North Carolina Central University history

A consequence was the sale and reorganization of the school in 1915 as the National Training School.

Becoming a state-funded institution in 1923, this school was renamed as Durham State Normal School for Negroes; normal schools trained teachers for elementary grades.

At its 1927 session, the General Assembly began a program of expansion of the college plant, with the support of Angus W. McLean, then the Governor of North Carolina.

The first four-year class graduated on June 6, 1929.

In 1938, the General Assembly authorized North Carolina College to start offering several new programs, including graduate degrees in liberal arts and professional programs including history, art, law, and library science.

The General Assembly of 1939 authorized the establishment of graduate study programs in liberal arts and the professions.

The School of Law opened in 1940.

In 1947, the General Assembly changed the name of the institution to North Carolina College at Durham.

Doctor Elder retired September 1, 1963.

On July 1, 1972, all the state’s public four-year colleges and universities were joined to become the Consolidated University of North Carolina.

Doctor Tyronza R. Richmond succeeded Walker in 1986; Richmond’s tenure saw the establishment of the School of Education.

In 1993, Doctor Julius L. Chambers, a noted civil rights attorney, became the first NCCU alumnus to lead the university.

Doctor James H. Ammons became chancellor in June 2001, eight months after state voters approved a major bond issue for UNC system capital improvements.

Doctor Charlie Nelms succeeded Ammons in 2007.

Nelms presided over NCCU’s centennial celebration during the 2009-10 year.

Nelms retired in 2012 and was succeeded on an interim basis by Charles L. Becton, a prominent attorney and former judge on the North Carolina Court of Appeals.

Whiting was succeeded by LeRoy T. Walker as chancellor, followed by Tyronza R. Richmond, Julius L. Chambers (who had previously been director-counsel (chief executive) of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund), James H. Ammons, Charlie Nelms, and Debra Saunders-White in 2013.

Doctor 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). Doctor Saunders-White took a leave of absence in 2016, then provost, Doctor Johnson O. Akinleye, was appointed as acting chancellor.