January 15, 1795: UNC Holds Its Opening Ceremony

Posted Jan 15, 2018
UNC held its opening ceremony on January 15, 1795, and soon after became the first state university to enroll students. The winter of 1794-1795 had been rough, and the roads were a muddy mess. It was a cold, windy, rainy day and the area looked more like a construction site than a college campus. Only the East Building and the unpainted wooden house of the Presiding Professor had been completed. (UNC.edu)

Related: Campus Connections

Best-selling author, UNC alum Kristy Woodson Harvey delivers speech at New Student Convocation
The class of 2030 and transfer students gathered for New Student Convocation, where bestselling author and UNC alumna Kristy Woodson Harvey delivered a keynote address,...
Thu Sep 3, 2026

UNC football optimism flows - along with the beer - as Tar Heels take Dublin
It started out as a means of following a country star. Well, Chase Rice wasn’t a country star yet when Sophie Watkeys, 32, first started...
Wed Sep 2, 2026

UNC Libraries is Home to a Special Dolly Parton Recording. Here’s What to Know
People across the United States and around the world are mourning country music legend and philanthropist Dolly Parton, who died on Tuesday at 80 years...
Mon Aug 31, 2026

The Emerald Isle now touched with Carolina Blue
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill chancellor Lee H. Roberts looked around in wonder at the sanctuary of the 800-year-old St. Patrick’s Cathedral in...
Sun Aug 30, 2026