Parker Residence Hall

Parker Residence Hall

Parker Residence Hall opened 1958, at the same time as nearby Avery and Teague dorms. Originally all male, Parker became a women's dorm starting in 1968. It is named for John J. Parker, a lawyer and judge. Parker graduated from UNC in 1907 and went on to a long and successful legal career. In 1930 Parker was nominated by President Herbert Hoover to fill an empty Supreme Court seat. His nomination was narrowly defeated, due in large part to opposition from organized labor and the NAACP. Labor unions opposed Parker due to some of his decisions on the U.S. Court of Appeals, and the NAACP campaigned against his nomination due to remarks he had made during an unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign in 1920 when he referred to the participation of African Americans in politics as a "source of evil and danger to both parties." Parker was a member of the UNC Board of Trustees for several decades and a strong supporter of university president Frank Porter Graham.

Date Established: 1957

Date Range: 1957 – Present