“A Dialogue Between Old and New” and “Knowledge Building(s)”

Two new exhibits featuring University Archives materials are on display in the North Carolina Collection Gallery and the Davis Library Gallery starting this week!

A Dialogue Between Old and New and Knowledge Building(s) Posters

Continue reading ““A Dialogue Between Old and New” and “Knowledge Building(s)””

Beat Dook! . . . Duke University Archives, That Is.

UNC cheerleaders with Ramses before the Duke game
(From the Hugh Morton Collection of Photographs and Films, North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives)

We’ve entered into a friendly competition with Duke University Archives: See who can get the most NEW “Likes” on their Facebook page between now and the March 3rd UNC-Duke basketball game. We’ve only got until tipoff, so head on over to our Facebook page and like the UNC University Archives.  Also tell your friends, family, and any UNC fans you know.

Traces of King at UNC

Front page of the Daily Tar Heel, April 5, 1968. (The Daily Tar Heel, 75(143), 1. Courtesy of the North Carolina Collection).

Earlier this week, we celebrated the life and vision of Martin Luther King, Jr., and we here at University Archives found some documents that add a sort of immediacy to the event that for many of us is situated in the distant past. Continue reading “Traces of King at UNC”

Di-Phi Bicentennial Debate

To celebrate the rich history of their organizations, each year the Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies delve into the University Archives to find a topic that was debated 200 years ago. The topic may be something still very applicable to today, or it may be debated in an “old-style” fashion, as if reliving history.

Dialectic Society Pin
Dialectic Society Pin (from the collections of the North Carolina Collection Gallery)

On Monday, November 21 at 7:30pm, in the Dialectic Society chambers of New West, the Di-Phi will hold its annual bicentennial debate. The topic is a debate from March 3, 1824, “Is an alliance between Great Britain and the United State to be desired by the latter.”

Dialectic Society Chambers, 1935
Dialectic Society Chambers, 1935

The University Archives holds the records of both the Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies from their founding in 1795, including minute books, addresses, debates, and photographs.

For more information about these Societies and their records, please see the following finding aids:

Records of the Dialectic Society
http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/uars/ead/40152.html

Records of the Philanthropic Society
http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/uars/ead/40166.html

Records of the Dialectic and Philanthropic Joint Senate
http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/uars/ead/40153.html

 

University of North Carolina System celebrates its 40th anniversary

In 1971, the North Carolina General Assembly passed legislation that created the University of North Carolina System, encompassing all of the state-supported institutions of higher learning in North Carolina.

Today, the UNC System includes Appalachian State University, East Carolina University, Elizabeth City State University, Fayetteville State University, North Carolina A&T, North Carolina Central University, North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, North Carolina State University, UNC-Asheville, UNC-Chapel Hill, UNC-Charlotte, UNC-Greensboro, UNC-Pembroke, UNC School of the Arts, Western Carolina University, and Winston-Salem State University.

The UNC System can trace its origins to the Great Depression.  Looking for cost savings, the North Carolina General Assembly created the Consolidated University of North Carolina in 1931, consisting of the campus in Chapel Hill, North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering (now North Carolina State University), and the North Carolina College for Women (now the University of North Carolina at Greensboro), under the leadership of one board and one president.  Frank Porter Graham served as the first president of the Consolidated University.   In 1969, UNC-Asheville, UNC-Charlotte, and UNC-Wilmington were added.

In 1956, William C. Friday became the president of the Consolidated University, later the UNC System, serving until 1986.  Subsequent presidents of the UNC System have been C. D. Spangler, Jr. (1986-1997), Molly C. Broad (1997-2006), Erskine Bowles (2006-2011), and, currently, Thomas W. Ross (2011- ).

On November 9, 2011, these five presidents participated on a panel, “Evening with Five Presidents” to discuss the history of the UNC System.  The event was held to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the UNC System.  The Daily Tar Heel published an article on the event on November 10, 2011:  http://www.dailytarheel.com/index.php/article/2011/11/unc_sr ystem_bday

The University Archives and Records Management Services serves as the official archival repository and provides records management support for the major administrative offices of the UNC System.  The records from the tenures of Presidents Friday, Spangler, and Broad are available for research in Wilson Library as are the records of other administrators and units of the UNC system.

Here are links to the finding aids of the:

William C. Friday records:  http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/uars/ead/40009.html

C. D. Spangler, Jr., records: http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/uars/ead/40010.html

For more information about the history of the UNC System over the last forty years, please see:

King, Arnold K., The Multicampus University of North Carolina Comes of Age, 1956-1986. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1987.

Link, William A. William Friday: Power, Purpose and Higher Education, Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1997.

Celebrating the Black Experience at UNC

Our friends at the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center (http://digitalnc.org/) have just completed digitizing Black Ink, the official publication of UNC’s Black Student Movement. Publication of Black Ink began in 1969, with the goal of transforming “Blackness … into pictures and words.” 212 issues from 1969 through 2001 are now available online.

Also, if you are in Chapel Hill this weekend celebrating Black Alumni Reunion, be sure to stop by Wilson Library’s lobby to see an exhibit on the history of the Black Student Movement with materials pulled from the North Carolina Collection and the University Archives.   Wilson Library’s weekend hours can be found here.

Happy Birthday, UNC!

October 12, 2011, marks the 218th anniversary of the laying of the cornerstone at Old East–the oldest building at the nation’s oldest state-funded university. Since 1877, the UNC community has proudly gathered to commemorate this historic event. Wilson Library houses memories of many of these past celebrations. Here are a few of our favorite images from the collections:
University President Frank Porter Graham and Chancellor Robert House lead the University Day faculty procession into Memorial Hall. 1940s. (UNC Image Collection, North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives).
Dr. Wallace Caldwell dresses up for the occasion. 1943. (UNC Image Collection, North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives).
President Kennedy speaks at University Day 1961. The president was awarded an honorary UNC degree at the ceremony. (Hugh Morton Collection, North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives).
A favorite son of UNC, actor Andy Griffith (center) spoke at the 1978 celebration, when he was also presented with the distinguished alumnus award. (UNC Image Collection, North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives).

This year’s University Day will celebrate the inauguration of a new UNC System president, Tom Ross; honor five alumni and one faculty member with service awards; and dedicate a plaque to the students who defied the 1963 Speaker Ban. Check out the official site for more information.

So it’s Rah, Rah, Car’lina-lina!

Students are back, the sky is a crisp Carolina blue, and the leaves are just starting to change. … Must be time for Carolina football! This weekend, before you head down to Kenan Stadium and the new Blue Zone, be sure to stop by Wilson Library to see scenes from UNC’s football past in Gridiron Glory.

Charlie “Choo Choo” Justice, Bob Lacey, “Famous Amos” Lawrence, and a host of other Tar Heel greats are highlighted in footage dating from 1934 through 1985. Woody Durham narrates the 20-minute collection of archival film. Also on display: football memorabilia and materials from the collection of Jack Hilliard (’63),  including pennants, tickets, bubble-gum cards, and sheet music for the song “All The Way Choo Choo.”

Want a preview? Check out this clip:

Gridiron Glory Film Showings
Saturday, Sept. 17, 2011
Noon to 3 pm (continuous 20-minute loop)
Wilson Library
, Pleasants Family Assembly Room
Free and open to the public
Information: (919) 962-3765 or wilsonlibrary@unc.edu

 

 

Reaching Out to Students

This past spring, Jay and Meg worked with colleagues in the North Carolina Collection to curate an exhibit titled From Di-Phis to Loreleis: 150 Years of Student Organizations at UNC.

A photograph of a banquet held by the Order of the Ghimghoul featured in the exhibit.
A flier featured in the exhibit.

The exhibit provided us with a great opportunity to reach out to student organizations and groups interested in preserving their piece of Carolina history.  In April we held Students Make it Last Longer, an event to promote the exhibit and increase student interest in the Archives.

We are proud to say that the event was a success!  Many students came to look at the exhibit, have a snack, chat with us, and learn more about donating their student organization records to the Archives.  Here are some photos that Jay and Meg took at the event–

University Archivist, Jay Gaidmore, talking to a student about her organization's archives.
Students browsing the exhibit.

If you’re in a student organization or group and are interested in working with University Archives to preserve your Carolina legacy please contact us, we’d love to chat with you!