THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT PEMBROKE
Mission of the University
History of the University of North Carolina at
Pembroke
The Campus
Academic Calendar
Academic Services and Facilities
MISSION OF THE UNIVERSITY
The University of North
Carolina at Pembroke is a comprehensive University committed to academic
excellence in a balanced program of teaching, research, and service. It offers a broad range of degrees and
nationally accredited professional programs at the bachelor’s level and
selected programs at the master’s level.
Combining the opportunities available in a large university with the
personal attention characteristic of a small college, the University provides
an intellectually challenging environment created by a faculty dedicated to
effective teaching, interaction with students, and scholarship. Graduates are
academically and personally prepared for rewarding careers, postgraduate
education, and community leadership.
Founded in 1887 to educate
American Indians, the University now serves a student body reflective of the
rich cultural diversity of American society.
As it stimulates interaction within and among its cultural groups, the
University enables its students to become informed, principled, and tolerant
citizens with a global perspective.
The university encourages the
pursuit of education as a lifelong experience so that its graduates will be
equipped to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century. Drawing strength from its heritage, The University of North
Carolina at Pembroke continues to expand its leadership role in enriching the
intellectual, economic, social, and cultural life of the region and beyond.
In support of this mission,
The University of North Carolina at Pembroke is committed: (1.) to promote
excellence in teaching and learning as a primary focus in an environment of
free inquiry and dynamic exchange between students and faculty; (2.) to ensure
quality academic programs and learning opportunities for the liberal arts, in
preparation for diverse professions and for service to the region; (3.) to
encourage and support meaningful faculty research and development; (4.) to
recruit and retain students capable of achieving academic and professional
success and of enriching the intellectual, cultural, and social community of
the University; (5.) to provide and support extra‑curricular and student
life activities and facilities designed to enrich the educational experience of
residential and commuter students, enhance the image of the University, and
serve the region; (6.) to provide ways by which the life of the region can
benefit the educational experience of the University and be enhanced by the
University; (7.) to instill in University of North Carolina at Pembroke
students a continuing appreciation for diverse cultures and an active concern
for the well‑being of others; (8.) to promote academic and scholarly
excellence, the University’s rich heritage, and the enhancement of the
immediate and larger region.
HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT PEMBROKE
On March 7, 1887 the General
Assembly of North Carolina enacted legislation sponsored by Representative
Hamilton McMillan of Robeson County creating the Croatan Normal School. The
law, which was in response to a petition from the Indian people of the area,
established a Board of Trustees and appropriated five hundred dollars to be
used only for salaries. A building was constructed by the local people at a
site about one mile west of the present location, and the school opened with
fifteen students and one teacher in the fall of 1887. For many years the
instruction was at the elementary and secondary level, and the first diploma
was awarded in 1905.
The school was moved to its
present location in Pembroke, the center of the Indian community, in 1909. The
General Assembly changed the name of the institution in 1911 to the Indian
Normal School of Robeson County, and again in 1913 to the Cherokee Indian
Normal School of Robeson County. In 1926 the Board of Trustees added a two‑year
normal program beyond high school and phased out elementary instruction. The
first ten diplomas were awarded in 1928, when the state accredited the school
as a “standard normal school.”
Additional college classes
were offered beginning in 1931, and in 1939 a fourth year was added with the
first degrees conferred in 1940. In recognition of its new status, the General
Assembly changed the name of the school in 1941 to Pembroke State College for
Indians. Until 1953 it was the only state‑supported four‑year
college for Indians in the nation. The scope of the institution was widened in
1942 when non‑teaching baccalaureate degrees were added, and in 1945 when
enrollment, previously limited to the Indians of Robeson County, was opened to
people from all federally‑recognized Indian groups. A few years later, in
1949, the General Assembly shortened the name to Pembroke State College.
The Board of Trustees approved
the admission of White students up to forty percent of the total enrollment in
1953 and, following the Supreme Court’s school desegregation decision, opened
the College to all qualified applicants without regard to race in 1954. Growth
of over five hundred percent followed during the next eight years. In 1969 the
General Assembly changed the name again to Pembroke State University and made
the institution a regional university. Such universities were authorized “to
provide undergraduate and graduate instruction in liberal arts, fine arts, and
science, and in the learned professions, including teaching” and to “provide
other graduate and undergraduate programs of instruction as are deemed
necessary to meet the needs of their constituencies and of the State.”
Three years later, in 1972,
the General Assembly established the sixteen‑campus University of North
Carolina with Pembroke State University as one of the constituent institutions.
The new structure was under the control of the Board of Governors, which was to
coordinate the system of higher education, improve its quality, and encourage economical
use of the state’s resources. The Board of Governors approved the
implementation of master’s programs in professional education by Pembroke State
University in 1978, as well as several new undergraduate programs. Since that
time additional baccalaureate programs have been added, including nursing, and
master’s level programs have been implemented in Business Administration,
Public Administration, School Counseling, and Service Agency Counseling.
The University of North
Carolina at Pembroke celebrated its centennial in 1987. On July 1, 1996,
Pembroke State University officially became The University of North Carolina at
Pembroke.
In 2000, a major in applied
physics and four new master of arts programs were added. An office of
International Programs and a University Honors College were also instituted to
enhance scholarship. Since then, the
University has added new baccalaureate programs, including Spanish and
environmental science, as well as new graduate degrees, including the Master of
School Administration (M.S.A.) and the Master of Arts in Teaching
(M.A.T.). Many classes at the
undergraduate and graduate levels are available through distance learning,
including the Internet.
THE CAMPUS
The University of North
Carolina at Pembroke occupies 126 acres along the western edge of the town of
Pembroke in Robeson County, North Carolina.
It is easily accessible by automobile, ten miles from Interstate 95 and
two miles from U.S. 74. Commercial
airline service is available at the Fayetteville Municipal Airport, Grannis
Field, and at the Southern Pines/Pinehurst Airport, each 40 miles from the
campus. A map of the University campus is available on the University website
at www.uncp.edu/map.
The main entrance is on Odum
Road, which runs north from NC 711. Here Lumbee
Hall (1995) houses the Chancellor’s Office and the Offices of Academic
Affairs, Graduate Studies, Business Affairs, Student Affairs, Enrollment
Management, and Advancement, as well as Admissions (undergraduate and
graduate), the Registrar, Financial Aid, the Controller, Institutional
Research, Legal Services (University Attorney), and Alumni Relations.
Also on the north end of
campus are the Walter J. Pinchbeck
Maintenance Building (2004), named for a UNCP superintendent of buildings
and grounds, which houses offices and garage facilities for university
vehicles, and the Adolph L. Dial
Humanities Building (1980), named for a professor of American Indian
history, which houses the Departments of English, Theatre, and Languages;
History; and Political Science and Public Administration as well as the
University Writing Center, a computer lab, an oral language lab, a lecture
theatre, the English Resource Center, and the office of the Indianhead yearbook. The English E. Jones Health and Physical
Education Center (1972), named for a UNCP Chancellor, houses the Department
of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation and has two gymnasiums, a
natatorium with a swimming pool and diving tank, a wellness center, a
physiology laboratory, and a small lecture hall. The Givens Performing Arts
Center (1975), named for UNCP Chancellor Paul R. Givens, houses the Theatre
Arts program and provides an amphitheater‑style auditorium for an
audience of 1700.
In the center of campus, the Business Administration Building
(1969) houses the School of Business and the Department of Sociology, Social
Work, and Criminal Justice as well as the College Opportunity Program, a
computer lab, and the Interactive Video Facility. The Education Center
(1976) houses the School of Education, the Office of Teacher Education and its
curriculum and computer labs, the Teaching Fellows program, and the Departments
of Psychology and Counseling and Philosophy and Religion. The Nursing Department is housed in the Nursing Building (1965, 1987).
Also centrally located are
university facilities. In the James B.
Chavis University Center (1987), named for a Vice Chancellor of Student
Affairs, the lower level houses the Information Booth, cafeteria, snack bar,
Post Office boxes, a bowling alley, TV/games areas, and student and faculty
lounges; on the second floor are a Commuter Lounge, the Counseling and Testing
Center, Career Services Center, Student Activities Office, and Student
Government offices. The D. F. Lowry Building (1965), named
after the first graduate of the Indian Normal School, contains the University
Bookstore, Continuing Education and Distance Education, Upward Bound, Student
Support Programs, Center for Adult Learners, Freshman Seminar, Disability
Support Services, Police and Public Safety, and a study room. Student
Health Services (1967) has examination and treatment rooms and 22 inpatient
beds. The Business Services Building
(1977) receives deliveries and houses the Campus Post Office, the Print Shop,
and the Office of Purchasing Services, as well as Receiving and Central
Stores. The Irwin Belk Track and Soccer Complex (2002) includes a stadium for
soccer and track and field and other
athletic facilities. The West Office Building (2001) houses the
Office of International Programs; adjacent to it, in the Dogwood Office Building, are the Center for Sponsored Research and
Programs and the Family Life Center.
The south of campus is a
quadrangle with a pond and amphitheater, a bell tower, and a gazebo. Locklear
Hall (1950), named for Robeson
County educator Anderson Locklear, houses classrooms and studios of the Art
Department. Moore Hall (1951), named for Rev. W. L. Moore, the first teacher at
the Indian Normal School, contains the Music Department classrooms, auditorium,
library, and studios, as well as an annex with practice rooms and facilities
for the university band and chorus. Jacobs
Hall (1961), named for Board of
Trustees chair Rev. L. W. Jacobs, houses the Media Center and Braves Card
office, ROTC, the office of University and Community Relations, and other
offices. The Herbert G. Oxendine Science Building (1967, 2004), named for an
Academic Dean, provides classrooms, laboratories, computer labs, and offices
for the departments of Biology, Chemistry and Physics, and Mathematics and
Computer Science. An addition houses the Office of University Computing and
Information Services.
To the south of the
quadrangle, on NC 711, is the
Sampson-Livermore Library (1967, 1997), named after Oscar R. Sampson, a Chair
of the UNCP Board of Trustees, and Mary Livermore, a religion professor. The library houses approximately 300,000
volumes, 1,500 periodical titles, the University Archives, and a depository for
U.S. government documents; it provides access to extensive electronic
resources. Next door is historic Old Main (1923, restored 1979). Its first floor houses the Multicultural
Center, the television station (WNCP-TV), and the Native American Resource
Center. On the second floor are the
offices of the College of Arts and Sciences; the Departments of American Indian
Studies and Mass Communications; Geology and Geography; the Teaching and
Learning Center; the University Honors College; and the student newspaper, The Pine Needle.
Most residence halls for
students are located near the center of campus. In addition to Pine Hall (2000), a coeducational dormitory, there are
two women’s dormitories, Mary Irwin Belk Hall (1970) and North Hall (1972), and two men’s dormitories: Wellons Hall (1965), named for university President Ralph D.
Wellons; and West Hall (1965). The University Village Apartments
(2003) are at the north end of the campus.
The Chancellor’s Residence
(1952, 1999) is located on the western edge of the campus.
The Regional Center for
Economic, Community, and Professional Development is located off campus at the
Carolina Commerce and Technology Center (COMTech) on Livermore Drive.