Consolidation and WC: Building the UNC System

In 1930, North Carolina Governor O. Max Gardner proposed bringing together the state-sponsored institutions at Chapel Hill, Raleigh (then State College), and Greensboro (then the North Carolina College for Women) into a single consolidated university system, sharing a single president and board of trustees. The 1931 legislature passed the consolidation bill, and the University of North Carolina as a consolidated system was born. The following year, Frank Porter Graham was elected the first president of the Consolidated University.

Dr. Frank Porter Graham,
from the 1934 Pine Needles yearbook

With consolidation, the North Carolina College for Women saw its name change to the Woman's College of the University of North Carolina. The intent of consolidation was to increase efficiency and minimize a competition that had existed between the three schools from the beginning. The newly-renamed WC and its fellow institutions in the consolidated University of North Carolina, however, did not always see eye-to-eye in terms of enrollment, academics, or funding. As the system's woman's college, WC saw the enrollment of the top female students in the state as a priority. But both Chapel Hill and State allowed women to enroll as undergraduates, although a 1925 agreement between Chapel Hill and WC did limit freshmen and sophomore women from enrolling at Chapel Hill unless they were entering programs not offered in Greensboro. State added a school of education open to women in 1927.

Alumnae and administrators in Greensboro also didn't feel as if they were receiving equal representation in the leadership of the new consolidated university. When the first board of trustees was selected in 1932, legislators chose a majority of Chapel Hill graduates to serve on the governing board for the consolidated system. Two years later, in 1934, 11 of the 100 trustees were women, and only five of them were Greensboro graduates.

In the years following World War II, differences in legislative support for the campuses became even more apparent. WC administrators sought expansion for their campus in 1945, but the state legislature instead focused on helping Chapel Hill and State cope with a deluge of returning military veterans with GI Bill support (although there were a smaller number of returning women veterans who attended WC on the GI Bill). Enrollment at Chapel Hill and State both nearly doubled in the postwar boom. WC, on the other hand, saw a growth of less than 300 students.

Chapel Hill, WC, and State students lead cheers
at Consolidated University Day

To promote unity among the students at the three institutions, a Consolidated University Council was created in 1948 to "act as a liaison among the three campuses and to represent the opinions, interests, and welfare of the students." The Council consisted initially of 11 members, with meetings held quarterly. Membership grew to 13 in the mid-1950s.

The Council was also responsible for managing special events that aimed at uniting the three student bodies. Consolidated University Day was first held in April 1953 at WC's new student union building -- Elliott Hall. Hundreds of Chapel Hill and State students traveled to Greensboro to a day of activities, including bowling and "other light sports," "a spirited talent show," and "a dance that lasted until midnight." The selection of a Queen of Consolidated University Day was added in September 1954, when "the girls [wore] skirts and sweaters, and [were] judged on poise as well as appearance." The Queen, selected from a slate of five WC students, three UNC students, and two State students, was crowned at halftime of the afternoon football game between Carolina and State.

After 38 years, the Consolidated University saw its first growth in membership in 1969 when three new campuses were added -- Wilmington, Asheville, and Charlotte. Then, in 1971, legislators added the remaining ten publicly-funded universities to the system, creating a 16 campus UNC System. The North Carolina School for Science and Mathematics was added in 1985 to form the system as it stands today.

The Speaker Ban Law and the Controversy over Academic Freedom at North Carolina Universities

On June 26, 1963, just before session adjournment, the North Carolina legislature ratified H.B. 1395, titled "an act to regulate visiting speakers at state supported colleges and universities." This bill decreed that no college or university receiving state funding in North Carolina was allowed to host a speaker who "(A) is a known member of the Communist Party; (B) is known to advocate the overthrow of the constitution of the United States or the state of North Carolina; [or] (C) has pleaded the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America in refusing to answer any question, with respect to communist or subversive connections, or activities." The act required the Boards of Trustees at these schools to enforce these restrictions.

Carolinian article regarding Student Government's
stance on Speaker Ban, Nov. 1, 1963

According to many reports, the bill and its passage came as a surprise to many, including key administrators in and across the Consolidated University of North Carolina System (which at the time, consisted of the University at Chapel Hill, N.C. State in Raleigh, and Woman's College -- soon to be UNCG). As detailed in a speech by UNCG Student Government President Anne Prince in October 1963, UNC President William Friday "was first notified of the existence of the bill just after it was introduced on the floor of the House, and before he could get to Raleigh, just 31 minutes later, a new law had been passed."

Administrators, faculty, staff, and students at the UNC System schools lambasted the bill, known as the Speaker Ban Law, as an assault on academic freedom. At UNCG, the Student Government passed numerous resolutions condemning the bill. Chancellor Otis Singletary joined President Friday and the leaders of the other two UNC campuses to speak out against the Speaker Ban Law. Faculty and key administrators across campus wrote legislators demanding a repeal of the law.

In a November 15, 1963 letter to President Friday, Herman Middleton, head of UNCG's Department of Drama and Speech, wrote about how he was unable to bring playwright Arthur Miller on campus to speak on his play The Crucible, which was being performed by the National Repertory Theatre as part of their residency at UNCG. Miller pleaded the fifth amendment during Congressional hearings by the House Committee on Un-American Activities in 1957. Middleton wrote that "the educational experience would have been much greater if we could have had Mr. Miller on campus."

Farley Granger and Anne Meacham in the National
Repertory Theater's production of
Arthur Miller's The Crucible

Two years later, Mereb Mossman, dean of the faculty at UNCG, wrote North Carolina Governor Dan Moore regarding the impact of the Speaker Ban Law on faculty morale and recruitment. She wrote that "during the past two years, ... there have been many men whom we have sought to attract to positions on this campus who have questioned the Speaker Ban Law as an expression of lack of faith of the people of this State in its university." She also stresses the impact of the law on the national reputation and even its accreditation status (the Southern Association of Schools and Colleges was investigating possible violations of accreditation standards as a result of the law).

While many in academia fought the law, some North Carolina citizens encouraged legislators to continue the ban. A March 10, 1965 from a "P. Hastings" to Governor Moore declared that "any individual or group who refuses to come to the University of North Carolina or any other state supported college because Communists are not permitted to speak on the campus, indicates by their refusal that they are warped in their views to the extent that the students are better off by not hearing them." He continued, "I am positive beyond any doubt that if this matter was presented to the citizens of North Carolina and they be given an opportunity to express themselves, that 95% of them would be in favor of this law."

The North Carolina legislature, however, refused to repeal the law. In 1966, the UNC Chapel Hill chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) invited two known communist speakers to campus. In accordance with the Speaker Ban Law, the Board of Trustees rescinded the speakers' invitations. Supported by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the SDS filed suit in federal court challenging the Speaker Ban Law and its implementation. A three-judge federal court in Greensboro heard the arguments, and, in 1968, declared the Speaker Ban Law unconstitutional.


If you are interested in learning more about the speaker ban law in North Carolina (not just at UNCG), the State Archives has digitized a sampling of their archival records dealing with the Speaker Ban Study Commission.

Origin of a Goddess: Minerva on the Consolidated University era seal

During the period of the Consolidated University of North Carolina (1931-1971), a seal for the Woman's College of the University of North Carolina (now The University of North Carolina at Greensboro) appeared featuring an image of Minerva quite different from those previously used for the school's seal.

Letterhead from Consolidated University period

The seal appeared together with the seals of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University on official documents and letterhead from the office of the Consolidated University throughout this period.  The seal, by itself, was also used sporadically on items produced by the Woman's College such as Bulletins and Programs.

Seal from 1943 Bulletin of Courses

As has been discussed in previous blogs and exhibits, a wide variety of images has been used for our school's seal and unfortunately, we don't have much information on how many of these images came to be.  We still do not know who came up with the Consolidated University era seal, but we can now state that we know the original source of the image.
In the Louvre Museum in Paris, there is a Greek pot (Krater) dating back to about 460 B.C. This Krater, a form of Greek pottery used to mix wine and water, is an example of Attic red-figure painting. This particular Krater is the name vase of the Niobid Painter, so-called because of the scene depicting the slaughter of the children of Amphion and Niobe by Apollo and Artemis. The scene illustrates a central theme of the Greek world, Hubris, since Niobe had boasted that she had more children than Leto, mother of Apollo and Artemis.

The Niobid Painter Krater, showing scenes on both sides

It is not the scene for which the Painter is named, but the scene on the opposite side (image on the right in the above picture), which reveals a familiar face (indicated with red arrow above).  It is a question of debate as to what this side of the Krater depicts, but there is no doubt about one particular figure.  Near the handles stands a robed figure of a woman, wearing an aegis (breastplate of armor) with the head of Medusa, a war helmet, and carrying a shield and spear.  Sound familiar? It's Athena, and it's the source of the image for the Consolidated University era Woman's College seal. The drawing taken from the Krater in the image below shows a better view of the goddess.1


Drawing from Niobid Painter Krater showing detail of Athena and seal



It's very clear that officials weren't aware of the origin of the image used in this seal. In 1963 when the official seal currently used by The University of North Carolina at Greensboro was adopted, long-time Registrar Hoyt Price curiously said, "the 1963 rendition of the university seal actually is more authentic in so far as Minerva is depicted, especially her headdress and the wreath around the figure."2  

1-The Niobid Painter Krater is located in the Louvre and designated as Louvre G341; All Images used here of the Krater are from Tufts University's Perseus Digital Library

2- Quote is from "Today on Campus" October 2, 1983.



Computing on Campus

Roscoe Allen, head of
the campus's first computer center,
a position he held from 1967-1982

Computers seem ubiquitous on campus today, that hasn't always been the case. While a campus network of computers wasn't in place until the 1990s, faculty and staff have made use of computers and computing services offered on campus since 1959.

In 1959, the Consolidated University of North Carolina opened its first computation center in Chapel Hill. This center was intended to serve faculty from all three Consolidated University campuses -- UNC, N.C. State, and Woman's College (now UNCG). On November 19, a six-week seminar for interested WC faculty and staff began. This seminar aimed to "provide training and experience which will enable each of us to determine the applicability of the computer for our own areas of interest, and to adapt our research problems to the machine."

In 1967, UNCG opened its own administrative computer center in the Petty Science Building. This computer center, headed by Roscoe Allen, former head of the commercial department, was primarily used to computerize the university's personnel records, as required by the federal government as part of an ongoing civil rights litigation.

That same year, the University also gained a teletype connection to a computer based at the Triangle Universities Computation Center (TUCC) in Research Triangle Park. This terminal, located in the Forney Building, allowed faculty and students to run programs (but at least half of the connection's allotted time was dedicated to sponsored faculty research). All data that was to be processed had to go through and be submitted by the designated Supervisor of the Terminal.

Campus computing, 1975

As demand for computer access grew, campus computing was divided into two separate offices in 1973 -- one focused on administrative computing and one on academic computing. Additionally, computer center staff began offering workshops to faculty, staff, and students. These workshops, meant to introduce the UNCG community to "the computing facilities and services and the various program and languages available," included sessions on statistical packages like SPSS as well as programming languages like FORTRAN.

By 1976, there were at least 13 academic computer terminals across campus allowing faculty, staff, and students to connect to the TUCC, but that fell far short of demand. Computer access had to be rationed until 1981 when UNCG acquired its first on-campus academic computer -- a new VAX machine installed in the new business and economics building. Although many faculty continued to dial in via remote access to the TUCC, the new VAX was quickly flooded with faculty and student users. Long waits, limited use time, and emergency deletion of files caused troubles for all campus computer users.

Some relief came in the early 1980s with the growing popularity of personal computers (then known as microcomputers). Several UNCG departments financed small microcomputer labs of their own, but, aside from the high cost of the machines themselves, many departments lacked the money and expertise to properly maintain and service the computers.

Jackson Library computer lab, 1995

Finally, in 1990, the administrative and academic computer centers were merged. Computers were upgraded, and new labs were added across campus. By 1993, most academic buildings were connected to the campus network, and soon after the network began to reach dormitories as well.

William Friday and UNCG

On Friday, October 12, 2012, former UNC President William ("Bill") Friday passed away at the age of 92. He had a great impact on all aspects of education in North Carolina, including the institution we now know as the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Friday's relationship with UNCG (at the time, it was Woman's College) began in 1951 when he was named Assistant to the President in the offices of the Consolidated University, which included W.C., N.C. State, and UNC Chapel Hill. His task, as outlined by President Gordon Gray, was to "work with and through" alumni secretaries at the three schools to plan and promote an annual alumni giving campaign.

In 1956, Friday was asked to lead an investigation into W.C. Chancellor Edward Kidder Graham. He brought together a panel of campus leaders (including university Vice President William D. Carmichael as chairman, acting Provost William M. Whyburn, and graduate school Dean William W. Pierson) to conduct hearings that lasted five full days. Over 130 individuals provided confidential testimony to the panel on Graham's leadership of the campus, and ultimately Graham was persuaded to submit his resignation effective at the end of the school year.

Invitation to the inauguration of Friday as
President of the Consolidated University of
North Carolina, 1957

Soon after the hearings, Friday was tapped as the next President of the Consolidated University of North Carolina after Gray left for a position in the Department of Defense. His handling of matters at W.C. was cited as evidence of his ability to lead the organization. He was officially inaugurated on May 8, 1957 at a ceremony at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh.

Four years later, North Carolina Governor Terry Sanford created a Commission on Education Beyond the High School, which was headed by Winston-Salem lawyer Irving Carlyle. Friday was a member of this group, which became known as the Carlyle Commission. The Commission's report, published in 1962, predicted a near doubling of college enrollment in North Carolina by 1975 and called for a major overhaul of the state's higher education system. This report led the 1963 state legislature to create a community college system and elevate existing state-supported two-year colleges in Charlotte, Asheville, and Wilmington to four-year institution. These campuses joined the existing Consolidated University schools to form the UNC System.

Directly impacting W.C., all of the schools in the UNC system were to be made coeducational, and the name of the Woman's College was officially changed to The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Most alumnae opposed the change, and the current student and faculty populations were divided. But ultimately the name change was made effective in July 1963, and the first male undergraduates were admitted to UNCG in Fall 1964.

During his time as UNC President, Friday supervised the consolidation and growth of all of the schools in the UNC system. He fought against a 1963 state-legislature-supported speaker ban, which would have forbidden all colleges and universities receiving state funds from bringing on campus a speaker who was "a known communist or who had pleaded the Fifth Amendment in refusing to answer a question about communist affiliation." He managed the System through the turbulence of the student and social movements of the 1960s and 1970s. And in 1986, after 30 years at the helm, Friday retired from his position as UNC President.

Friday speaking at UNCG's 1988 commencement

After retirement from UNC, Friday continued to be a champion for education, leading the William R. Kenan, Jr., Fund and serving as a founding co-chairman of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics. He returned to UNCG as the speaker for the 1988 commencement ceremony. There, he stressed the importance of access to educational opportunities for all North Carolinians. Stating that (at the time) one million North Carolinians lived in poverty, and over 800,000 faced illiteracy, he implored the graduates to take responsibility to the quality of education in the state. Friday concluded his speech to the students, saying, "You must now take your place in that great tradition of responsible and useful citizenship to build an even stronger society where no child will suffer the bondage of poverty and illiteracy and no citizen will fail to know the joy of personal freedom, of reassuring self-respect and the integrity of his or her own person. This is your new assignment and it's going to take a lifetime of courage, of diligence and service."