The History of the Library and Information Studies Department at UNCG

Formal library education at the North Carolina College for Women (now The University of North Carolina at Greensboro) was initiated in 1928, by Charles H. Stone, a competent young library educator and director with a library science degree from University of Illinois. Stone had already demonstrated educational and managerial aptitude through the founding of a library science program at the Peabody Institute. In 1928, Stone was appointed director of the college library and administer of the department of Library Science.

Charles H. Stone

The department would offer accredited undergraduate work from 1931-1933. This program was the first of its kind in North Carolina and the second in the south, offering courses that included book selection, cataloging and classification, youth literature and storytelling, library history and administration, reference and bibliography, and government documents. Yet by 1933, the state of North Carolina decided to consolidate library education at the Chapel Hill campus.

The 1931 Undergraduate Library Science Class

In the 1962-63 academic year - the last year that the school was officially a woman’s college - a university committee, which had been formed several years prior in response to federal legislation affecting education, decided to formally restore library science education at UNCG. In 1965, the developing program was approved to offer a Master’s degree in Library Science (MLS), although it was not yet accredited. This program continued until 1982, when the American Library Association (ALA) accredited a Masters in Library and Information Science (MLIS) program at UNCG.

Two remarkable librarians who helped direct and develop the program towards accreditation were Mary Frances Kennon Johnson (1962-1979; Chair 1978-1979) and Cora Paul Bomar (1969-1979; Interim Chair 1986-87). This was largely done through the emphasis of an expanding array of technology and media. Dr. Keith Wright (Chair 1980-86) was the department Chair during the pivotal academic year of 1981-1982 when accreditation was earned. He contributed to the program’s success by hiring more faculty and establishing strong practicum programs, which partnered with local educational organizations.

Cora Paul Bomar

Under the leadership of Dr. Marilyn Miller (1987-1995), the department - now titled Library Science and Instructional Technology - continued its progress. Miller (MLS, PhD - University of Michigan) was a notable advocate and prolific researcher, writer, and speaker on librarianship, with a focus on school library media programs. In 1988, she oversaw the founding of the Library and Information Science Student Association (LISSA), the 21st student chapter of ALA. In 1992-1993, still directing the LIS program, Miller served as ALA’s president, thereby bringing visibility to the department. Coursework under Miller’s leadership emphasized educational technology, especially microcomputers, as complementary to the standard library curriculum. In the 1993-1994 academic year, the program became Library and Information Studies. In the same year, and still under the leadership of Dr. Miller, the department was approved to offer a complete MLIS degree as distance education, which continues to develop and serve diverse learners today.

Marilyn Miller 

 

Currently, as the oldest LIS program in North Carolina, UNCG’s LIS department is housed within the School of Education, where it continues to offer an accredited, graduate-level degree program featuring courses in both hybrid (combining face-to-face and distance learners) and fully online formats. With such a long and rich history of library and information education at UNCG, we expect continuous developments in research, education, and service from the LIS department.

[This blog is the result of research conducted at the Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA) at The University of North Carolina - Greensboro (UNCG), by LIS practicum student Anthony Arcangeli, in the creation of an exhibit which highlighted the history of library education at UNCG.]

Jan Van Dyke: Dancing Through Life

Jan Van Dyke was one of the most prolific and well-known faculty members in the UNCG Department of Dance. Van Dyke had a long history with UNCG, beginning in 1989 when she received a doctorate in education.

Jan Van Dyke, ca. 1950s.

Van Dyke was born in Washington, D.C., on April 15, 1941, but spent much of her early youth in Germany. From an early age, much of her energy was spent focused on dance. She attended high school in Virginia, taking dance lessons at the Washington School of Ballet. Van Dyke earned a bachelor's degree in dance from the University of Wisconsin in 1963 and a master's degree in dance education from George Washington University.

Van Dyke often struggled to break into the dance world – working hard to get a foothold in New York City, the Midwest, and Washington, D.C. During her career, she was responsible for founding or co-founding numerous dance groups, including the John Gamble/Jan Van Dyke Dance Group, Jan Van Dyke and Dancers, and the Jan Van Dyke Dance Group.

She was particularly interested in the difficulties faced by women dancers – despite the stereotyping of dancing as a feminine career, she often wrote about the inequalities within the dance profession and the struggles women faced.

Van Dyke’s dance studies and career not only took her around the country, but also around the world. In the 1990s, Van Dyke traveled to Portugal as a Fulbright scholar. Her career was punctuated by other interesting tidbits, such as her stint as choreographer of a Rick Springfield video, Bop ‘Til You Drop.

Program outlining the offerings of Jan Van Dyke and Dancers, ca. 1970s.

With tons of interesting asides, it’s easy to forget that the bedrock of Van Dyke’s career was always rooted in teaching and a love of dance. Some of the earliest newspaper clippings chronicle Van Dyke’s early work teaching basic dance to “housewives” in the Midwest.
Van Dyke’s teaching career culminated in her arrival at UNCG as a student in the School of Education. Van Dyke received her doctorate in Education in 1989, then joined UNCG as a full assistant professor that same year.

While with the Department of Dance at UNCG, she taught a variety of courses, including technique, choreography, repertory, career management, and dance administration. Van Dyke was named head of the Department of Dance in 2006 and served until 2011. She retired from UNCG in 2012.

In addition to teaching, Van Dyke also worked as a producer, administrator, and artist in the Greensboro community. Van Dyke founded and directed the dance company Dance Project, which is responsible for the N.C. Dance Festival, Van Dyke Dance Group, and School at City Arts.

The Van Dyke Performance Space, located in the cultural arts center in downtown Greensboro, was named after Van Dyke and opened in 2016. Van Dyke donated one million dollars for its creation and worked tirelessly to gain a dedicated performing arts space in downtown Greensboro.

Van Dyke’s impact on the dance community, specifically the North Carolina dance community, is undeniable. Her choreography has been used by a variety of groups, ranging from the Washington Ballet to students at the Western Australian Academy for the Performing Arts in Perth. She was instrumental in founding the N.C. Dance Festival.

Van Dyke teaching students in Washington. D.C., ca. 1970s.

She earned numerous accolades in her field, including: North Carolina Choreography Fellowship, 1993 Fulbright Scholar, North Carolina Dance Alliance Annual Award 2001, 2008 Dance Teacher Award for Higher Education from Dance Teacher Magazine, and the Betty Cone Medal of Arts Award in 2011. UNCG awarded Van Dyke the Gladys Strawn Bullard Award for leadership and service in 2010.

Van Dyke donated her personal and professional papers to the Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives in 2014-2015. Van Dyke passed away after a lengthy battle with cancer in July 2015.

The Jan Van Dyke Papers contains materials related to Van Dyke's personal life and professional career as a dancer, teacher, and administrator. The collection contains Van Dyke's choreography, correspondence, faculty materials, teaching materials, photographs, newspaper clippings, and video recordings.

Van Dyke’s materials, which afford a unique glance into a life dedicated to dance, reach back to her earliest childhood years in the 1940s and 1950s – from a photographs of childhood dance recitals to faculty materials and video recordings from her time at UNCG in the late 2010s.

When Politics and Sexuality Collide: UNCG PRIDE Week, 2004

The intersectionality of political identity versus sex and gender generates combative rhetoric, and UNC Greensboro witnessed such conflict in 2004. PRIDE Week traditionally takes place in March or April on UNC Greensboro’s campus.[1] PRIDE Week was sponsored by the UNC Greensboro student group, PRIDE[2], and included events such as a picnic by a lake, PRIDE Prom, and a student drag show (co-sponsored by the Residence Hall Association), featuring a silent auction and bake sale. The scheduled keynote speaker for UNCG PRIDE Week 2004 was Debra Davis, a retired transgender high school librarian who was executive director of the Gender Education Center.[3] These events were typical of PRIDE Weeks at UNC Greensboro, but the publicity of the week of 2004 was to be unlike that of the past festivities.

 

The Carolinian, March 25, 2004, page 1

Intentionally scheduled to compete with PRIDE Week, the newly formed UNC Greensboro College Republicans scheduled Morality Week at the same time. In the words of a UNC Greensboro senior and member of the College Republicans, “We want to show that there is a large section of society that is not happy with the perverse and degrading change in culture over the past 50 years.”[4] Morality Week began with an affirmative action bake sale, continued with events such as “Right to Life Day,” “No Hump Day,”[5] and a barbecue. The College Republicans selected the University of North Carolina at Wilmington professor, Mike Adams, as their keynote speaker.  The selection and funding of Adams as a speaker caused scandal, as accusations were made by the College Republicans that UNC Greensboro was refusing funding for the conservative speaker and Morality Week events. Argument became especially bitter after Adams wrote an article labeling the university as UNC Gomorrah[6] for funding a lecture by feminist author, photographer, and pornographer, Tristan Taormino, that February.[7]

College Republican chairman, Travis Billingsley, claimed that the student organization was misled purposefully into not filling out an allocation form in order that Morality Week would not receive funds. It was ironic that the College Republicans claimed the lack of funding was overt discrimination, as Jason Crawford, presidential candidate for the College Republicans in 2004, argued for the cutting or elimination of PRIDE’s budget over their Black History Month book display in 2002.[8] As heated debate ensued, the UNC Greensboro Office of Student Life assisted the College Republicans in obtaining $2000 to support their events.[9] When asked why the Office of Student Life decided to step in to offer funding to the College Republicans, Assistant Director of Student Life, Checka Leinwall, stated, “A college campus is one of the hallmark market places of ideas. Morality Week will give our students an opportunity to look at different points of view.”[10]

There was great concern on campus about protests that might occur between organizers at both PRIDE and Morality Week events. The College Republicans’ affirmative action bake sale saw protesters from the UNCG Socialists, UNCG Universalist Unitarians, the NAACP, the UNCG Neo-Black Society, and even a few North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University students. There was no report of UNCG PRIDE and the College Republican members protesting each other’s events. According to Michael Bishop, business manager of PRIDE, “We have decided to take the high road. They [the College Republicans] have a right to have it. It is a slap in the face that they are having it in the same week.”[11] Melissa Holland, the Student Government PRIDE representative, went so far as to suggest “The College Republicans should come to some of our events and listen to what we have to say instead of judging us from a far, and we should do the same.”[12]

Both UNC Greensboro PRIDE and the College Republicans considered their respective events successful. Many people were offended, but there was no report of violence. The significance of this clash of politics versus sexuality and gender on a North Carolina university campus, though it did not seem of great importance at the time, is a foreshadowing of the future. In a few years, North Carolina would receive international attention relating to the state government’s stance on marriage equality and trans issues. PRIDE Week versus Morality Week at UNC Greensboro was a small taste of the controversy that would draw the UNC system universities into news headlines with events that are still unfolding.  

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^[1] UNC Greensboro commemorates PRIDE Week in March, as opposed to June, because the spring semester ends in May, therefore most students would not have the opportunity to celebrate. In 2004, UNC Greensboro PRIDE Week was celebrated from March 18th to March 26th.

^[2] As of 2016, the UNC Greensboro LGBTQ student organization changed its name to the Queer Student Union.

^[3] Hilary Hellens, “PRIDE Week Rolls along According to Schedule,” The Carolinian, Feb. 18, 2002, UA42.4.01, Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC, USA.

^[4] Eren Tartaragasi, “Affirmative Action Bake Sale Draws Fire,” The Carolinian, Feb. 18, 2002, UA42.4.01, Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC, USA.

^[5] The College Republicans arranged a presenter to speak on sexual abstinence.

^[6] It should be noted that the first Gomorrah reference made to UNC Greensboro is recorded in a letter from disgruntled alumna from 1979.

Mike S. Adams, “Welcome to UNC Gomorrah,” Townhall, March 1, 2004. Accessed Oct. 17, 2017. https://townhall.com/columnists/mikeadams/2004/03/01/welcome-to-unc-gomorrah-n1284950

^[7] There was a perception that Taormino’s lecture was funded officially by UNC Greensboro, using taxpayer money. It was not. The funding was aloccated from student fees all incoming students at UNC Greensboro pay, portions of which are distributed to student groups and student services.

 Joe Killian, “Sex Lecturer’s UNCG Visit Sparks Debate,” Greensboro News and Record (Greensboro, NC), March 21, 2004.

^[8] Joe Wilbur and John W. Ayers, “PRIDE under Siege,” The Carolinian, March 4, 2002, UA42.4.01, Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC, USA.

^[9] Anna Liles, “College Republicans Get Money, Support from OSL,” The Carolinian, March 18, 2004, UA42.4.01, Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC, USA.

^[10] Ibid.

^[11] Hilary Hellens, “PRIDE Week Rolls along According to Schedule,” The Carolinian, Feb. 18, 2002, UA42.4.01, Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC, USA.

^[12] Ibid.

UNC Greensboro Coming Out: Queer Students in the 1990s

The 1990s saw considerable change for the campus climate for UNC Greensboro students.[1] For the first time in newspaper articles, LGBTQ+ students were identifying themselves by name. Literally a century after the doors of the school first opened (1892-1992), there is a published interview with a UNC Greensboro sophomore, Keith Hill, who identified himself as a black, gay male. Hill was a member of the Gay and Lesbian Student Association (GLSA), the current name of the UNC Greensboro LGBTQ+ student organization of the time. The interview was titled, “Dialogue with a Homosexual,” appearing in The Carolinian. Hill’s candid responses provide insight into the lives of LGBTQ+ students on campus, as well as the intersectionality of race and sexuality.

 

The Carolinian, April 16, 1992, page 12

When asked about how other UNC Greensboro students reacted to him coming out, Hill responded,

“Surprisingly, my heterosexual male friends are very supportive… For me, the biggest problem I get is from black students here on-campus because I think blacks are less.. They have less doings with homosexuals than, say, Anglo-Saxon Americans simply because in the black community, it’s not something - since the black community is so steeped in religion and Christianity - and that tradition says homosexuality is wrong. So it’s not something they’re willing to try and accept or even come to terms with.”[2]

When asked about if he feared any discrimination for being openly gay at UNC Greensboro, he says “No, because the way I see it is that, while I’m in school, it is up to me to set the direction I take once I graduate. And if I live that direction openly… every advance that I make, I make it because who I am consists in me being gay.”[3] Additionally, Hill, who was single and twenty-three at the time of the interview, described the difficulties he experienced in trying to find steady relationships.

“I will soon be 24. Based on the average age, this is the time when you meet somebody and start settling down…  But (homosexuals) don’t have the same means for meeting someone that a heterosexual does. You don’t have the same comfortable environment for going out and finding meaningful relationships.”[4]

Not giving up hope, later in the interview, Hill continues to say he wants “to meet another man, fall in love. I want to adopt kids, to have a family… I want to have a big wedding one day!” Among the more thoughtful perspectives Hill offers in the interview is the plight of young gay men looking for role models.

“You have to understand also that in being gay, you don’t have any role models to identify with. The role models you see portrayed are very effeminate in nature or some creature - unnatural, lustful. And so you have to go against all of that programming and begin to identify with the things that give you a sense of well being, of who you are. And most of those things that give you a sense of well being are very atypical - the perfect bod, the perfect clothes.”[5]

Overall, Keith Hill’s interview was a landmark event in UNC Greensboro history, as it was the first time a named student spoke extensively about what it was like to be a member of the LGBTQ+ community on the record. Not only was 1992 the year of Hill’s article, but five months later, the city newspaper, the Greensboro News and Record, covered UNC Greensboro’s National Coming Out Day, interviewing sophomore, Robert Woodard. At UNC Greensboro, National Coming Out Day, observed October 11th, is celebrated with an information booth and ceremony in front of the campus dining hall. Pamphlets, magazines, and buttons relating to LGBTQ+ education are handed out to students, and there is a "coming out ceremony" in which students can publicly identify as LGBTQ+ to the campus. The writer of the article, Bill Morris, begins the piece stating, “He’s a courageous young man, this Robert Woodward.” While the piece was short and the interview only included very basic questions, the tone was very positive for the local media.[6]

About a week after the publishing of the article, Morris was compelled to write a second article describing reader responses to Woodward’s interview, starting with, “It never fails. Every time I put forth the unthinkable notion that homosexuals are human beings - as I did last week while praising students at UNCG for organizing “Coming Out Day” - the yahoos get riled up.”[7] One of the letters to Morris accused him of homosexuality for writing such a positive article, to which Morris replied, “You assume that anyone who supports the human dignity of homosexuals must be homosexual. Wrong. I support the human dignity of a number of groups to which I don’t belong…”[8] While more students were coming out, even though they were still facing attacks, allies to the LGBTQ+ community were doing so, as well.

Being attacked did not deter Morris’ coverage in the News and Record. A few months later in January of 1993, he reported on the creation of a hotline for gay teens.[9] The group that developed the hotline was Alternative Resources of the Triad (ART), founded in 1988. Brian Riggs, graduate student in the counseling program at UNC Greensboro, wrote the grant to fund the project with the support of Charlie Hawes, Episcopal priest of St. Mary’s House, adjacent to the campus of UNC Greensboro. The Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina awarded a small sum to Rigg’s proposal, allowing for the creation of the support resource that was the first of its kind in Greensboro area.[10] With more youth coming out, more support was needed. Although the grant was only for two hundred dollars, funding from a major organization, such as the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina, was a major victory. Although personal acceptance of the LGBTQ + community was becoming common in the 1990s, institutional support, even ceremonial in nature, was lacking. UNC Greensboro would not confront this dilemma until forced to do so in 1996.   

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^[1] 1992 also was the year the World Health Organization declassified homosexuality as a mental illness.

^[2] Anubha Anand, “Dialogue with a Homosexual,” The Carolinian, April 16, 1992, UA42.4.01, Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC, USA.

^[3] Ibid.

^[4]Ibid.

^[5] Ibid.

^[6] Bill Morris, “Homosexuals Have Family Values, Too - UNCG Sophomore: No Rights in Closet,” Greensboro News and Record (Greensboro, NC), Oct. 13, 1992, p. B1.

^[7] Bill Morris, “Defense of Gays Unpopular with Yahoos - ‘Coming Out Day’ Strikes a Nerve,” Greensboro News and Record (Greensboro, NC), Oct. 22, 1992.

^[8] Ibid.

^[9] The article begins with the sentence, “I hope all you Southern Baptists are paying attention.”

^[10] Bill Morris, “Church Grant to Help Gay Teens Will Create Hot Line,” Greensboro News and Record (Greensboro, NC), Jan. 4, 1993, p. B1.

A Second Look at UNC Greensboro's Response to AIDS in the 1980's

LGBTQ history in the 1980s was dominated by the AIDS epidemic, but there is little information about UNC Greensboro’s students’ perspective of the epidemic. The Carolinian featured an article titled, “AIDS - The Mystery Killer,” surprisingly early in the epidemic’s history, 1983.[1] Major coverage in the student newspaper did not start until 1985, at which time the University of North Carolina system implemented a task force to address AIDS on campus. The number of students on the UNC Greensboro campus who were infected with the disease is unknown, but a 1986 article mentions “There was a case of AIDS detected on campus… and that student ‘had since left.’ Whether the student was asked to leave or left voluntarily was not specified.”[2] It should be noted that to protect the university in the event of potential legal liability, it was advised that if a student living in on-campus housing contracted AIDS, their roommate was to be informed, “preferably by the individual.[3]

The Carolinian, December 11, 1986, page 1

Institutionally, UNC system administration began addressing the AIDS epidemics across campuses beginning in 1985. All heads of universities were sent information published by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, providing basic information about the disease.[4] There is no singling out of gay men in the brochure, just an overview of the virus and how it spreads. One week later, William Friday, President of the UNC system, released an official summary of the Administrative Council accounting their meeting regarding the system’s proposal to address the AIDS epidemic.[5] The Administrative Council proposed the creation of a task force to address the epidemic, comprising representatives from all sixteen UNC campuses. This sixteen member task force was composed of four student health service physicians, four student affairs officials, four attorneys, and four health educators. UNC Greensboro had three representatives on the taskforce.[6] It was deemed by the Council that the primary responsibility of the Infectious Disease Advisory Committee was to develop and disseminate information about the virus and how it spread. The actual handling of AIDS cases on each campus would be the responsibility of the chancellors of each campus, but the system task force would provide expert advice and guidance as necessary.

Student Health Services at UNC Greensboro developed a preliminary policy for dealing with AIDS patients. This included procedures such as “advise the patient of possible social problems, particularly in residence halls, if it is known or rumored that he/she has AIDS” and “suggest that if he/she elects to remain in school that it might be in their best interest to consider residing off campus” due to the social consequences. The policy also clearly stated that AIDS victims (as they were described) would not be barred from classes, from using university facilities, or from public gatherings.[7] There is no mention of homosexuality in the policy.

Through most of the documentation relating to UNC Greensboro’s handling of the AIDS epidemic, there are surprisingly few mentions of homosexuality. Some of the materials acknowledged that the gay men fall into the high risk population for the virus, but emphasizes that,

“... this is not, in any endemic sense, a ‘homosexual disease.’ The disease did first gain a substantial foothold within that segment of our population, and its rapid spread among homosexual men is attributable, among possible factors, to certain sexual practices that constitute particularly efficient means of transmitting the virus. Thus, as in the case of Hepatitis B and Syphilis, AIDS is primarily a sexually transmitted disease, and for all such diseases there is a higher incidence among homosexual members of the population. AIDS has remained relatively confined to the population because its members constitute a relatively closed social and sexual grouping.”[8]

Documents, such as the one quoted above, demonstrated that UNC Greensboro officials wanted to curtail the condemnation of AIDS being a purely homosexual disease, not only simply to provide proper information, but also to avoid “the widespread anxiety that otherwise understandably attends discussion of this highly dangerous disease.”[9] In the handwritten minutes from the presentation of the President’s task force, it is indicated that they needed to “communicate that gay doesn’t = to AIDS… Gays already endure discrimination.[10] UNC Greensboro records indicate that the information released to the public was crafted with great intention to avoid negative incidences from occurring on campus, but the documents relating to what the task force and university officials discussed among themselves differed in tone.

One document titled, “Analysis of AIDS-Related Issues in the University Context,” while not overtly anti-gay, does single out the population. This document was used to guide members of the task force and university officials. One highlighted section reads,

“Viewed in the broadest possible precautionary terms, all members of a high risk group (e.g., homosexual males) ought to assume (in the absence of specific, current and definitive medical evidence to the contrary or in view of a counterindicative personal lifestyle) that they are infected with the AIDS virus, and those contemplating intimate contacts with members of such a group should proceed on the basis of the same assumption. This approach disregards (for purpose of maximizing prophylaxis) the fact that only a minority of homosexual makes in fact have been infected with the AIDS virus.”[11]

The message is clear; AIDS may not be a gay disease, but it is best to treat all gay men as being infected until they are tested. How this assumption played out in interactions with students on campus is unknown. There are no oral histories at present in which gay former-UNC Greensboro students discuss the AIDS epidemic on campus, and for any student who may have undergone testing for the disease, health records are confidential. Tragically, it must be noted also that any student who contracted AIDS during this time would be unlikely to be alive today.

Overall, UNC Greensboro’s response to AIDS in terms of providing information to educate students and staff was respectable, but there is no information as to how the epidemic unfolded on a personal level. There was no measurable form of assessment to judge the effectiveness of the campus’ educational resources.

Also see, "Confronting the AIDS Epidemic at UNCG"

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^[1] Bob Pearson, “AIDS - The Mystery Killer,”  The Carolinian, Nov. 22, 1983, UA42.4.01, Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC, USA.

^[2] Firdous Bamji, “Senators Sworn in Tuesday,” The Carolinian, Feb. 20, 1986, UA42.4.01. Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC, USA.

^[3] [Handwritten Notes from Task Force Meeting],  AIDS Notebook, MS, Office of the Provost Records, UA 3.1, Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives and Manuscripts, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC, USA.

^[4] Allan W. Ostar, “Memorandum to Presidents & Chancellors of the State Colleges and Universities and Heads of State Systems,” Nov. 13, 1985, AIDS Notebook, MS, Office of the Provost Records, UA 3.1, Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives and Manuscripts, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC, USA.

^[5] William Friday, “Memorandum to the Chancellors,” Nov. 20, 1985, AIDS Notebook, MS, Office of the Provost Records, 1922-2015, UA 3.1, Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives and Manuscripts, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC, USA.

^[6] “AIDS Task Force,” MS, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Records, 1937-2015, UA 42.1, Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives and Manuscripts, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC, USA.

^[7] “UNC-G Student Health Service Preliminary Policy for Dealing with AIDS Patients,” AIDS Notebook, MS, Office of the Provost Records, 1922-2015, UA 3.1, Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives and Manuscripts, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC, USA.

^[8] “Guidelines for Campus Programs/Policies Re: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome,” AIDS Notebook, MS, Office of the Provost Records, 1922-2015, UA 3.1, Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives and Manuscripts, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC, USA.

^[9] Dick Robinson, “Memorandum,” Oct.31, 1985, MS, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Records, 1937-2015, UA 42.1, Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives and Manuscripts, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC, USA.

^[10] “Notes from the Presentation of the President’s Task Force on AIDS,” Feb. 11, 1986, AIDS Notebook, MS, Office of the Provost Records, 1922-2015, UA 3.1, Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives and Manuscripts, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC, USA.

^[11] “Analysis of AIDS-Related Issues in the University Context,” MS, AIDS Notebook, Office of the Provost Records, 1922-2015, UA 3.1, Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives and Manuscripts, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC, USA.

Chronicling the Founding of the UNCG LGBT Student Organization (1971-1975)

Carolinian, Oct. 4, 1971 (p.7)

Although our University enjoys the benefits of a culture promoting equality and inclusivity, UNCG’s reputation for embracing diversity as an educational foundation was constructed over decades by student and staff advocacy. Among the more hidden stories of Civil Rights struggles at UNCG is that of the formation of a university-acknowledged student organization for LGBTQ students.

There are few records on the lives and activities of the University’s LGBTQ students, but the first evidence for the need of such an organization on campus can be found as early as 1971. By this time, the university had been reorganized as a co-educational institution, and although there is some evidence of a lesbian student population on campus for several decades (1), discrimination against gay male students provoked the first plea for tolerance in the student newspaper:

Last year it was decided by some members of the fraternity and a few other males that their image was being threatened by the gay men on campus. It was felt that those gay men were becoming too blatant to be tolerated. They had the audacity to be themselves occasionally...

There was some talk among the homosexuals of starting a gay liberation movement here at school. When this “uppity” talk reached the ears of the other men they decided to act. They all got drunk and set about threatening people with violence. (2) 

It would be unlikely that the victims of such bullying would be willing to report threats, as homosexuality was not (and still is not) a protected class of minority by state law. Additionally, as homosexuality was officially classified as a mental disorder by the American Psychiatric Association during this time, there was no pressure for University officials to investigate such situations.  However, the landscape for gay rights shifted in 1973, when the APA removed homosexuality from the list of diagnosable mental illnesses. It did not take long for LGBTQ students to organize, and by 1974, a “gay political social group” was forming on campus.

In November of 1974, a flier promoting the first meeting of a gay student organization was attached to a bulletin board in the School of Music. This flier was brought to the attention of Jim H. Allen, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Chancellor James S. Ferguson. In a letter to the Office of the UNC System President, Bill Friday, Allen requested for legal advice, asking:

• What are the state statues for dealing with homosexuality?
• What statutory prohibitions, if any, are there regarding the funding of a homosexual organization out of student activity fees?
• May it be argued that to provide meeting space on the campus for a homosexual organization is to provide a form of support through the public revenues…?

In response, David N. Edwards, Jr., Special Assistant to the Office of the President, advised Allen that withholding institutional support from a student organization meeting the necessary requirements would be legally precarious, providing citations from three federal cases in which the court overruled university prohibitions against gay student organizations. Essentially, a gay student organization, with a mission to support its members and to educate the public, does not pose a danger to the campus or inherently violate university regulations. Also, the cases of the federal court overturning the prohibitions of other universities provided the administration of UNCG with legal support in permitting a gay student organization, should dissension arise from formal recognition.

The documentation formally requesting the recognition of the Gay Student Union of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro was submitted and approved in 1979, with Rev. Joe Flora, Presbyterian Pastor for Campus Ministries, as the faculty adviser. The stated mission of the organization was:

• To educate the public about legal, social and personal aspects of homosexuality
• To provide a support system for those in the organization
• To represent the homosexual portion of the student body in matters relevant to homosexual students

The initial meeting of the Gay Student Union occurred in September 25, 1979, but the first meeting as a university-recognized organization occurred one month later, on October 25^th. (3-4) Unfortunately, there is not a record of the founding members of the organization, but the initiative of these students established a network of support for LGBTQ students that has lasted over 30 years.

The Gay Student Union underwent many changes and overcame many obstacles over its history. The organization encountered many challenges through the 1980s well into the 1990s, but the struggles have led to the cultivation of a campus culture of support and advocacy. In fact, the 2012 Homecoming included the first homecoming for UNCG’s LGBTQA Alumni. As stated by attending Alumni, it was their first “homecoming-out.”

(1) Oral history interview with Key L. Barkley, 1991 [OH003]. UNCG Centennial Oral History Project Collection, Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC, USA.

(2) "The Last Liberation," The Carolinian, October 4, 1971 [UA42.4.01]. Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC, USA.

(3) "Gay Academic Union Formed," The Carolinian, October 30, 1979 [UA42.4.01]. Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC, USA.

(4) "Corrections," The Carolinian, November 6, 1979 [UA42.4.01]. Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC, USA.

Off the Record: sharing the story of the LGBTQ+ history of UNCG

University Archives is beginning the celebration of UNC Greensboro's PRIDE Month with the story of our LGBTQ+ history in the words of our current students, alumni, and faculty. In April of 2017, the University Libraries and the Office of Intercultural Engagement sponsored a panel of volunteers, who identify as LGBTQ+. The perspective of the LGBTQ+ history of UNC Greensboro, based upon these panelists, spans from the 1970s until present, elaborating upon the gap-filled evidence represented in the university's historical record.

[This video is closed caption enabled]

This panel, “Off the Record: sharing the story of the LGBTQ+ history of UNCG,” is inspired by the oral history project underway as part of the 125th anniversary of the opening of the State Normal and Industrial School (now UNC Greensboro). With Chancellor Gilliam’s sponsorship, the University Archives of UNC Greensboro Libraries is conducting a two year project (2016-2018) of oral history interviews. This ambitious project hopes to capture oral histories from a wide variety of interviewees with connections to UNC Greensboro, such as faculty, administrators, alumni, staff, and current students.

Of the 19,000 students enrolled at UNC Greensboro (at the time of the panel), the school's Fall 2016 ACHA-National College Health Assessment (NCHA) estimated that 23 percent of these students self-identify as nonheterosexual or nongender-binary.

Panelists: Dane Hansen; Kathleen Williams; James V. Carmichael, Jr.; Jay Poole; Zachary Johnson
Moderator: Stacey Krim

For more information about the LGBTQ+ history of UNC Greensboro, please see:

• Chronicling the Founding of the LGBT Student Organization (1971-1975)
• "Gays Go Home" -- The Strong Hall Protest of 1979
• His Name Was Kenneth Crump
• Fighting to Make a Statement: The Struggle for UNCG's Sexual Orientation Nondiscrimination Clause
• Dark Shadows, Deep Closets