Golden Fleece

The Order of the Golden Fleece was founded in 1904 at the suggestion of philosophy professor Horace Williams, who was worried that the university was becoming too factional. Williams, along with faculty members Edward Kidder Graham and Eben Alexander, wanted to promote service to the university. The...

Chapel Hill

In 1792, when trustees selected this site for the university, locals called the area New Hope Chapel hill, for a deserted Anglican chapel that had once stood on a high ridge near a crossroads. In 1793, when university trustees sold lots to create a town, its name became Chapel Hill. It was a small v...

University Day

University Day, celebrated annually on October 12, commemorates the laying of the cornerstone of Old East on that date in 1793. University Day was first held in 1877 and featured a Glee Club performance and a lecture from university president Kemp Plummer Battle on the charter and establishment of t...

Social Work, School of

The School of Social Work was founded in 1920 as a professional graduate school, offering master's and doctoral degrees and educating social workers for research and advanced practice. The school, known first as the School of Public Welfare, was created to train professionals for a newly formed ...