Coker Hall

Coker Hall

Coker Hall opened in 1963 as classroom and laboratory space for the Department of Botany. After the Departments of Botany and Zoology combined to create the new Department of Biology, Coker Hall was the departmental home. It is named for William C. Coker, professor of botany at the university for more than four decades. A South Carolina native, Coker came to Chapel Hill to teach in 1902 and remained until his retirement in 1945. He was a prolific author and a popular teacher, known for the frequent field trips he led so that students could study plant specimens in their natural environments. Coker's most lasting legacy at UNC—Chapel Hill is the Coker Arboretum, also named in his honor, making him one of only a few people to have been the namesake for multiple places on campus.

Date Established: 1963

Date Range: 1963 – Present