum at the Biltmore was never realized, but inspired the design of the North Carolina Arboretum. Read more
System institutions include Appalachian State University, East Carolina University, Elizabeth City State University, Fayetteville State University, North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina Central University, North Carolina State University, UNC Asheville, UNC-Chapel Hill, UNC Charlotte, UNC Greensboro, UNC Pembroke, UNC School of the Arts, UNC Wilmington, Western Carolina University, and Winston-Salem State University.
UNC System constituents gather at N.C. State University to celebrate the 50th anniversary and the inauguration of President Peter Hans as the seventh president of the consolidated System.
The UNC System marks 50 years since the legislation that created the 16-university system.
Peter Hans is the seventh president of the University of North Carolina System and a lifelong supporter of public higher education. As a first-generation college graduate from rural North Carolina, he knows the value of access to an affordable, high-quality education for everyone. Since taking the helm of the UNC System in August of 2020, …
The General Assembly passes a landmark plan to invest in state undergraduate enrollment at Elizabeth City State University, UNC Pembroke, and Western Carolina University. The groundbreaking low-tuition program ensures $500 per semester in-state tuition, inspiring a surge in enrollment at all three institutions. Read more
Launched in Fall 2016 as part of the UNC System’s strategic plan, in-state undergraduate students on all UNC campuses pay the same tuition rate until they graduate, provided they are enrolled for consecutive fall and spring semesters in their university and graduate in four years. For first-year students, that amounts to eight consecutive semesters. Read …
Margaret Spellings becomes the sixth president of the UNC System in March 2016, launching a five-pronged strategic plan focused on the areas of access, affordability, student success, economic impact, and excellent and diverse institutions. Born in Michigan, Spellings grew up in Texas and graduated from the University of Houston with a bachelor’s degree in political …
In the first statewide bond passed since 2000, two-thirds of North Carolina voters support borrowing $2 billion for campus construction and infrastructure. Two-thirds of the money goes toward public universities and community colleges, specifically supporting buildings for science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and health care. Read More
In a first-ever event, the University of North Carolina presidents meet to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the legislation that brought all 16 of North Carolina’s public universities into the UNC System. The show features Former Governor Jim Holshouser, who leads the candid talk with William Friday, C.D. Spangler Jr., Molly Corbett Broad, Erskine Bowles, …
Ross takes his seat as the fifth president of UNC, focusing his strategic plan on goals related to adult educational attainment, online education, financial efficiency, and research. He serves from 2011 to 2016. Born and raised in Greensboro, Thomas Ross received his bachelor’s degree in political science from Davidson College and graduated with honors from …
Bowles, an investment banker from Charlotte, is elected president of the UNC System. The guiding message of Bowles’ presidency is “Low tuition without high-quality education is no bargain for anyone.” He puts this into practice by keeping tuition low, cutting costs, and strengthening the university’s focus on serving the needs of the state. Bowles’ fiscal …
North Carolinians vote overwhelmingly in favor of the nation’s largest ever higher education bond. The measure authorizes the issue of $3.1 billion in bonds for improvements to the UNC System, community colleges, and facilities of the UNC Health Care System.
The health care system, established by the General Assembly, originally consists of UNC Hospitals and clinical care programs maintained by the UNC School of Medicine. Read More
Upon her election as the first female and first non-North Carolinian UNC President, Broad strategically focuses on doubling overall minority enrollment and leads efforts to establish a need-based financial aid program for in-state students. The daughter of two public school teachers, Molly Corbett Broad was born in Pennsylvania and earned her undergraduate degree from Syracuse …
“I speak for all of us who could not afford to go to Duke, and would not have, even if we could have afforded it,” says UNC alumnus and journalist Charles Kuralt, joking before a cheering crowd in Kenan Stadium. Kuralt delivers his address before special guests like President Bill Clinton and Gov. Jim Hunt. …
North Carolina Governor and NC State alumnus James B. Hunt Jr., allocate the initial 355-acre parcel of land for the university’s Centennial Campus. The land had previously been part of the Dorothea Dix hospital. Read more
President C.D. Spangler Jr., brings a businessman’s sensibilities to his role as leader of the state’s public higher education system. Spangler steadfastly believes in every North Carolinian’s constitutional right to affordable public higher education. During his tenure, he refuses a presidential salary, famously opting to instead donate the money to the System’s campuses. Born in …
NCSSM is founded by former North Carolina Gov. James B. Hunt Jr., Duke University President and former Gov. Terry Sanford, and academician and author John Ehle. All three see the institution as an investment in North Carolina’s human and intellectual capital, and a means to economic progress. Read more
Although the ECU medical school had been authorized by the legislature in 1965, it only existed as a one-year feeder program to UNC-Chapel Hill’s medical school. For years, Chancellor Leo Jenkins had fought for a full-fledged medical school to train primary care physicians, but the idea encountered strong opposition from UNC-Chapel Hill supporters and others …
The Planning Committee that was a precursor to the Board of Governors chooses Friday to lead the new system. Despite friction with Gov. Scott during the consolidation process, Friday is steadfast in his role as an advocate for the UNC System and American higher education, leading all 16 campuses through a period of growth and …
Gov. Scott remarked, “Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, members of the General Assembly, North Carolinians all: Let us enlarge our understanding and broaden our vision. By adopting this blueprint, we will not be surrendering our traditions, our ties, our loyalties. We can retain them, yet at the same time we can rise about our sectionalism and …
After several standoffs and much political maneuvering between Scott and Friday and various factions, the General Assembly passes legislation consolidating the University of North Carolina into a 16-campus system. Under the legislation, 10 campuses are added, campus boards of trustees are retained, and a new 32-member UNC Board of Governors is created to govern the …