Western Carolina University history

In 1948, the Division of Fine and Industrial Arts was formed, headed by Rodney Leftwich and the Bachelor of Science in Education degree was bestowed on graduation.

In 1951, the school began awarding the Masters of Arts in Education degree.

In 1953, the school changed its name to Western Carolina College.

Home of the first three-point shot in collegiate basketball history, Reid Gymnasium was opened in 1956 and now is mainly used for academic purposes and intramural sports.

In 1957, the school admitted its first African American student, Levern Hamlin.

The building was opened in 1968 and was home for many years to the university’s developmental evaluation programs and clinical activities in mental health.

A new building for art, named for Carol Grotnes Belk, opened in 1971.

And, on July 1, 1972, WCU became a member of the University of North Carolina system.

E.J. Whitmire Stadium was dedicated in honor of this university trustee in 1974, partly in gratitude for his gift of site preparation.

App State went home with the jug the first year, in 1976, with the Catamounts bringing it home the second.

The adjacent Natural Sciences Building opened in 1977, and houses programs in biology and chemistry and is filled with laboratories, research equipment, classrooms, professors’ offices and conference rooms.

29, 1980, Western Carolina's Ronnie Carr made the first intercollegiate three-point field goal.

Constructed in 1986 as a facility to house commencements, athletic contests, performances and regional events, the Ramsey Center and its 8,000-seat arena offer the largest seating capacity of any venue in the region outside of Charlotte, Atlanta and Knoxville.

Also see Bells in the Valley a video on the history of WCU originally produced for the Centennial in 1989.

In 1997, the school became the first in the UNC system to mandate that its students own a computer.

The jug seesawed through the rest of the decade and into the early ’80s, but it had been sitting in its trophy case in Boone for more than a dozen years when the Catamounts won it back in 1998.

The last time WCU possessed the jug was in 2004.

In 2005, the Eastern Band of the tribe and university administration formally pledged a commitment to work together to improve educational and economic opportunities.

The Campus Recreation Center opened in 2008 and is located in the heart of campus between Hinds University Center and Reid Gym.

The women’s basketball team claimed the SoCon championship, repeating the feat in 2009.

The 122,000-square-foot facility’s design, by architectural firm Gund Partnership, interprets the grandeur of the Great Smoky Mountains, and it was named for the retiring chancellor in 2011.

The building, opened in 2012, is designed to exceed silver-level LEED certification standards, and is the first constructed on the university’s West Campus.

In November, 2013, the jug was retired to the possession of Appalachian in a 48-27 loss.