Prior to the founding of the State Normal and Industrial School (now The University of North Carolina at Greensboro) in 1891, Charles Duncan McIver was very supportive of the notion of societies for the female students. In 1893, the Adelphian and Cornelian became the first two literary societies on campus… Continue reading…
May Pole Dancers, 1916 The tradition of celebrating May Day can be traced back to the pre-Christian era when the first day of May marked the end of winter in Northern Europe. Rituals celebrated fertility and the planting of new crops with gathering flowers, dancing around a tall pole, and… Continue reading…
The warmer weather of spring brings out birds and flowers — and a need for ice cream! At UNCG, for over 90 years, students, faculty, and staff have been able to beat the heat with a tasty cone from the Yum Yum ice cream shop. The original site of Yum… Continue reading…
Leather Class Jacket, 1 The tradition of class jackets made its debut at the North Carolina College for Women (now UNCG) in the late 1920s. Before the jackets became popular, the girls wore hats and sweaters in the class colors of green, red, blue, and lavender. This color scheme would… Continue reading…
During the period of the Consolidated University of North Carolina (1931-1971), a seal for the Woman’s College of the University of North Carolina (now The University of North Carolina at Greensboro) appeared featuring an image of Minerva quite different from those previously used for the school’s seal. Letterhead from Consolidated… Continue reading…
Dr. Miriam Bitting A founding department at the State Normal and Industrial School (now UNCG) was the Department of Physiology and Health (also known as Physical Culture). This unit had two objectives: instruction in hygiene and creation an individualized program of exercise for students. Work in the department included gymnastics,… Continue reading…
Pearl Eugenia Wyche, born in 1878 in Vance County, North Carolina, attended the State Normal and Industrial School for Women (which is now The University of North Carolina at Greensboro) from 1897-1903. During her time at the Normal School, she had some unique work and social experiences which separated her… Continue reading…
1894 Minerva has been with the university almost since its inception, but her image has undergone many transformations during her tenure as UNCG’s representative goddess. The first extant image appears on an 1894 diploma. Indeed, many of the very early images we have of Minerva come from diplomas bearing the university… Continue reading…
Robinson with the college’s horse and buggy When the doors opened at the State Normal and Industrial School (now UNCG) on October 5, 1892, school president Charles Duncan McIver had 15 well-qualified faculty members and nearly 200 young female students. While cooks, janitors, handymen, and others worked behind the scenes… Continue reading…
One year after the era of co-education was ushered in with the enrollment of male undergraduates in 1964, Frank Pleasants was hired to coordinate competitive athletics for male students at UNCG. Campus administrators saw a robust athletic program as a significant way of encouraging male enrollment. UNCG men’s basketball head… Continue reading…
