225 years of Tar Heels: Hinton James

Posted Feb 13, 2019
First-year students living in Hinton James Residence Hall are no strangers to long walks to campus. Neither was the namesake of that building, Hinton James, who — legend has it — walked from his home in Wilmington, NC, to Chapel Hill in 1795 and became the first student to enroll. James arrived at UNC on Feb. 12, 1795, almost a month after the University opened its doors. (UNC.edu)

Related: Campus Connections

31 Carolina faculty named ‘highly cited researchers’
UNC has 31 faculty on Clarivate’s 2025 list of Highly Cited Researchers, recognizing those who have demonstrated significant and broad influence in their fields of...
Thu May 28, 2026

UNC Alumni on Pulitzer-Winning Journalism Teams
Three alumni of the Hussman School of Media and Journalism — Brian Cassella ’05, Alex Kormann ’19 and Emmy Martin ’25 — were part of...
Wed May 27, 2026

Eric Church Uses His Guitar To Deliver Powerful Commencement Speech At UNC
UNC-Chapel Hill held its 2026 graduation ceremony, and the commencement address was delivered by North Carolina native and diehard Tar Heel fan Eric Church. And...
Mon May 25, 2026

Carolina Performing Arts Unveils Multi-Day Performance Festival for ‘Campus and Downtown’
May is Mental Health Awareness Month and, in our modern society, many people are struggling with loneliness and finding connection with others. Alison Friedman, the...
Sun May 24, 2026