Discover

'North Carolina Central University' (NCCU) is a historically black college located in Durham, North Carolina.
NCCU has a current enrollment of 8,231 for the Fall of 2005. NCCU is the second largest historically black university in North Carolina after NC A&T State University. It is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund.

Contents

History

Academics

Entrance Requirements

Athletics

Executives

Notable alumni

See also

External links

History

NCCU was chartered in 1909 and opened in 1910 as the ''National Religious Training School and Chautauqua'' under the leadership of President James E. Shepard. Suffering financial troubles, the school reorganized in 1915 as the ''National Training School'' and again in 1923, when it was acquired by the state of North Carolina and renamed ''Durham State Normal School''.
In 1925, the state redefined the school's mission, turning it into a four-year liberal arts college, the ''North Carolina College for Negroes'' (NCC), the first state-supported African-American liberal arts college in the United States. After expanding through the support of the state and local philanthropists (including Benjamin N. Duke), NCC was finally accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 1937.
The college opened its first graduate programs in law (1940) and library science (1941). In 1947, the college was renamed yet again as ''North Carolina College at Durham''. In the same year, founding president James Shepard died after having headed the school for nearly 40 years.
The college received its current title, North Carolina Central University, in 1969. The name "Central" was picked in order to keep the school's initials "NCC". In 1972, it became part of the 16-member University of North Carolina System.
The NCCU School of Law has undergone a multimillion dollar major renovation of the Turner Law School Building, which was completed in 2005. The 100,000+ sq ft (9,300 m²) building is now one of the largest public law school facilities in the Southeast United States.

Academics

NCCU has several colleges and schools: the College of Arts and Sciences, School of Library & Information Sciences, School of Business, School of Law, School of Graduate Studies and the University College.
In 2005, NCCU ranked third in North Carolina for accepting National Merit Scholars, only trailing Duke University and UNC-Chapel Hill. NCCU also tied for third (with Hampton University) in accepting National Merit Scholars for HBCUs, only trailing Morehouse College and Howard University. The NCCU School of Law was recently listed in the Princeton Review as one of America's Best Law Schools.
NCCU also boasts a prominent history department, in which John Hope Franklin once taught, and a prominent biology department.

Entrance Requirements

NCCU has extremely low SAT requirements for incoming freshman compared to other universities in North Carolina and the rest of the US. An SAT score of 680 out of 1600 is needed to attend NCCU, with the average being 860. For comparison, UNC-CH's average SAT score is ~1300 and NC State's is ~1200.[1] but the school will take a student who scored lower if they agree to attend a five-week freshman orientation program over the summer called "Aspiring Eagles."[2]
The program began in 2006 as part of the school's efforts to raise student retention rates. Only 70.8% of freshman return as sophomores the following year. This is below the UNC system average. 50 students took part in the program in 2006, and 100 are expected to participate in the summer of 2007.

Athletics

NCCU's athletic teams, called the Eagles, formerly competed in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association in NCAA Division II. In July 2007, NCCU officially moved up to NCAA Division I and will compete as independents. [3]

Executives

★ 1909–1947: James E. Shepard, President

★ 1948–1963: Alfonso Elder, President

★ 1963–1966: Samuel P. Massie, President

★ 1967–1982: Albert N. Whiting, President (1967–1972), Chancellor (1972–1982)

★ 1983–1986: LeRoy T. Walker, Chancellor

★ 1986–1992: Tyronza R. Richmond, Chancellor

★ 1992–1993: Donna J. Benson, Chancellor

★ 1993–2001: Julius L. Chambers, Chancellor

★ 2001—2007: James H. Ammons, Chancellor

★ 2007— : Charlie Nelms, Chancellor [4]

Notable alumni

★ Herman Boone, former high school football coach, featured in motion picture ''Remember the Titans''

★ Ernie Barnes, artist (he drew the famous "Goodtimes" picture and most of J.J.'s work on the show) and former professional football player

★ Larry Black, Olympic Track & Field Gold and Silver Medalist

★ Wanda G. Bryant, North Carolina Court of Appeals

★ G.K. Butterfield, Congressman and former Associate Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court

★ Mike Easley, Governor of North Carolina

★ Rick Elmore, North Carolina Court of Appeals

★ George Hamilton Sr. - President of Dow Automotive

★ Maynard Jackson, first black mayor of Atlanta, Georgia

★ 9th Wonder, hip hop producer

★ YahZarah, R&B Singer

★ Ivan Dixon, Actor

★ Jason Smoots, Track Athlete

★ Sam Jones, NBA Athlete

★ Sunshine Anderson, R&B Singer "Heard It All Before"

★ Doug Wilkerson, former professional football player

★ Bishop Eddie Long, pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, Lithonia, GA

★ Kim Coles, Comedian & actress, Sinclaire on "Living Single"

★ Willie Gary, prominent black attorney, and CEO of MBC

★ Blu Fox, Actor

★ Andre Leon Talley, Vogue's Editor-At-Large

★ Sean D. Johnson, Writer/Author/poet

See also

★ WNCU 90.7 FM, the college radio station

External links

★ North Carolina Central University

★ The Campus Echo Student Newspaper

★ The Marching Sound Machine