Established in 1979, the Curriculum in Public Policy Analysis was one of the first undergraduate degree programs in public policy, and a charter member of the national Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management. It was augmented in 1991 by an interdisciplinary PhD Curriculum in Public Policy Analysis. In 1995 the two curricula were combined and began recruiting their own core faculty. In 2001 the combined curriculum became the present Department of Public Policy.
Chartered by the North Carolina General Assembly on December 11, 1789, the university's cornerstone was laid on October 12, 1793, near the ruins of a chapel, chosen because of its central location within the state.[26] The first public university chartered under the US Constitution, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is one of three universities that claims to be the oldest public university in the United States and the only such institution to confer degrees in the eighteenth century as a public institution.[27][28]
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]
Carolina is a university built for the people, and public service is at the core of its mission. Students, faculty, and staff dedicate thousands of hours each year to helping communities across NC by performing public service projects and participating in outreach programs. Members of the Carolina community also make life-changing discoveries through their world-class research in labs and in the field, creating a better future for all North Carolinians.
The first public institution of higher education in North Carolina, the school opened its doors to students on February 12, 1795. North Carolina became coeducational under the leadership of President Kemp Plummer Battle in 1877 and began the process of desegregation under Chancellor Robert Burton House when African-American graduate students were admitted in 1951.[13][14] In 1952, North Carolina opened its own hospital, UNC Health Care, for research and treatment, and has since specialized in cancer care through UNC's Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center which is one of only 51 national NCI designated comprehensive centers.[15]
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.
With over 300,000 living former students,[236] North Carolina has one of the largest and most active alumni groups in America. Many Tar Heels have attained local, national, and international prominence. James K. Polk served as President of the United States for a single term,[237] William R. King was the thirteenth Vice President of the United States.[238] North Carolina has produced many United States Senators including Paul Wellstone[239] and Thomas Lanier Clingman,[240] along with multiple House Representatives such as Virginia Foxx[241] and Ike Franklin Andrews.[242] Algenon L. Marbley[243] and Thomas Settle[244] have received positions of federal judgeship. Former Secretary of War and Secretary of the Army Kenneth Claiborne Royall[245] and the fifth White House Press Secretary Jonathan W. Daniels were graduates of North Carolina.[246] North Carolina has also produced 38 state governors, including Terry Sanford, Jim Hunt, and Roy Cooper, the current Governor of North Carolina. Peaches Golding was appointed by HM Queen Elizabeth II as High Sheriff of the City and County of Bristol 2010–2011, the first Black female High Sheriff and second only black High Sheriff in over 1,000 years. Stormie Forte was appointed as the first Black woman and openly LGBTQ female member of the Raleigh City Council. Carolyn Hunt served as the Second Lady of North Carolina and twice served as the First Lady of North Carolina. Margaret Rose Sanford served as First Lady of North Carolina. James E. Webb, the 2nd Administrator of NASA and an architect of the Apollo program during the Kennedy administration, was a Tar Heel. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, the next generation successor of Hubble scheduled to launch in 2019, was named in honor of Webb.[247]
The University of North Carolina men's basketball team will begin Atlantic Coast Conference play December 5 at Georgia Tech in the first regular-season ACC game for first-year UNC head coach Hubert Davis. Carolina's ACC opener will come in its eighth regular-season game, four days after the Tar Heels host Michigan in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. (GoHeels.com)
