University Archives Collection

UNC Charlotte Oral History Interviews
These collections of oral history interviews are from the holdings Special Collections and University Archives at J. Murrey Atkins Library, UNC Charlotte. The interviews, conducted by UNC Charlotte faculty, students and staff, document the history, life, and culture of the UNC Charlotte community from a range of perspectives.
Charlotte College Photographs
The Charlotte College Photographs collection is comprised of photographs documenting the history of Charlotte College, including campus buildings and spaces, events, students, faculty, and administrators. Charlotte College was the forerunner of UNC Charlotte. Charlotte College was founded in 1946 as one of twelve college centers the University of North Carolina created as a response to the educational needs of returning veterans. A movement began to make the college a four-year, state-supported school, and after several unsuccessful plans for expanding the college were proposed, Charlotte College partnered with public junior colleges in Asheville and Wilmington to win the creation of a state-financed system of community colleges in North Carolina. This campaign culminated in the Community College Act approved by the legislature in 1957, and in 1958 Charlotte College became a state-supported, two-year college under the administration of the North Carolina Community College System. At the same time, a separate board of trustees, chaired by J. Murrey Atkins, was appointed for the Charlotte Community College System, which consisted of Charlotte College and its African-American counterpart, Carver College. In February 1959, the Board purchased 270 acres on Highway 49 for the site of Charlotte College, which had shared facilities with Central High School in downtown Charlotte since 1946, and later expanded its land holdings. In September 1961, academic departments moved in to occupy the first two buildings on the new campus. The library and college union buildings were completed in 1962. Bonnie E. Cone, who had been appointed director of the Charlotte College Center in 1947 and had been named director of Charlotte College, the Center's successor, in 1949, became president of the College in 1961. In July 1963, Charlotte College became a four-year state-supported college subject to the terms of the State Colleges Act. University of North Carolina President William Friday appointed the Advisory Council on Educational Policy, which visited Charlotte College on February 12, 1964, to advise on the designation of Charlotte College as the fourth campus of the university system. The council recommended that Charlotte College become the fourth campus of the university, and the General Assembly approved this recommendation on March 3, 1965. Charlotte College awarded its first and only baccalaureate degrees on June 6, 1965, and on July 1 of that year Charlotte College officially became the fourth campus of the Consolidated University system by act of the 1965 General Assembly.
Commencement and Doctoral Hooding Programs for Charlotte College and UNC Charlotte
This collection consists of commencement programs from the first Charlotte College commencement ceremony in 1950 to the most recent commencement ceremony of UNC Charlotte. Also included is the program for the December 2018 doctoral hooding ceremony.
Office of Public Information and Publications Records
This collection includes materials created or collected by the Office of Public Information and Publications at Charlotte College and UNC Charlotte. Digitized content in Goldmine includes one film created to document and promote the opening of the new Charlotte College campus in northwest Charlotte.
Office of Public Relations Records
The Office of Public Relations was part of the Division of University Advancement. The office served as UNC Charlotte's primary contact with members of the news media and external audiences. They were responsible for communicating information that promoted the people, programs, news, and events of UNC Charlotte. This digital collection contains video recordings created through the Office of Public Relations, and does not reflect the entire physical collection. For more information about the collection, visit https://findingaids.uncc.edu/repositories/6/resources/888.
Student Media Records
This digital collection contains Niner Video video yearbooks from 1989 to 1997, which were created in place of printed yearbooks during those years.
UNC Charlotte Photographs Collection
The UNC Charlotte Photographs Collection consists of prints, contact sheets, slides, and negatives of people, places, and events associated with UNC Charlotte from the time of its inclusion in the University of North Carolina System in 1965 to the present. Topics represented include scenic shots of campus; campus buildings, including groundbreakings, construction, dedication ceremonies, and exterior and interior images; master planning images; students, faculty, staff, trustees, and chancellors, including headshots and candid images in a variety of settings; academic programs; athletics; convocation; commencement; homecoming; International Festival; University Forum; NCNB and Bank of America Teaching Award ceremonies; receptions; retirements; anniversary celebrations; guest speakers; and more. Digitized content represents a small portion of the whole collection. For more information about the collection, visit https://findingaids.uncc.edu/repositories/6/resources/828.
Loy H. Witherspoon Lectures in Religious Studies
The faculty of the Department of Religious Studies established the Witherspoon Lectures in 1984 to honor their colleague Loy H. Witherspoon, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Religious Studies, for his twenty years of distinguished service at UNC Charlotte. It is the oldest and most prestigious endowed lecture series at UNC Charlotte. Dr. Witherspoon had continued to teach each semester as Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Religion in the Department of Religious Studies. Hundreds of his friends and colleagues contributed to the fund that made this the first named, endowed lecture series at UNC Charlotte. Lectures have been published each year through a gift from Dr. William Pfischner.