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The first public institution of higher education in North Carolina, the school opened on February 12, 1795. Until the 1970s, the university was simply known as the University of North Carolina.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ( UNC, UNC-Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) [12] is a public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolling students in 1795, making it one of the oldest public universities in the United States.
Opening its doors to students in 1795, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill upholds the distinction of being one of the oldest public universities in the country and the first public university to award degrees during the eighteenth century.
In 1931, the North Carolina General Assembly established a Consolidated University comprised of the Chapel Hill campus, Woman’s College at Greensboro and North Carolina State College at Raleigh. In 1972, it created the UNC system, joining 16 state colleges and universities under a president and board of governors.
Chartered in 1789, the decision by the University’s trustees to place the campus at “New Hope Chapel hill” in southern Orange County was made in 1792 after local citizens there offered to donate 1,290 acres of land and £768 toward the endeavor.
However, it was not until 1789 that the state succeeded in chartering an institution, a "university supported by permanent funds and well endowed." When the University of North Carolina opened its doors in 1795, it became the first state institution of higher learning in the nation.
This building, a national historic landmark, is one of the oldest state university buildings in the country. The second building was Person Hall, begun in 1796 and long used as the chapel. The construction of main campus began in 1798. In 1963, the University of North Carolina was renamed the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
