Spartan Stories
Tales from the UNCG University Archives
Charles D. McIver
The Education of Charles Duncan McIver
by Scott Hinshaw Charles D. McIver (left) and his younger brother William in 1865 The founder and first president of our university, Charles D. McIver, left a wealth of information behind when he died suddenly in 1906 on a train returning from Raleigh to Greensboro. Among his more formal papers dealing with his work as […]
From Homemaking to Global Industry Professionals in Consumer, Apparel, and Retail Studies
by Suzanne Helms Students setting the table during their internship at the Home Management House, circa 1940s The Department of Consumer, Apparel, and Retail Studies (CARS), as it is now known, can be traced to the earliest days of State Normal and Industrial School (now UNCG). In 1892, the founder of UNCG, Dr. Charles D. […]
William George Randall: Campus Artist
by Kathelene McCarty Smith William G. Randall William Randall (1860-1905) only spent a short time on the campus of the State Normal and Industrial College, now The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG), but while he was at the school he created portraits of some of the most important people of the college and […]
The McIver House: Hospitality on Campus
In 1952, just sixty years after it was built, the McIver house was torn down to make room for new construction on campus. Located on the corner of Spring Garden Street and College Avenue, the house held a central location on campus for more than half a century. McIver House, c. 1900 Much of what […]
The Lost Architecture of UNCG, part 1
by Erin Lawrimore At the time of its opening in 1892, the State Normal and Industrial School (now UNCG) consisted primarily of four buildings: two dormitories, a “main building,” and the president’s house. Smaller outbuildings existed, but these four structures served as the heart of campus activity. Today, only the Main Building — renamed the […]
Greensboro Got the Girls … Now Where Do We Put Them?
by Erin Lawrimore In last week’s Spartan Story, we looked at the decision to name Greensboro as the site for North Carolina’s newly-created State Normal and Industrial School. Greensboro citizens were happy and excited — while those in other towns also in contention for the institution were not so pleased. Greensboro won the right to […]
Commencement time at State Normal
by Erin Lawrimore On Friday, May 9, thousands of newly minted graduates of UNCG participated in their graduation ceremony at the Greensboro Coliseum. This marked the 121st commencement hosted by the institution since its opening as the State Normal and Industrial School in October 1892. Commencement invitation, 1893 The first commencement ever held at State […]
Personal Accounts of Charles D. McIver
by Sean Mulligan The general facts of the life of Charles Duncan McIver, the founding president of State Normal, are well documented. These include his birth on September 27, 1860, his strong commitment to education, the founding of the State Normal and Industrial School in 1891, and his untimely death at the age of 45. […]
Dr. McIver and the “first class [train] wreck”
by Kathelene McCarty Smith Dr. Charles Duncan McIver, the founder and first president of the State Normal and Industrial School (now The University of North Carolina at Greensboro) had always wanted to see a “first class [train] wreck.” He got his wish on the night of August 25, 1902, when Southern Railway’s fast mail train […]
Farming and Feeding the Campus
by Erin Lawrimore Looking at the current site of the Quad, you might never guess that it was once the home to a campus farm and dairy barn that supplied State Normal (now UNCG) with milk, pork, and produce. But in 1897 Charles Duncan McIver established the first campus farm on a newly-acquired plot of […]
