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 NORTH CAROLINA’S UNIVERSITY, 1793-1923 
 
 The University of North Carolina is the oldest state univer¬ 
 sity in America. 
 
 In 1776, immediately upon its declaration of independence of 
 Great Britain, the State had its first Constitution drawn by a group 
 of men meeting at Halifax. In that document they wrote “All 
 useful learning shall be duly encouraged and promoted in one or 
 more universities/’ The beginnings of the institution were in 
 1793 when the cornerstone of the Old East Building was laid. 
 Now, after a century and a quarter of service, that building is 
 having its interior renovated making its conveniences completely 
 modern, but preserving its historic walls. 
 
 A Composite of Schools 
 
 “All useful learning” cannot be provided in a single school, 
 so the University has constantly broadened out in its endeavor 
 to live up exactly to the charge laid upon it by the framers of 
 that early constitution. It has become a “university,” containing 
 a dozen “colleges”: 
 
 1. The College of Liberal Arts, in which the student may 
 
 specialize in language and literature, philosophy poli¬ 
 tical and social sciences, mathematics and natural 
 sciences. 
 
 2. The School of Applied Science, offering special work 
 
 in either chemistry, medicine, or geology. 
 
 3 ; . The School of Engineering, offering training for ad¬ 
 ministrative engineering—civil and electrical. 
 
 4. The School of Education, in which the student may 
 
 prepare himself for teaching or administration work 
 in either the public schools, or the institutions of 
 higher learning. 
 
 5. The School of Commerce, in which the student may 
 
 prepare himself for administrative service in any 
 business field. 
 
 
6. The School of Public Welfare, the effort of the State 
 
 to train its future citizens so as to make the demo¬ 
 cratic ideal workable. 
 
 7. The Graduate School, for advanced study in any field 
 
 offering the graduate degrees of Master of Science, 
 Master of Arts, and Doctor of Philosophy. 
 
 8. The School of Law, for full training in the law, and 
 
 offering the degree of LL.B., and the combined de¬ 
 gree of A.B. and LL.B. Its regular course consists 
 of three years study. It also has a summer session, 
 offering lectures by some of the ablest legal minds in 
 the State. 
 
 9. The School of Medicine, offering the first two years 
 
 of the medical course. It has facilities for classes of 
 about 40, and has been recognized as one of the best 
 two year schools in the entire country. 
 
 10. The School of Pharmacy. It offers full training in 
 
 Pharmacy, and awards the degrees of Graduate in 
 Pharmacy, Doctor of Pharmacy, and Pharmaceutical 
 Chemist. 
 
 11. The Summer School, offering normal and collegiate 
 
 work during the summer quarter. Two normal school 
 sessions of six weeks each are conducted. 
 
 12. The Bureau of Extension, which makes available for 
 
 any individual, or group in North Carolina any ser¬ 
 vice which the University is able to render. It now 
 offers a wide range of courses by correspondence. 
 
 This educational institution of the State isn’t called a '‘uni¬ 
 versity’ ’ because it is euphoniously more pleasant than “college,” 
 but because, measured by the most exacting standards, it is a 
 University—a composite of colleges. It is a University that takes 
 its rank as among the best in the entire country. 
 
 Wide Opportunity Significant 
 
 A large portion of the work in either of these “colleges” is 
 the same as that of some other. They are therefore closely inter¬ 
 locked. This makes it possible for the State to provide the widest 
 opportunity at a low cost. 
 
 It is also possible for the student who enters college undecided 
 as to his ultimate vocation, or the work he wishes to take, to work 
 
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out “on the ground” his own collegiate career. If the student 
 should be undecided as to whether he wishes to enroll in the 
 B.S. Commerce course, or the Academic Course taking as his 
 major interest Economics and Commerce he is able here to enroll 
 in either and after he has spent several months, or even a year 
 in actual residence he can come to a decision without the loss of 
 time or money. His decision can then have in its make-up actual 
 contact with one particular course, wide information from the 
 teachers in his department and the department to which he is 
 thinking of transferring, and information from other students. 
 
 Frequently this sort of opportunity is not appreciated by one 
 coming from high school. Too often we find young men “strain¬ 
 ing at the bit” trying to make decisions for themselves for their 
 entire college course in advance of their entering. This is a 
 handicap. If further training means anything to a young man it 
 means that as he goes forward he is more and more able to settle 
 questions for himself. Why then negate one of the advantages of 
 going to college, by “settling everything” in advance? Go to 
 college to grow to full stature, and not merely to try to execute 
 preconceived notions about things. Opportunity to do his is 
 provided by the University. 
 
 University Standing Recognized 
 
 When a student wins a degree from the University of North 
 Carolina he has a “trade mark” that is accepted throughout the 
 world. It isn’t a local brand, that can circulate in only the imme¬ 
 diate neighborhood. 
 
 The recent unanimous election of the University to the Asso¬ 
 ciation of American Universities is a recognition of its high stand¬ 
 ing by its own peers. There are only two southern institutions in 
 this association—Virginia and North Carolina. Virginia was a 
 charter member, thus the University of North Carolina is the 
 only Southern institution ever elected to membership in this 
 group—small group of the greatest educational institutions of 
 America. There are numerous other instances of the accepted 
 high standing of this University. Sons of North Carolina are 
 entitled to just as wide and fine an educational opportunity as 
 are the sons of any other commonwealth, and this the State has 
 provided at Chapel Hill. 
 
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Requirements for Admission 
 
 Admission may be gained either by certification, or by exami¬ 
 nation. Admission without examination may be gained by pre¬ 
 senting a certificate showing the completion of fifteen units from 
 an accredited high school. These fifteen units represent gradu¬ 
 ation from a regular four year high school course. In order to 
 be a candidate for a degree the student must not only have a 
 certificate showing fifteen units of credit, but must meet the speci¬ 
 fic requirements laid down by the school or college in which that 
 degree is conferred. 
 
 Since the University is a State institution, mature persons 
 twenty-one years of age or over who cannot meet the regular 
 requirements for admission, may be admitted for special work 
 provided they present to the Entrance Committee evidence that 
 they have such training as will enable them to profit by the in¬ 
 struction in the School in which they seek admission. 
 
 Women students are admitted to the Graduate and Profes¬ 
 sional schools, to the two upper classes, and by special action in 
 each individual case women who are residents in Chapel Hill 
 may be admitted to any work in the institution. In each instance, 
 of course, they must meet the regular requirements for admission 
 already laid down. 
 
 A Growing Institution 
 
 Although the University has attained a high standing in the 
 higher educational world, it isn’t a fixed institution. Each new 
 year, each improvement, every unit of growth lays upon it new 
 difficulties. It is constantly growing to meet these new situa¬ 
 tions. It is keenly alive to its shortcomings and striving cease¬ 
 lessly to eliminate them. Its problem today with 2,000 students is 
 in a large measure different from what it was five years ago with 
 scarcely more than half that number. Its problem five years from 
 today with 3,000 students will not be entirely what it is today. 
 
 In addressing the University alumni on June 12th, President 
 Chase said in part: 
 
 4 
 
“It has occurred to all of you, I know, that the problem 
 of personal contacts, that solves itself in a small com¬ 
 munity, must be worked out in a planful way in a large 
 group. It is my firm belief that no individual need be lost in 
 the machinery of a large institution; that the problem is one 
 that can be solved by intelligently organizing for its solution. 
 We are making, I am convinced, very helpful beginnings by 
 the development of inter-dormitory athletics and dormitory 
 organization, by the work of the Dean of Students, which 
 has this year centered especially on freshmen, by the social 
 program of the Y. M. C. A., by the conversion of Memorial 
 Hall into a usable chapel, and by the work of 49 volunteer 
 members of the faculty who have acted as advisors, each to 
 a group of freshmen, with results that have been distinctly 
 encouraging. We are making next year the beginnings 
 . . . to furnish to students systematic advice on voca¬ 
 
 tions. We have given to all freshmen this year, and will 
 continue, mental tests that will be of increasing value as 
 they are continued year by year: in short, as we make some 
 progress in putting together the resources of a large insti¬ 
 tution to help individuals find themselves, I am more and 
 more of the opinion that the large institution can carry, if 
 only it sets its mind to it, real helpfulness to the individual, 
 in things outside the classroom, just as far, and perhaps 
 farther, than can the small college.” 
 
 Before the “problem of size” really becomes acute in Chapel 
 Hill the University is working it out in the most thoroughgoing 
 way of any institution in this entire section of the country. Al¬ 
 ready other institutions are handling student bodies of from 
 8,000 to 10,000 population in a successful manner. 
 
 Fourth Quarter 
 
 Henceforth the University plant will be in operation for 
 twelve months each year. During the fourth quarter, running 
 from June to September, a student may pursue regular under¬ 
 graduate or graduate work; or normal school work may be had 
 in either of the two six-weeks summer sessions which divide 
 equally the fourth quarter. 
 
 Student Activities 
 
 Extra-curriculum student activities of every worthwhile 
 character are handsomely provided for at the University, whether 
 
 5 
 
a student be interested in dramatics, music, athletics, forensics, 
 newspaper or magazine work, fraternities, etc. These student 
 activities, when properly handled, have come to be recognized as 
 of great value to the student. Athletics which some have charged 
 are swallowing up the undergraduate life of the student are being 
 attacked in a thoughtful manner, with the ultimate good of the 
 largest number of students the principal aim. Something of the 
 point of view which dominates our coaches may be gleaned from 
 the following quotations from a letter from Mr. R. A. Fetzer, 
 Athletic Director, which he has recently mailed. 
 
 . . I wish to remind you of the striking similarity 
 
 between athletics and real life. Success is not a ‘‘mere 
 happening,” an accident; and the “lucky breaks” or “hard 
 luck reverses” are usually the result of our ability or inability 
 to take advantage of the opportunities, whether it is in the 
 game or in life. 
 
 “We have tried to stress the mental attitude as an im¬ 
 portant factor in athletic success, and yet we have hardly 
 begun to realize the possibilities in this field. . . . Our 
 
 only hope for continued and increased athletic success lies 
 in the utilization of every ounce of available material and 
 the development of a “spirit” that will rise to overcome any 
 handicap. . . . Will you put your whole heart into the 
 
 realization of this ideal? Be loyal, enthusiastic, unselfish, 
 considerate, liberal, patient, persistent and determined. . . 
 
 Check your daily habits, see that you are respecting the laws 
 of nature, not burning the candle at both ends. . . . Eat 
 
 wholesome food, sleep enough, preferably from eleven to 
 seven. Take some definite exercise every day—physical work, 
 walking, running, tennis, swimming, etc., and take a few 
 minutes of deep breathing exercise night and morning. . .” 
 
 The standards of student life at Chapel Hill are a remarkable 
 tribute to the University and to the people of North Carolina. 
 The system of student self-government is unique in the entire 
 country—self-government in the finest sense of that fine term. 
 Not a system of student courts; not a constitutionally organized 
 student association, but a place where every man is accepted as a 
 gentleman on the assumption that he carries within himself the 
 standards,—or the ambition for those standards that will make 
 him live above the exactions of a law which can express only a 
 general average, where a man is accepted as the finest thing that 
 
 6 
 
God has created and not to be subordinated to system. After a 
 weeks visit with University students, Mr. Sherwood Eddy, of 
 Yale University, who has spent the major portion of his life 
 studying on four continents, said that with one exception this is 
 the most seriously thoughtful and democratic group of students 
 he has ever known. 
 
 Costs No More 
 
 This wide educational opportunity costs no more than it would 
 cost to attend an institution where the opportunities for a student 
 are not even comparable to those at the University. In fact, this 
 opportunity at North Carolina’s University is not beyond the reach 
 of any determined young man who is capable of doing the work. 
 
 There is no standard of expenditures that a student must live 
 up to in order to be “a good fellow.” Out of a student body of 
 a little less than 2,000 for the year just passed, 700 students were 
 earning their college expenses in whole or in part. This figure 
 represents the efforts of young men who could not otherwise 
 attend college. They do not include the son of the wealthy, doting 
 father who “is lending” his son money on which to attend college. 
 These men performed 67 varieties of labor in Chapel Hill in 
 arder to remain at the University . 
 
 The University offers, in brief, an opportunity for the man of 
 wealth to use his money wisely; it offers to the man without 
 money but with worth, ability, and determination an opportunity 
 to complete his college course under the most favored circum¬ 
 stances at a very minimum of cost. The writer knows of one 
 student at Chapel Hill who spent thousands of dollars in one year 
 (which is usually unwise) ; and he knows of another who remained 
 here five years, winning two degrees, working his entire way 
 through the University and left with thousands of dollars in the 
 bank! (Those interested in securing work to help themselves 
 through the University should address Dean F. F. Bradshaw, 
 Chairman of the Student Employment Committee.) 
 
 The University has loan funds available for the students of 
 limited financial means. 
 
 7 
 
Scholarships 
 
 The President of the University has within his gift a limited 
 number of privately endowed scholarships which pay tuition in 
 the academic department, amounting only to $60.00 per year. 
 Under State law, tuition in the academic department is given to 
 those who agree to teach two years after leaving college, and to 
 sons of ministers. The importance of a scholarship, however, 
 seems to be greatly exaggerated in the minds of parents and pros¬ 
 pective students. 
 
 Students who decide to go to college should give the most 
 thoughtful attention to their choice of a college. Too frequently 
 trivial considerations play an important part in the decision of 
 this all important question. A difference of twenty-five dollars 
 in the cost; the promise of a place that pays fifty dollars a year; 
 the promise of a scholarship worth twenty dollars a quarter will 
 frequently determine the question without thought of possible 
 difference in the quality and worth of what the student is seeking. 
 A student cannot give up the big, permanent things of his thor¬ 
 ough training for the particular thing he wishes to do for a scho¬ 
 larship, or a small job. Your own fine training and development 
 is the paramount consideration ! 
 
 Housing University Students 
 
 University students are housed in University dormitories, 
 fraternity houses, and homes and cottages in Chapel Hill. 
 
 Already (August 6th, 1923) the dormitories are filled, some 
 vacancies will occur on account of failure on the part of those 
 holding rooms to return to college. The fraternity houses are 
 filled by the fraternities themselves, usually after the fall initia¬ 
 tions which are held at the opening of college. Over this space 
 the University can exercise no control, although this space ac¬ 
 commodates about 200 students. The space for rent in private 
 homes is handled directly by the owner with those who are to 
 occupy the rooms. The University gladly acts as mediator, bring¬ 
 ing these openings to the attention of students seeking rooms. 
 
 A survey of the rooming space of the entire town which is 
 just complete indicates that the University will be able to accom- 
 
 8 
 
modate the number it estimates will apply in September, but the 
 available space is going to' be taxed to the limit. It is not possible 
 to definitely assign all space in advance as some of the people 
 of the town prefer to wait and see those who are to occupy space 
 in their home. This desire is quite understandable since the stu¬ 
 dents virtually become a part of the family as there are no large 
 apartment houses. As already indicated, some additional space is 
 held open by the fraternities awaiting their fall initiations. Usu¬ 
 ally then, the University has been able to place from about fifty to 
 seventy students each fall who have not been able to make definite 
 arrangements before reaching Chapel Hill. 
 
 The University is very anxious to accommodate all those who 
 seek admission this fall. It will greatly facilitate the work in 
 Chapel Hill, and contribute to your own comfort if you can 
 make your decision as early as possible and file your application. 
 This is said with no desire to “scare you” into the University. 
 It is a simple request for co-operation which will enable the Uni¬ 
 versity to avoid the confusion and delay usually incident to the 
 opening of college in a small town where all available space has 
 been used for the last several years. 
 
 Location and Atmosphere 
 
 Chapel Hill, the seat of the State’s University, is a most de¬ 
 lightful town of 2,000 people. It is located twelve miles south¬ 
 west of Durham, jitneys making connection with all trains at 
 Durham. The town is almost exactly the geographic center of the 
 State. 
 
 Life in Chapel Hill is almost ideal. The village has grown 
 up around the University and its needs. Although set apart 
 from the distractions, crime, and hindrances of a large center, we 
 are yet in close contact with the outside world—only eighteen 
 hours from New York City, one and one-half from Raleigh, and 
 six from Charlotte. 
 
 The religious needs of the community are handsomely pro¬ 
 vided for by the activities of our own Y. M. C. A. and five 
 churches—Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, Episcopal and 
 Christian. Five years ago the Christian Church opened its new 
 
 9 
 
building here; the Presbyterians two years ago; the Baptists dur¬ 
 ing the current year; and both the Methodists and Episcopalians 
 are to build or rebuild during the coming few months. The need 
 for these churches is created largely by the presence of Univer¬ 
 sity students and faculty, and naturally these receive the large 
 attention of resident pastors and church workers. 
 
 Registration for the fall quarter will be held on September 
 18th and 19th. Lectures begin on September 20th. 
 
 The University welcomes the opportunity to be of service. 
 If there is further information which you desire, whether you are 
 preparing to become a student or not, we shall appreciate the cour¬ 
 tesy if you will allow us to answer your inquiries about rooms, 
 specific courses, correspondence work, loans, or anything connected 
 with the University of North Carolina. Address Daniel L. Grant, 
 office of the President, University of North Carolina, Chapel 
 Hill, North Carolina. 
 
 10 
 
UNIVERSITY OF N.C. AT CHAPEL HILL 
 
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 THE NORTH CAROLINA COLLECTION 
 
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