Spartan Stories
Tales from the UNCG University Archives
Woman’s College
Happy birthday, Randall Jarrell!
by Patrick Dollar Portrait of Randall Jarrell taken during his first year at Woman’s College, 1947-48. To honor Randall Jarrell’s 105th birthday, we are highlighting his life and career. One of UNC Greensboro’s most famous faculty members, Jarrell was a renowned poet, author, critic, and instructor. Jarrell was born on May 6, 1914, in Nashville, Tennessee. […]
Flying High at the Woman’s College
by Erin Lawrimore In the Fall 1946 course catalog, the Physics Department at Woman’s College added a new class to its curriculum. “Elements of Aeronautics” allowed WC students to not only understand the principles of aeronautics but to actually learn how to fly from instructors from the Hawthorne Flying Service at the Greensboro-High Point airport […]
Lettie Hamlett Rogers – An Alumna, Author, and Instructor with International Roots
by Patrick Dollar Lettie Hamlett Rogers writing, 1946. Lettie Hamlett Rogers, who both attended and taught at Woman’s College (now UNC Greensboro), led an extraordinary and varied life, often using her experiences to fuel her writings. Rogers was born in Suzhou (or Soochow), China, on September 16, 1917, to the missionaries Reverend P.W. Hamlett and […]
Happy Birthday to Us!: Celebrating 60 Years of University Archives
by Erin Lawrimore Annual Report of the College Archives Committee Prior to 1958, there was no organized, formal method for acquiring, managing, and preserving the official records created by the Woman’s College (now UNCG). The need and importance of establishing such a process was brought to the administration’s attention in August 1956 in a letter […]
The History of the College’s Yearbook Part II: 1930s to 1950s
by Kathelene McCarty Smith As the college moved into the 1930s, it underwent transformations that reflected the unsettled economic trials of the country. The stock market crash of 1929 threw the nation into a financial crisis, resulting in a drop in enrollment and faculty pay for the North Carolina women’s college. Faculty took an additional […]
Chancellor Jackson Retires in Style
When Dr. Walter Clinton Jackson stepped into the role of Chancellor of the Woman’s College (now UNCG) in 1934 he had big shoes to fill. Dr. McIver had built the State Normal & Industrial School from the ground up and President Foust had kept it growing and expanding after McIver’s death, but Dr. Jackson […]
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 W.C. Informer: Read, Think, and Act!
by Erin Lawrimore “This is a personal letter to every Woman’s College student. The Informer has talked to you before about action: it isn’t enough to read and think. We must act. You have written you congressmen. You have spoken as a citizen. Here is your chance to get other citizens to act with you […]
Desegregating WC: Tillman, Smart, and the Long Road to Integration
by Erin Lawrimore This Fall semester marks the 60th anniversary of the desegregation of the student body at the Woman’s College (now UNCG). In the previous two weeks, we explored previous issues related to integrating campus facilities and services. Classes in Fall 1956 began on September 20th, and this week we will look at the debates […]
Louise Brevard Alexander: Raising “Fewer Dahlias and A Lot More Hell”
by Kathelene McCarty Smith Louise Brevard Alexander was a woman ahead of her time. A strong advocate of suffrage and of women’s education, Alexander would make her mark in North Carolina as a lawyer, a judge, and an educator. Described as scholarly, conscientious, dynamic, and inspiring, she became one of the most popular teachers at […]
