North Carolina Central University

North Carolina Central University

Former names	National Religious Training School and Chautauqua National Training School Durham State Normal School North Carolina College for Negroes North Carolina College at Durham
Motto	Truth and Service
Type	Public, HBCU
Established	1910
Chancellor	Debra Saunders-White
Provost	Johnson O. Akinleye
Students	9,600
Location	Durham, North Carolina, U.S.
Campus	Urban
Colors	Maroon & Gray
Athletics	NCAA Division I
Nickname	Eagles
Affiliations	Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Website	www.nccu.edu
North Carolina Central University
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
North Carolina Central University campus
Location	Bounded by Lawson St., Alston Ave., Nelson, and Fayetteville Sts., Durham, North Carolina
Coordinates	35°58′27″N 78°53′55″W / 35.97417°N 78.89861°W / 35.97417; -78.89861Coordinates: 35°58′27″N 78°53′55″W / 35.97417°N 78.89861°W / 35.97417; -78.89861
Built	1928
Architect	Atwood & Nash; Public Works Administration
Architectural style	Colonial Revival, Georgian Revival
MPS	Durham MRA
NRHP Reference #	86000676 [1]
Added to NRHP	March 28, 1986

North Carolina Central University (NCCU) is a public historically black university in the University of North Carolina system, located in Durham, North Carolina, offering programs at the baccalaureate, master’s, professional and doctoral levels. The University is a member-school of Thurgood Marshall College Fund.

History

James E. Shepard, c. 1947, founder of the National Religious Training School and Chautauqua

North Carolina Central University was founded by James E. Shepard as the National Religious Training School and Chautauqua in the Hayti District. It was chartered in 1909 as a private institution and opened on July 5, 1910. Along with other progressives, Woodrow Wilson, the future U.S. President, contributed some private support for the school's founding.^[2] The school was sold and reorganized in 1915, becoming the National Training School; it was supported by Margaret Olivia Slocum Sage, a philanthropist of New York who was particularly concerned about education. It supported Black teacher development in the Jim Crow era, a time when funding and support for Black education by southern states was severely limited.

Statue of NCCU founder James E. Shepard. James E. Shepard was also a pharmacist, civil servant and educator. He served as the first president of NCCU for nearly 40 years.

Becoming a state-funded institution in 1923, it was renamed Durham State Normal School. In 1925, reflecting the expansion of its programs to a four-year curriculum with a variety of majors, it was renamed the North Carolina College for Negroes. It was the nation's first state-supported liberal arts college for black students.^[3] To avoid the Jim Crow system of segregated passenger cars on the train, Shepard insisted on traveling to Raleigh by car to lobby the legislature.^[3] The college's first four-year class graduated in 1929.

The college was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools as an "A" class institution in 1937, but it was not admitted to membership until 1957. Graduate courses in the School of Arts and Sciences were added in 1939, in the School of Law in 1940, and in the School of Library Science in 1941. In 1947, the General Assembly changed the name of the institution to North Carolina College at Durham.

On October 6, 1947, Shepard, the founder and president, died. He was succeeded in 1948 by Alfonso Elder. Elder served as president until he retired September 1, 1963. Samuel P. Massie was appointed as the third president on August 9, 1963, and resigned on February 1, 1966. On July 1, 1967, Albert N. Whiting assumed the presidency, serving until his retirement June 30, 1983.

The 1969 General Assembly designated the institution as one of the State's regional universities, and the name was changed to North Carolina Central University. Since 1972, NCCU has been a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina system. On July 1, 1972, the state’s four-year colleges and universities were joined to become The Consolidated University of North Carolina, with 16 individual campuses, headed by a single president and governed by the University of North Carolina Board of Governors. However, each campus was led by a separate chancellor and a campus-specific Board of Trustees.^[4]

Whiting was succeeded by LeRoy T. Walker as chancellor, followed by Tyronza R. Richmond, Julius L. Chambers (who had previously been director-counsel (chief executive) of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund), James H. Ammons, Charlie Nelms, and in 2013 by Debra Saunders-White, the first woman to hold the office on a permanent basis (Donna Benson was the first woman to serve as interim chancellor of the university).^[5]

Campus

The campus is located about a mile south of downtown Durham, North Carolina and about three miles east of Duke University. Eleven buildings built before 1940 are included in a national historic district. All of the buildings, except for the three residences, are Georgian Revival style buildings of fireproof construction with steel trusses and brick exterior walls. They include the Clyde R. Hoey Administration Building, Alexander Dunn Hall, Annie Day Shepard Hall, and five institutional buildings built in the late 1930s under the auspices of the Public Works Administration.^[6] The campus was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.^[1]

North Carolina Central University entrance seen from S. Alston Avenue.

Organization

NCCU is a part of the UNC System. The campus is governed by a thirteen-member Board of Trustees: eight elected, four appointed, and the president of the Student Government Association also serves as an ex-officio member. The Board elects its officers annually and meets five times per year.^[7]

As of 2011, NCCU had a total of 8,587 students, (full and part-time) including 5396 full-time undergraduate and 1233 full-time graduate students. Sixty-four percent are women and 36 percent are men. Eighty-five percent are African-American, 6 percent are white, and 2 percent are Hispanic.^[8] As of 2007, NCCU had a student faculty ratio of 13:1.^[9]

Colleges

• College of Behavioral & Social Sciences
• College of Liberal Arts
• College of Science & Technology

Schools

• School of Business (AACSB)
• School of Education
• School of Law
• School of Library & Information Sciences^[10]
• School of Nursing
• College of Behavioral & Social Sciences^[11]
• College of Arts and Sciences^[12]

Research institutes

NCCU in conjunction with the African American Jazz Caucus sponsors a Jazz Research Institute which conducts an annual Summer Jazz Festival and offers a program in Jazz Studies.^[13]

• Biomedical/Biotechnology Research Institute
• Biomanufacturing Research Institute and Technology Enterprise

Additional programs

• Continuing Education
• Evening & Weekend Degree Program

Student activities

View of the NCCU campus seen from the Hoey Administration Building

Student organizations

North Carolina Central University has 130 registered student organizations and 12 honor societies.

Student media

The students of North Carolina Central University publish the Campus Echo, a bi-weekly newspaper that has been in publication since the school's founding in 1910.^[14][15] The Campus Echo contains articles covering local events, arts and entertainment, and sports among other topics.

Music and Jazz Studies

North Carolina Central University's Jazz Studies program is involved with the community, providing workshops and concerts often at no charge. Headed by Dr. Ira Wiggins, NCCU's music department offers the only graduate level jazz studies degree available in North Carolina. Artists in residence of the program include Branford Marsalis and Joey Calderazzo, who provide one on one lessons as well as group workshops for everyone in the music department.

Department of History

NCCU has an outstanding history department that has had great success in preparing its students for doctoral study. Over 75 graduates of the history department have earned Ph.D.s in history.

Athletics

NCCU sponsors fourteen men’s and women’s sports teams that participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I as a newly readmitted member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Athletic teams include football, softball, baseball, basketball, track and field, tennis, volleyball, bowling, and golf.

NCCU's O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium home to the MEAC Division I FCS Eagles

A view of the NCCU track, soccer field along with Richmond Residence Hall and the LeRoy T. Walker Physical Education Complex (far right)

Rivals

• North Carolina A&T State University
• Winston-Salem State University
• Duke University: This is the newest rivalry. The two schools played the first annual Bull City Gridiron Classic in September 2009.

Marching band

The North Carolina Central University Marching Band known as the Marching Sound Machine was one of two bands selected from North Carolina to participate in the 2011 Rose Bowl Parade in Pasadena, CA.

Notable alumni

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to North Carolina Central University.

• Official website
• NCCU Athletics website
• NCCU Public Radio Station 90.7 FM

Links to related articles University of North Carolina system Universities Appalachian State East Carolina Elizabeth City State Fayetteville State NC A&T NC Central NC State UNC Asheville UNC-Chapel Hill UNC Charlotte UNC Greensboro UNC Pembroke UNC School of the Arts UNC Wilmington Western Carolina Winston-Salem State High School NC School of Science and Mathematics Affiliates NC Arboretum NC Research Campus NCCIU NCCN NCSAA NCSEAA UNC Center for Public Television UNC Press Administration History Legal Mandate Structure Presidents Speaker Ban Greater Durham-Chapel Hill Metropolitan Region (Durham MSA, part of the Research Triangle) Principal cities Durham Chapel Hill Raleigh Cary Other significant cities Carrboro Hillsborough Pittsboro Roxboro Siler City Counties Chatham Durham Wake Orange Person Major universities Duke University North Carolina Central University University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Transportation Raleigh-Durham International Airport I-40 I-85 I-540 US 15-501 US 64 US 70 NC 147 NC 54 Newspapers The Herald-Sun The Daily Tar Heel Indy Week The News & Observer Carrboro Citizen The Courier Times Miscellaneous Research Triangle Park Triangle J Council of Governments Triangle Transit Historically black colleges and universities Public institutions Alabama A&M Alabama State Albany State Alcorn State Arkansas–Pine Bluff Bishop State CC Bluefield State Bowie State Central State Cheyney Coahoma CC Coppin State Delaware State Elizabeth City State Fayetteville State Florida A&M Fort Valley State Gadsden State CC Grambling State Harris–Stowe Hinds CC Jackson State Kentucky State Langston Lincoln, Missouri Lincoln, Pennsylvania Maryland, Eastern Shore Mississippi Valley State Morgan State Norfolk State North Carolina A&T North Carolina Central Prairie View A&M Savannah State Shelton State CC South Carolina State Southern Southern–New Orleans Southern–Shreveport Tennessee State Texas Southern UDC UVI Virginia State West Virginia State Winston-Salem State Private institutions Allen Arkansas Baptist Barber–Scotia Benedict Bennett Bethune-Cookman Claflin Clark Atlanta Concordia Alabama Dillard Edward Waters Fisk Florida Memorial University Hampton Howard Huston–Tillotson Interdenominational Theological Center Jarvis Christian Johnson C. Smith Knoxville Lane LeMoyne–Owen Livingstone Meharry Miles Morehouse Morehouse School of Medicine Morris Brown Morris Oakwood Paine Paul Quinn Philander Smith Rust Selma Shaw Simmons College (Ky.) Southwestern Christian Spelman Stillman St. Augustine's Talladega Texas College Tougaloo Tuskegee Virginia Union Virginia University Voorhees Wilberforce Wiley Xavier (La.) Defunct institutions Bishop Daniel Payne Guadalupe Kittrell Lewis College of Business Mississippi Industrial College Mount Hermon Female Seminary Saint Paul's Storer Straight Western Thurgood Marshall College Fund Alabama A&M University Alabama State University Albany State University Alcorn State University Bluefield State College Bowie State University Central State University Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science Cheyney University of Pennsylvania Chicago State University Coppin State University Delaware State University Elizabeth City State University Fayetteville State University Florida A&M University Florida A&M University Law School Fort Valley State University Grambling State University Harris–Stowe State University Howard University Howard University School of Law Jackson State University Kentucky State University Langston University Lincoln University (Missouri) Lincoln University (Pennsylvania) Medgar Evers College Mississippi Valley State University Morgan State University Norfolk State University North Carolina A&T State University North Carolina Central University North Carolina Central University School of Law Prairie View A&M University Savannah State University South Carolina State University Southern University and A&M College Southern University at New Orleans Southern University at Shreveport-Bossier City Southern University Law Center Tennessee State University Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law Tuskegee University University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff University of the District of Columbia University of District of Columbia Law University of Maryland Eastern Shore University of the Virgin Islands Virginia State University West Virginia State University Winston-Salem State University York College U.S. National Register of Historic Places in North Carolina Topics Contributing property Keeper of the Register Historic district History of the National Register of Historic Places National Park Service Property types Lists by county Alamance Alexander Alleghany Anson Ashe Avery Beaufort Bertie Bladen Brunswick Buncombe Burke Cabarrus Caldwell Camden Carteret Caswell Catawba Chatham Cherokee Chowan Clay Cleveland Columbus Craven Cumberland Currituck Dare Davidson Davie Duplin Durham Edgecombe Forsyth Franklin Gaston Gates Graham Granville Greene Guilford Halifax Harnett Haywood Henderson Hertford Hoke Hyde Iredell Jackson Johnston Jones Lee Lenoir Lincoln Macon Madison Martin McDowell Mecklenburg Mitchell Montgomery Moore Nash New Hanover Northampton Onslow Orange Pamlico Pasquotank Pender Perquimans Person Pitt Polk Randolph Richmond Robeson Rockingham Rowan Rutherford Sampson Scotland Stanly Stokes Surry Swain Transylvania Tyrrell Union Vance Wake Warren Washington Watauga Wayne Wilkes Wilson Yadkin Yancey Other lists Bridges National Historic Landmarks