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
Video: Tar Heels in DC - CNBC newsroom with Megan CassellaUNC alumna Megan Cassella (class of 2015), Washington Correspondent for CNBC, gives us a tour of the newsroom and studios she works in and discusses...
Sun Jul 19, 2026Video: Tar Heels in DC - Washington Nationals Park with UNC alum Chris Zaber
University of North Carolina alumnus Chris Zaber ’99, Chief Revenue Officer of the Washington Nationals, gives us a tour of Nationals Park and discusses how...
Sat Jul 18, 2026
Fleet Feet CEO and UNC alum knows how to ring the 'money bell'
Fleet Feet CEO and president Joey Pointer ’00, ’01 (MAC) keeps a handheld bell on his desk as a reminder of just how far both...
Fri Jul 17, 2026
Former UNC Basketball Players Mourn Changes in Chapel Hill: 'It's Not Franklin Street Anymore'
Gone are beloved Chapel Hill staples like The Rathskeller, Schoolkids Records, Bub O'Malley's, Pepper's, Spanky's, and others that served generations of UNC students along Franklin...
Thu Jul 16, 2026