Despite initial skepticism from university President Frank Porter Graham, on March 27, 1931, legislation was passed to group the University of North Carolina with the State College of Agriculture and Engineering and Woman's College of the University of North Carolina to form the Consolidated University of North Carolina.[34] In 1963, the consolidated university was made fully coeducational, although most women still attended Woman's College for their first two years, transferring to Chapel Hill as juniors, since freshmen were required to live on campus and there was only one women's residence hall. As a result, Woman's College was renamed the "University of North Carolina at Greensboro", and the University of North Carolina became the "University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill."[35][36][37] In 1955, UNC officially desegregated its undergraduate divisions.[38]
The university was named a Public Ivy by Richard Moll in his 1985 book The Public Ivies: A Guide to America's Best Public Undergraduate Colleges and Universities, and in later guides by Howard and Matthew Greene.[134][135] Many of UNC-Chapel Hill's professional schools have achieved high rankings in publications such as Forbes magazine, as well as annual U.S. News & World Report surveys.[136][137] In 2020, US News & World Report ranked the School of Medicine #1 in primary care and #23 in research.[138] In 2016, U.S. News & World Report ranked UNC-Chapel Hill business school's MBA program as the 16th best in the nation. In the 2019 edition, U.S. News & World Report ranked the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health as the second best school of public health in the United States (behind Johns Hopkins and tied with Harvard).[139] The UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy was ranked #1 among pharmacy schools in the United States in 2020 by U.S. News & World Report.[140] In 2005, Business Week ranked UNC-Chapel Hill business school's Executive MBA program as the 5th best in the United States.[141] UNC also offers an online MBA program, MBA@UNC,[142] that is ranked #1 in the country in 2019 for Best Online MBA Programs (tied with the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University).[143] Other highly ranked schools include journalism and mass communication, law, library and information science, medicine, dentistry, and city and regional planning.[144][145][146][147][148] Nationally, UNC-Chapel Hill is in the top ten public universities for research.[149] Internationally, the 2016 QS World University Rankings ranked North Carolina 78th in the world (in 2010 Times Higher Education World University Rankings and QS World University Rankings parted ways to produce separate rankings).[150]
Tar Heels have also made a mark on pop culture. Andy Griffith[248] and John Forsythe[249] became successful actors. Stuart Scott,[250] Woody Durham,[251] and Mick Mixon[252] have become sportscasters. Civil War historian and writer Shelby Foote,[253] sportswriter Peter Gammons,[254] Pulitzer Prize winner Lenoir Chambers[255] and comedian Lewis Black all graduated from North Carolina. Other notable writers who have attended UNC-Chapel Hill include Thomas Wolfe, who has a memorial on campus; National Book Award winners Walker Percy, Hayden Carruth, and Charles Frazier; Dos Passos Prize winner Russell Banks; National Book Critics Circle Award winner Ben Fountain; Pulitzer Prize finalist Lydia Millet; New Yorker columnist Joseph Mitchell; National Geographic writer John Patric; Armistead Maupin; and the notable poets Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Bollingen Prize winner Edgar Bowers.Television journalist Charles Kuralt, honored with three Peabody Awards, is a UNC-Chapel Hill graduate. Three-time Pulitzer Prize winner, political cartoonist Jeff MacNelly graduated from Carolina. Caleb Bradham,[256] the inventor of the popular soft drink Pepsi-Cola, was a member of the Philanthropic Society and the class of 1890. Actor Ken Jeong attended UNC's School of Medicine, joining the small group of performers and personalities who also possess doctorates. Brooke Baldwin anchors CNN's Newsroom and graduated from UNC in 2001.[257] Pamela Brown serves as CNN's Senior White House Correspondent.[258] Pulitzer Prize winner and creator of the 1619 Project, Nikole Hannah-Jones achieved her master's degree from UNC in 2003.[259]
While Boshamer Stadium was being renovated and rebuilt during the 2008 season, the Tar Heels played their home games at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in nearby Cary. The Tar Heels returned to Chapel Hill in February 2009, following the completion of the extensive renovations to Boshamer Stadium.[3] The Tar Heels reached the 2009 College World Series, the program's fourth consecutive College World Series appearance, following their first season playing in newly renovated Boshamer Stadium.
Hubert Davis was quick to win on the recruiting trail during his first summer as North Carolina's head coach, grabbing class of 2022 commitments from forward Jalen Washington, guard Seth Trimble, and center Will Shaver. The search for a scoring wing lasted a little longer but ended on Wednesday, as Tyler Nickel announced his commitment to UNC. (Inside Carolina)
We already knew UNC's nonconference opponents and dates, and the Atlantic Coast Conference opponents, so Thursday's basketball schedule release is about seeing how conference opponents fall. With that in mind, the first look has to be at how many short turnarounds the Tar Heels face. There are three Saturday-Monday combinations this season. (GoHeels.com)