The First State University

Book excerpt: William Powell's The First State University, originally published in 1972 and revised in 1979, has become a classic for many Carolina alumni and friends. This third edition brings the story up to date with photographs from the 1980s, a decade that produced the Davis Library, the "Dean Dome", Michael Jordan, and a 1988 campus educational forum featuring the seven Democratic presidential candidates. Several recently discovered photographs from previous eras have also been added, including the earliest-known picture of the student body and a photograph of the University's first female professor, who was appointed in 1927. In loving detail, this book captures the character and charm of the University over the years - its campus, administrators, faculty, classes, athletic programs, and student life. The idea of an institution of higher education in North Carolina was born in the minds of colonial leaders before the American Revolution. They chartered a college, but King George III refused to approve the law under which it could be established. North Carolinians proceeded to operate a college without royal authority until it fell victim to Revolutionary times. In 1776, when the idea of a state university became a possibility, the founders of this college joined alumni and others in advancing the cause of higher education. It is here that this stunning pictorial history begins. Photographs, sketches, silhouettes, oil paintings, watercolors, and other visual images tell the story of how the University was established, how it grew, and what contributions it has made to the people of North Carolina, the South, the nation, and the world. Many people, places, and events are identified, and changesover time are highlighted. The physical growth of the campus is dramatically portrayed through the use of pictures made from approximately the same spot but decades apart. Numerous photographs of individuals suggest the range of important positions held by alumni, and group pictures of faculty and students provide a unique opportunity to "people watch" across the years.