University of North Carolina Wilmington Academic Affairs Records
Scope and Contents
The University of North Carolina Wilmington Academic Affairs Records consists of administrative materials pertaining to curricula, institutional research, and supporting academic services at the University of North Carolina Wilmington and its predecessor Wilmington College. The collection demonstrates an evolving higher education mission, starting with the school's establishment as a locally funded two-year college through its transformation into a leading public research university. A significant part of the collection is from institutional research, consisting of self-studies for accreditation and other reports prepared for planning or assessment. The collection has correspondence, admissions brochures, enrollment statistics, course catalogues, and reports from Wilmington College and UNC Wilmington. In addition, the larger UNC Wilmington series includes meeting minutes, annual reports, marketing materials, and administrative files from offices that support undergraduates, graduate students, honors courses, applied learning, international programs, sponsored programs, college teaching, military affairs, general university studies, advising, and the arts.
Dates
- Creation: 1947-2023
Creator
- Wilmington College (Organization)
- University of North Carolina, Wilmington (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
There are no access restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
The content described is copyrighted and presented courtesy of the University of North Carolina Wilmington Randall Library. This material may be used for educational and scholarship purposes provided: a) proper attribution accompanies any use of the content; b) the use, copy, republication, display, and/or distribution is not for commercial purposes; and c) you may not alter, add to, change, modify, or revise the subject content.
Historical Note
Wilmington College opened in 1947, under the authority of the New Hanover County Board of Education. Financial support came from a county-wide tax levy voted by the citizens in addition to tuition fees. The principal of New Hanover High School, Thomas T. Hamilton, simultaneously served as first college president. Dale K. Spencer, principal at another local school, simultaneously served as the first Dean. In 1948, Wilmington College acquired space for administrative offices in the Isaac Bear building, a former elementary school, and R. C. Beemon became Dean. The Dean coordinated with John T. Hoggard, chair of the board of education and second college president, and H. M. Roland, Superintendent. In 1952, William Madison Randall, driving south with his wife, had an automobile accident in Wilmington. Educators and civic leaders heard that an experienced academic administrator was in the hospital and called on him to apply for the Dean position that had become vacant at the young college. Randall was Dean until 1958 when he became college president. Wilmington College offered one diploma, the Associate in Arts. The college offered a two-year college transfer program, preparing students to enroll in a four-year college or university, along with terminal programs in vocational and technical fields. The Distributive Education division provided training and short courses for adult learners in the community. Topics included practical nursing, driver education, and small boat handling.
Wilmington College moved to a new campus on College Road and became a four-year liberal arts school, awarding its first baccalaureate degrees in 1965. Administration included Institutional Research by the end of the 1960s. In 1969, Wilmington College changed its name upon entering the University of North Carolina System. The Academic Dean continued to serve in administration, reporting to the Vice-Chancellor of Academic Affairs/Provost starting in 1972. In 1979, the university reorganized into colleges or schools, with each unit having its own Dean reporting to the Provost.
In the 1970s, the university began offering graduate degrees and created an office for sponsored programs and research administration. The Department of Military Science and the Army R. O. T. C program operated in the 1980s, closing in 1991. The 1980s also saw the establishment of the General College. The Center for Teaching Excellence began in the 1990s, along with International Programs and a university-wide honors program. The university provided administrative support for undergraduate research, applied learning, and first-year experience in the 2000s. As the institution grew, its needs expanded, and the administrative structure became more complex.
Extent
41.3 Linear Feet (30 records center boxes, 3 document boxes, 3 program boxes, 1 scrapbook, and 10 oversize folders)
Language of Materials
English
Spanish; Castilian
Japanese
Arrangement
This collection is arranged by series: I. Wilmington College, arranged topically and then alphabetically, II. University of North Carolina Wilmington, arranged topically by sub-series (Administration, Student Services, Study Units, and Supporting Services) and then alphabetically, and III. Oversize, arranged topically by Academic Affairs unit.
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Nina Herzog in Spring 2022.
Subject
- United States. Army. Reserve Officers' Training Corps (Organization)
- Wilmington College (Organization)
- University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Division of Academic Affairs (Organization)
- University of North Carolina, Wilmington (Organization)
Geographic
Topical
- Arts
- College teaching
- Education -- North Carolina
- Education, Higher
- Graduate students
- Public universities and colleges
- Research
- Undergraduates
- Universities and colleges -- Administration
- Universities and colleges -- Admission
- Universities and colleges -- Curricula
- Universities and colleges -- Honors courses
- Universities and colleges -- Planning
- University of North Carolina, Wilmington -- History -- Sources
- Title
- University of North Carolina Wilmington Academic Affairs Records
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Nina Herzog and Adina Riggins
- Date
- 2022 August 23
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the University Archives Repository