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Former name | National Religious Training School and Chautauqua for the Colored Race (1910–1915) National Training School (1915–1923) Durham State Normal School for Negroes (1923–1925) North Carolina College for Negroes (1925–1947) North Carolina College at Durham (1947–1969) |
|---|---|
| Motto | "Truth and Service" |
| Type | Publichistorically black university |
| Established | 1910; 116 years ago (1910) |
Parent institution | University of North Carolina |
| Accreditation | SACS |
Academic affiliation | TMCF |
| Endowment | $55 million (2021)[1] |
| Chancellor | Karrie G. Dixon |
| Provost | Ontario S. Wooden |
| Students | 7,965 (Spring 2025) |
| Location | , United States |
| Campus | Large city[2], 135 acres (0.55 km2) |
| Newspaper | The Campus Echo[3] |
| Colors | Maroon and gray |
| Nickname | Eagles |
Sporting affiliations | |
| Mascot | Eddie the Eagle |
| Website | www |
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North Carolina Central University | |
 North Carolina Central University campus | |
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| Location | Bounded by Lawson St., Alston Ave., Nelson, and Fayetteville Sts.,Durham, North Carolina |
| Coordinates | 35°58′27″N78°53′55″W / 35.97417°N 78.89861°W /35.97417; -78.89861 |
| Built | 1928 |
| Architect | Atwood & Nash; Public Works Administration |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival, Georgian Revival |
| MPS | Durham MRA |
| NRHP reference No. | 86000676[4] |
| Added to NRHP | March 28, 1986 |
North Carolina Central University (NCCU orNC Central) is apublichistorically black university inDurham, North Carolina, United States. Founded byJames E. Shepard in affiliation with theChautauqua movement in 1909, it was supported by private funds from both Northern and Southern philanthropists. It was made part of the state system in 1923, when it first received state funding and was renamed asDurham State Normal School. It added graduate classes in arts and sciences and professional schools in law and library science in the late 1930s and 1940s.
In 1969, the legislature designated this a regional university and renamed it North Carolina Central University. It has been part of theUniversity of North Carolina system since 1972 and offers programs at thebaccalaureate,master's, professional, anddoctoral levels. The university is a member of theThurgood Marshall College Fund. The campus is listed on theNational Register of Historic Places.
| James E. Shepard | President | 1909–1947 |
|---|---|---|
| Alfonso Elder | President | 1948–1963 |
| Samuel P. Massie | President | 1963–1966 |
| Albert N. Whiting | President | 1967–1972 |
| Chancellor | 1972–1982 | |
| LeRoy T. Walker | Chancellor | 1983–1986 |
| Tyronza R. Richmond | Chancellor | 1986–1992 |
| Donna J. Benson | Interim Chancellor | 1992–1993 |
| Julius L. Chambers | Chancellor | 1993–2001 |
| James H. Ammons | Chancellor | 2001–2007 |
| Beverly Washington Jones | Interim Chancellor | 2007–2007 |
| Charlie Nelms | Chancellor | 2007–2012 |
| Charles Becton | Interim Chancellor | 2012–2013 |
| Debra Saunders-White | Chancellor | 2013–2016 |
| Johnson O. Akinleye | Interim Chancellor | 2016–2017 |
| Johnson O. Akinleye | Chancellor | 2017–2024 |
| Karrie G. Dixon | Chancellor | 2024–Present |
North Carolina Central University was founded byJames E. Shepard as theNational Religious Training School and Chautauqua for the Colored Race in theHayti District.Chautauqua was an educational movement that originated in the Northeast. The school was chartered in 1909 as a private institution and opened on July 5, 1910.Woodrow Wilson, the future U.S. president, contributed some private support for the school's founding.[5]
The school was sold and reorganized in 1915, becoming the National Training School; it was supported byMargaret Olivia Slocum Sage, a philanthropist of New York who was particularly concerned about education. (She founded theRussell Sage Foundation and made generous bequests to several schools.) The National Training School supported Black teacher development in theJim Crow era, a time when Black education was underfunded by southern states at both the lower and upper levels.
Becoming a state-funded institution in 1923, this school was renamed asDurham State Normal School for Negroes; normal schools trained teachers for elementary grades. In 1925, reflecting the expansion of its programs to a four-year curriculum with a variety of majors, the General Assembly converted the institution into theNorth Carolina College for Negroes, dedicating it to the offering of liberal arts education and the preparation of teachers and principals of secondary schools. It was the nation's first state-supported liberal arts college for black students.[6] To avoid the stateJim Crow system of segregated passenger cars on trains, Shepard insisted on traveling to Raleigh by car to lobby the legislature.[6] The college's first four-year class graduated in 1929.
The college was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools as an "A" class institution in 1937 and was admitted to membership in that association in 1957. Graduate courses in the School of Arts and Sciences were added in 1939, in the School of Law in 1940, and in the School of Library Science in 1941. A "race relations conference" was held at the college in July 1944.[7]
In 1947, the General Assembly changed the name of the institution toNorth Carolina College at Durham. On October 6, 1947, Shepard, the founder and president, died. He was succeeded in 1948 byAlfonso Elder. At the time of Elder's election he was serving as head of the Graduate Department of Education and had formerly been dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Elder retired September 1, 1963.Samuel P. Massie was appointed as the president on August 9, 1963, and resigned on February 1, 1966. On July 1, 1967,Albert N. Whiting assumed the presidency. He served as president and chancellor of the institution. Among the significant developments during his service was the creation of NCCU School of Business. Programs in public administration and criminal justice were also launched. Whiting retired June 30, 1983.
The 1969 General Assembly designated the institution as one of the State's regional universities, and the name was changed toNorth Carolina Central University. Since 1972, NCCU has been a constituent institution of theUniversity of North Carolina system. On July 1, 1972, the state's four-year colleges and universities were joined to become The Consolidated University of North Carolina, with 16 individual campuses headed by a single president and governed by the University of North Carolina Board of Governors. However, each campus was led by a separate chancellor and a campus-specific board of trustees.[8]
Whiting was succeeded byLeRoy T. Walker as chancellor, followed byTyronza R. Richmond,Julius L. Chambers (who had previously been director-counsel (chief executive) of theNAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund),James H. Ammons,Charlie Nelms, andDebra Saunders-White in 2013. Saunders-White was the first woman to hold the office on a permanent basis (Donna Benson was the first woman to serve as interim chancellor of the university).[9] Saunders-White took a leave of absence in 2016, then provost,Johnson O. Akinleye, was appointed as acting chancellor. Following her death in November 2016, Akinleye became interim chancellor.
Johnson O. Akinleye was elected as the 12th chancellor of NCCU on June 26, 2017.[10] In this position, Akinleye has worked to expand the university's academic partnerships, including new agreements with community colleges, as well as introduced a robust online, distance-education program, NCCU Online. He also created K-12 initiatives and implemented a security strategy to increase safety for campus constituents.
Akinleye retired in 2024 and was succeeded by formerElizabeth City State University ChancellorKarrie G. Dixon.
The campus is located about a mile south of downtownDurham, North Carolina and about three miles east ofDuke University. Eleven buildings built before 1940 are included in a nationalhistoric district. All of the buildings, except for the three residences, areGeorgian Revival-style buildings; they have contemporary fireproof construction with steel trusses and brick exterior walls. They include the James E. Shepard Administration Building, Alexander Dunn Hall, Annie Day Shepard Hall, and five institutional buildings built in the late 1930s under the auspices of thePublic Works Administration.[11] The campus was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places in 1986.[4] TheCollege Heights Historic District borders the campus.[12]
NCCU is a part of the University of North Carolina (UNC) System. The campus is governed by a thirteen-member Board of Trustees: eight elected, four appointed, and the president of the Student Government Association also serves as an ex-officio member. The Board elects its officers annually and meets five times per year.[13]
| Race and ethnicity | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 84% | ||
| Hispanic | 5% | ||
| Two or more races | 5% | ||
| White | 4% | ||
| Asian | 1% | ||
| Unknown | 1% | ||
| Economic diversity | |||
| Low-income[a] | 63% | ||
| Affluent[b] | 37% | ||
North Carolina Central University has over 130 registered student organizations and 12 honor societies.
The students of North Carolina Central University publish theCampus Echo, a bi-weekly newspaper that has been in publication since the school's founding in 1910.[20][21] TheCampus Echo contains articles covering local events, arts and entertainment, and sports among other topics.
NCCU sponsors 14 men's and women's sports teams that participate in theNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I as a newly readmitted member of theMid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Athletic teams include football, softball, baseball, basketball, track and field, tennis, volleyball, bowling, and golf.
NCCU championships
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| Name | Class year | Notability | Reference(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arenda Wright Allen | 1985 | judge of theU.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia | |
| Sunshine Anderson | singer | ||
| Louis Austin | newspaper publisher | ||
| Dorothy F. Bailey | 1962 | civic leader,Maryland Women's Hall of Fame inductee | [22] |
| Frank Ballance | 1963 | former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (North Carolina 1st district) | |
| Ernie Barnes | 1960 | artist and former professional football player | |
| Larry Black | Olympic track & field gold and silver medalist | ||
| Dan Blue | 1970 | multiple African-American "firsts": North Carolina Speaker of the House; president of National Conference of State Legislatures | |
| Herman Boone | 1958 | former high school football coach, profiled in the motion pictureRemember the Titans | |
| Julia Boseman | 1992 | State Senator (North Carolina) | |
| Jim Brewington | former professional football player | ||
| Wanda G. Bryant | 1982 | North Carolina Court of Appeals jurist | |
| G. K. Butterfield | 1974 | Congressman and former Associate Justice, North Carolina Supreme Court | |
| Phonte Coleman | rapper | ||
| Kim Coles | comedian and actress | ||
| Julius L. Chambers | 1958 | lawyer, civil rights leader, and educator; founded the first integrated law firm in North Carolina | |
| Sammie Chess, Jr. | 1956, 1958 | attorney, civil rights activist, and judge in North Carolina. He was the first Black Superior Court justice in North Carolina history. | |
| Eva M. Clayton | former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (North Carolina's 1st district) | ||
| Lee Davis | 1968 | former professional basketball player, 1-time ABA all-star | [23] |
| Morris "Moe" Davis | 1983 | United States Air Force officer, lawyer, andadministrative law judge who is running as aDemocrat forCongress inNorth Carolina's11th Congressional District; appointed the third Chief Prosecutor of theGuantanamo military commissions, where he served from September 2005 until his resignation in October 2007 citing objections over the use ofwaterboarding in obtaining evidence | |
| Ivan Dixon | 1954 | actor,Hogan's Heroes | |
| Patrick Douthit ("9th Wonder") | attended | Grammy award-winning hip-hop producer, college lecturer and former teaching fellow at Harvard University | |
| Mike Easley | 1976 | former Governor of North Carolina | |
| Rick Elmore | 1982 | North Carolina Court of Appeals jurist | |
| Harold T. Epps Sr. | 1948, 1950 | prominent North Carolina attorney who was instrumental in desegregating theUniversity of North Carolina School of Law | |
| Stormie Forte | 2002 | first African-American woman and openly LGBTQ woman to serve on theRaleigh City Council | |
| Charles Foster | Hurdler at the1976 Summer Olympics | ||
| Robert D. Glass | 1949 | first African American justice of theConnecticut Supreme Court | |
| Bill Hayes | 1965 | former head football coach atWinston Salem State University andNorth Carolina A&T State University; current athletic director atWinston-Salem State University | |
| Harold Hunter | first African-American to sign a contract with theNBA; former coach forTennessee State, player for North Carolina College | [24] | |
| Maynard Jackson | 1964 | first black mayor of Atlanta; graduate of NC Central University School of Law | |
| Sam Jones | NBA Hall of Famer | ||
| Vernon Jones | politician, former Georgia state legislator, and former chief executive officer ofDeKalb County, Georgia | ||
| Stanton Kidd | professional basketball player | ||
| Eleanor Kinnaird | Member of the North Carolina Senate (23rd district) | ||
| Clarence Lightner | first black mayor of Raleigh, N.C. | ||
| Bishop Eddie Long | Senior Pastor, New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, Lithonia, Georgia | ||
| Lillian M. Lowery | Superintendent of the Maryland State Department of Education | ||
| Jeanne Lucas | first black elected to the North Carolina Senate | ||
| Daniel Sharpe Malekebu | 1913 | first Malawian medical graduate; doctor, missionary, and anti-colonial activist | |
| Crystal Mangum | false accuser in theDuke lacrosse case and convicted murderer | [25] | |
| Robert Massey | 1989 | former NFL defensive back and current head football coach atShaw University | |
| Tressie McMillan Cottom | 2009 | published author, sociologist, and professor | |
| Jonathan Melton | 2011 | first openly gay member of theRaleigh City Council | |
| Henry "Mickey" Michaux | member of the North Carolina House of Representatives (31st district) | ||
| LeVelle Moton | 1996 | former NC Central basketball player and current head coach of the men's basketball team | |
| Elaine O'Neal | 1984 | first African-American female Mayor of Durham | |
| Ida Stephens Owens | 1961 | biochemist at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) | |
| Greg Peterson | 2007 | former professional football player | |
| Xavier Proctor | 2013 | football player | |
| Charles Romes | 1977 | former professional football player | |
| Ben Ruffin | 1964 | civil rights activist, educator, and businessman | |
| Julius Sang | former Kenyan track athlete | ||
| Richard Sligh | 1966 | professional football player-Oakland Raiders (California) and Cincinnati "Bengals" (Ohio); "Tallest Pro Football Player" | |
| Al Stewart | J.D. | actingUnited States Secretary of Labor (2021) | |
| Ted G. Stone | M.A. 1958 | Southern Baptist evangelist and recovered amphetamine addict | |
| André Leon Talley | editor-at-large,Vogue | ||
| Cressie Thigpen | 1968 | North Carolina Court of Appeals jurist | |
| Donald van der Vaart | former Secretary of theNorth Carolina Department of Environmental Quality | ||
| Ernie Warlick | former AFL and CFL professional football player | ||
| Doug Wilkerson | former professional football player | ||
| Leonardo Williams | Mayor of Durham, North Carolina | [26] | |
| Zwelibanzi Moyo Williams | chef, restauranteur, and First Lady of Durham | [26] | |
| Paul Winslow | former professional football player | ||
| Yahzarah | attended | singer | |
| David Young | former professional basketball player |
Diedra Solomon is in the NCCU Athletic Hall of Fame. Dr. LeRoy Walker, emeritus chancellor of NC Central University and the former first black President of the United States Olympic Committee inducted her into the NCCU Athletic HOF. She was the first WNBA Detroit Shock (FA) basketball player from NC Central University. She is a pioneer in sports and a member of the Omicron Delta Kappa Honor Society. Diedra Solomon is a member of the NC Central University’s first CIAA Tournament Championship Women’s Basketball Team. They were featured on BET Television. She helped lead her team to the first NCAA Tournament appearance in NC Central University’s history. Diedra Solomon is an All CIAA Championship Tournament Player.
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| National | |
| Other | |
