The
University of North Carolina at Asheville is a co-educational, four year, public
liberal artsLiberal arts are the skills derived from the Classical education curriculum.-Definition:The term liberal arts denotes a curriculum that imparts general knowledge and develops the student’s rational thought and intellectual capabilities, unlike the professional, vocational, technical curricula...
university. The university is also known as
UNC Asheville and
UNCA. Located in
AshevilleAsheville is a city in and the county seat of Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and continues to grow. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that Asheville's population as of 2007 was 73,875...
,
Buncombe County, North CarolinaBuncombe County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is part of the Asheville, North Carolina, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population estimate for 2008 was 229,047. Its county seat is Asheville.- History :...
, UNCA is the only designated
liberal artsLiberal arts are the skills derived from the Classical education curriculum.-Definition:The term liberal arts denotes a curriculum that imparts general knowledge and develops the student’s rational thought and intellectual capabilities, unlike the professional, vocational, technical curricula...
institution in the
University of North CarolinaThe University of North Carolina system includes all sixteen public four-year universities in North Carolina, United States and one public residential high school. While the system's Board of Governors oversees general system policy, the campuses are classified as separate institutions and are...
system. UNC Asheville is member of the
Council of Public Liberal Arts CollegesThe Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges is a consortium of state-supported liberal arts colleges. Its mission is "to identify and support high quality public liberal arts and sciences institutions...
.
UNC Asheville was founded in 1927 as
Buncombe County Junior College, part of the Buncombe County public school system.
The
University of North Carolina at Asheville is a co-educational, four year, public
liberal artsLiberal arts are the skills derived from the Classical education curriculum.-Definition:The term liberal arts denotes a curriculum that imparts general knowledge and develops the student’s rational thought and intellectual capabilities, unlike the professional, vocational, technical curricula...
university. The university is also known as
UNC Asheville and
UNCA. Located in
AshevilleAsheville is a city in and the county seat of Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and continues to grow. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that Asheville's population as of 2007 was 73,875...
,
Buncombe County, North CarolinaBuncombe County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is part of the Asheville, North Carolina, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population estimate for 2008 was 229,047. Its county seat is Asheville.- History :...
, UNCA is the only designated
liberal artsLiberal arts are the skills derived from the Classical education curriculum.-Definition:The term liberal arts denotes a curriculum that imparts general knowledge and develops the student’s rational thought and intellectual capabilities, unlike the professional, vocational, technical curricula...
institution in the
University of North CarolinaThe University of North Carolina system includes all sixteen public four-year universities in North Carolina, United States and one public residential high school. While the system's Board of Governors oversees general system policy, the campuses are classified as separate institutions and are...
system. UNC Asheville is member of the
Council of Public Liberal Arts CollegesThe Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges is a consortium of state-supported liberal arts colleges. Its mission is "to identify and support high quality public liberal arts and sciences institutions...
.
History
UNC Asheville was founded in 1927 as
Buncombe County Junior College, part of the Buncombe County public school system. In 1930 the school merged with the College of the City of Asheville (founded in 1928) to form
Biltmore Junior College. In 1934 the college was renamed
Biltmore College and placed in the control of a board of trustees. 1936 brought both a further change of name to
Asheville-Biltmore College and a transfer of power to the Asheville City School Board.
In 1961 Asheville-Biltmore College moved to the present UNCA campus in north Asheville. In 1963 it became a state-supported four-year college, and awarded its first bachelor's degrees in 1966. Its first residence halls were built in 1967. It adopted its current name in 1969 upon becoming part of the Consolidated University of North Carolina, since 1972 called the University of North Carolina System. It is the designated public
liberal arts universityLiberal arts colleges are primarily colleges with an emphasis upon undergraduate study in the liberal arts. The Encyclopædia Britannica Concise defines "liberal arts" as a "college or university curriculum aimed at imparting general knowledge and developing general intellectual capacities, in...
within that system, and has been classified as a Liberal Arts I institution since 1992.
UNCA has more than 207 full-time faculty members and an enrollment of approximately 3,600 students. Classified by the
Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher EducationThe Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education is a framework for classifying, or grouping, colleges and universities in the United States. The primary purpose of the framework is for educational research and analysis, where it is often important to identify groups of roughly...
as a Baccalaureate College—Arts & Sciences (Bac/A&S), the university offers thirty-two
baccalaureateA bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for four years, but can range from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
programs and a
master's degreeA master's degree is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in liberal arts, first granted in 1991.
Precis of the University's History
Year - Name and Levels
1927 First 86 students (men and women) attended Buncombe County Junior College
1929 First graduating class, merges with Asheville City College, name changes to Biltmore College
1936 Chartered as Asheville-Biltmore College
1957 First two-year college in NC to receive state funds
1958 First African-American student enrolled
1963 Asheville-Biltmore College authorized to offer baccalaureate degrees
1969 College joins the UNC System & chartered as the University of North Carolina at Asheville
1992 Officially recognized as one of the nation’s first public liberal arts colleges
2007 University celebrates 80th anniversary
Academics
Innovative academic programs, low cost and an interdisciplinary study approach has drawn praise from national college guidebooks. The Princeton Review of "America's Best Value Colleges" ranked UNCA third on their list of Top 10 Best Value Public Colleges of 2008. The Fiske Guide to Colleges ranked UNCA among top 20 Best Buys in public liberal arts education, saying, "The University of North Carolina at Asheville offers all the perks that are generally associated with pricier private institutions: rigorous academics, small classes and a beautiful setting. And it does it for a fraction of the cost." The U.S. News & World Report's annual college rankings has placed UNCA fourth in the nation among public liberal arts colleges. The Princeton Review lists UNCA in "the Best 311 Colleges", saying, “For students who seek a public education in a smaller campus environment, this is a great choice.”
Majors
UNC Asheville offers four-year undergraduate programs leading to Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Fine Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees in the these
majors.
Administration
The university is led by
Chancellor Anne Ponder the chief administrative officer, along with Provost
Jane FernandesJane Kelleher Fernandes is a deaf educator and is the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of North Carolina Asheville as of July 1, 2008. Dr. Fernandes was the former President Designate of Gallaudet University...
and several advisory groups. The institution operates under the guidance and policies of the
Board of Trustees of the University of North Carolina at Asheville.
As part of the University of North Carolina's 16-campus university system, UNCA also falls under the administration of
UNC President Erskine Bowles and the
UNC Board of Governors advised by the
UNC Faculty Assembly.
- William Haggard - Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs
- William P. Massey - Vice Chancellor for Alumni and Development
- John G. Pierce - Vice Chancellor for Finance and Campus Operations
- Janet Cone - Director of Athletics
- Wilma Sherrill - Special Assistant to the Chancellor
- Thomas Lawton - University Counsel
- Christine Riley - Chief of Staff
Student Government Association
UNC Asheville's Student Government Association (SGA) consists of two branches, an 18-seat Student Senate and an executive branch comprising a President, Vice-President, and Cabinet. Representation in the Student Senate is divided among the four classes, with three additional seats each being given to residential and commuter students. SGA's authority is derived from the Chancellor and the Board of Governors.
Athletics
UNC Asheville's athletics teams are known as the
Bulldogs. They are a member of the
NCAA'sThe National Collegiate Athletic Association is a voluntary association of about 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States and Canada...
Division I and compete in the
Big South ConferenceThe Big South Conference is a college athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA’s Division I. The conference's football teams are part of the Division I Football Championship Subdivision...
. The
basketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of 5 players try to score points against one another by placing a ball through a
10 foot high hoop under organized rules...
team is coached by Eddie Biedenbach.
Highlights
- 1984 - The Women's Basketball team won the NAIA National Championship.
- 2003 - The Men's Basketball team won the Big South Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time.
- 2006 - The Men's Baseball team won the Big South Tournament to advance to the NCAA Tournament.
- 2006 - The Women's Soccer team won the Big South Tournament and qualified for the NCAA Tournament.
- 2007 - The Women's Basketball team won the Big South Tournament and advanced to their first NCAA Tournament.
- 2008 - The Men's Basketball team set a new school record for victories (23) and won a share of the Big South Regular Season Championship. UNCA became the first team in the history of the Big South Conference to advance to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT).
Points of interest
Notable Faculty
- Mark Gibney
- Surain Subramaniam
Dr. Surain Subramaniam is a noted academic and professor of political science at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. He is contributor to several journals on international relations...
- Ted Meigs
- Bill Sabo
- Dan Pierce
- Ellen Pearson
- Richard Chess
Richard Chess was born in Los Angeles. He spent most of his childhood and youth in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. He is the author of three books of poetry, Third Temple , Chair in the Desert , and Tekiah...
- David Brendan Hopes
David Brendan Hopes is an American author, playwright, and poet. He is a professor of literature at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. His books and volumes of poetry have won him critical acclaim and his plays have been produced all over the world and he continues to be prolific...
- Robert Moog
Dr. Robert Arthur Moog was an American pioneer of electronic music, best known as the inventor of the Moog synthesizer.-Life:...
Notable alumni
- Roy A. Taylor
Roy Arthur Taylor was a U.S. Representative from North Carolina.Born in Vader, Washington, Taylor graduated from Asheville-Biltmore College, Asheville, North Carolina, 1929....
- Member, US Congress
- Wilma Dykeman
Wilma Dykeman Stokely was an American writer of fiction and nonfiction whose works chronicled the people and land of Appalachia.-Biography:...
– environmental
- Topper Shutt
Topper Shutt is Chief Meteorologist at WUSA Channel 9 in Washington, DC and forecaster for WHUR-FM.-Career:In 1981, Shutt began his television weather career with CNN in Atlanta, Georgia, working as a weather producer and substitute weather anchor. In 1984,he moved on to a weekday weather anchor...
- meteorologist
- Kristina Abernathy - meteorologist
- Ty Wigginton
Ty Allen Wigginton also known as Wigger and Wiggy is a Major League Baseball third baseman, for the Baltimore Orioles. He is also known as a utility player, having platooned as an infielder and an outfielder during his career. He bats and throws right-handed...
- Major League Baseball player
- Kenny George
Kenneth George Jr. is an American college student and former college basketball player known for his great height. Somewhere between and , he was the tallest basketball player in the United States during the two years he played for his college team, the University of North Carolina at Asheville ...
- former basketball player
External links