The University of North Carolina (System) consists of all public educational institutions in the state that grant baccalaureate degrees. The University of North Carolina Wilmington is one of 17 constituent institutions of the multicampus state university. The University of North Carolina, chartered by the N.C. General Assembly in 1789, was the first public university in the United States to open and the only one to graduate students in the eighteenth century. The first class was admitted in Chapel Hill in 1795. For the next 136 years, the only campus of the University of North Carolina was at Chapel Hill.

In 1877, the NC General Assembly began sponsoring additional institutions of higher education, diverse in origin and purpose. Five were historically African American colleges, and another was founded to educate American Indians. Several were created to prepare teachers for the public schools. Others emphasized technology. One is a training conservatory in performing arts.

Created in 1932, the Consolidated University of North Carolina originally consisted of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, North Carolina State College in Raleigh, and Women's College in Greensboro. The North Carolina General Assembly appointed a 100-member Board of Trustees as its governing body. In 1969, the system expanded to include Wilmington College, which became UNC Wilmington.

William C. Friday was president of the Consolidated University from 1956-1972 and first president of the University of North Carolina System from 1972-1987. In 1972, the UNC Board of Governors--consisting of 32 members elected by the NC General Assembly--replaced the multicampus Board of Trustees. Constituent campuses, including UNC Wilmington, re-established institutional Boards of Trustees. The Board of Governors serves as the University of North Carolina's policy-making body. The Board provides oversight, elects the president, and selects chancellors to head individual campuses based on the president's nomination. The UNC System Office houses the president and senior staff responsible for executing the Board of Governors' policies.