The University of North Carolina at Charlotte in USA

UNC Charlotte, North Carolina’s urban research university, is integral to the social, cultural and economic fabric of the Charlotte region and beyond. UNC Charlotte delivers high value, high-quality education to a diverse population of more than 30,000 students. UNC Charlotte was one of a generation of universities founded in metropolitan areas of the United States immediately after World War II in response to rising education demands generated by the war and its technology.

To serve returning veterans, North Carolina opened 14 evening college centers in communities across the state. The Charlotte Center opened Sept. 23, 1946, offering evening classes to 278 students in the facilities of Charlotte’s Central High School. After three years, the state closed the centers, declaring that existing facilities were sufficient to meet the needs of returning veterans and recent high school graduates.

Charlotte’s education and business leaders, long aware of the area’s unmet needs for higher education, moved to have the Charlotte Center taken over by the city school district and operated as Charlotte College, offering the first two years of college courses.

Once Charlotte College became firmly established, efforts were launched to give it a campus of its own. With the backing of Charlotte business leaders and legislators from Mecklenburg and surrounding counties, land was acquired on the northern fringe of the city and bonds were passed to finance new facilities. In 1961, Charlotte College moved its growing student body into two new buildings on what was to become a 1,000-acre campus 10 miles from downtown Charlotte.

Three years later, the North Carolina General Assembly approved bills making Charlotte College a four-year, state-supported institution. The next year, 1965, the legislature approved bills creating the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, the fourth campus of the statewide university system.

The most important figure in UNC Charlotte’s history during these early years was Bonnie Cone. Affectionately known as “Miss Bonnie,” Cone was instrumental in the growth and success of the nascent university. She held the title of director of Charlotte Center, became president after its conversion to Charlotte College and served as acting chancellor during the college’s transition to UNC Charlotte. Her tireless advocacy for the establishment of a four-year, state-supported school in the Charlotte region is a foundation of the thriving university of today.

Now a research university, UNC Charlotte has the second-largest undergraduate enrollment of the 17 institutions in the UNC System and is the largest institution in the Charlotte region. The university comprises eight professional colleges and more than 3,700 faculty and staff, offering 79 bachelor’s, 64 master’s and 24 doctoral programs.

LEADERSHIP

The Chancellor and Cabinet set the course for the University and preside over day-to-day operations. The Chancellor is supported by a 13-member Board of Trustees comprised of civic and business leaders as well as individuals with extensive experience in education. Rounding out our prestigious leadership team is the president of the Student Body who serves as an ex-officio member, presenting our students' point-of-view.

FOUNDED FOR THE GREATEST GENERATION. SHAPING WHAT’S NEXT FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS.

In the 1940s, cities across the United States experienced an acute need for workforce expertise to meet marketplace demands sparked by World War II technologies. UNC Charlotte – first known as Charlotte College – is among the universities founded in metropolitan areas for that purpose. Initially offering only evening classes at Charlotte Central High School, the institution has grown in size and mission to become the region’s preeminent research university, addressing critical 21st-century business, technology, health care, energy and education needs. Discovery, learning and collaboration take place at two Charlotte locations: a vibrant 1,000-acre campus in University City and an uptown site designed specifically to serve the businesses, organizations and people of an urban center.