The Student Union at the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill was established in 1931.  Membership was open to
students, staff, alumni, trustees, and those who had contributed
to the construction of Graham Memorial, the building that first
housed the Union.  Named for Edward Kidder Graham, who was
University President from 1913 to 1918, Graham Memorial included
a main lounge, which was the site of numerous teas, receptions,
dances, and concerts.  A second lounge housed the Horace Williams
Philosophy Library.  A grill, game room, bowling alley, and
barbershop were located in the basement, and on the second floor
were meeting rooms, offices, and a large banquet hall.  Graham
Memorial remained the location of the Student Union until the
growing popularity of Union programs necessitated a larger
building.

     The Frank Porter Graham Student Union was completed in 1968
and opened in January 1969.  It was named for Frank Porter
Graham, President of the Consolidated University of North
Carolina from 1932 to 1949.  Enlarged in 1979, the building
includes offices, conference rooms, lounges, an information desk,
a ticket sales counter, a bowling alley, concert facilities,
darkrooms, arts and crafts centers, and a snack bar.  Most of the
major student organizations, including Student Government, are
housed there.  Since 1968 the official name of the Union has been
Carolina Union.

     Since the fall of 1972, the Union has also maintained a
facility in Chase Dining Hall on the South Campus.  This space
includes Upendo Lounge, created in 1972 to provide the Black
Student Movement with a place for meetings, programs, and social
events.  The Chase facility also houses other recreational
resources for the use of South Campus residents.

     Throughout its existence, the Student Union has coordinated
and funded educational, creative, and recreational activities for
the University community.  These activities have included dances,
guest lectures, films, tournaments, receptions, and large-scale
entertainment events such as Jubilee, Chapel Thrill, and
Springfest.  Through such activities, the Union continues to
serve, as its original purpose stated, as an organization
"designed to enlarge upon the benefits of study and at the same
time to symbolize the Carolina student's traditional freedom to
live and mature through activities beyond the academic context."

     According to records in this collection (see particularly,
Charlie Shapard's "The History of the University of North
Carolina Student Union: A Study of the Growth and Development of
Graham Memorial"), a faculty-student committee appointed by
President Frank Porter Graham met on May 9, 1931 "to consider
policies and organization of Graham Memorial."  This committee
recommended the appointment of a Board of Directors composed of
the President of the Student Body, the Editor of The Daily Tar
Heel, the President of the Woman's Association, presidents of the
three upper classes of the undergraduate student body, the
President of the University, the Executive Secretary of the
University, the Dean of Students, the Executive Secretary of the
YMCA, and the President and Secretary of the Alumni Association.

     The Board of Directors appointed a Director of the Union to
be in charge of its day-to-day operations.  Until 1958 this
appointment did not require administrative approval.  The
Director of the Union was appointed for a two-year term and was
usually a recent graduate of the University who had been active
in student organizations.  During World War II and through the
late 1940s, however, the position of Director turned over even
more frequently; and the maintenance of continuity became a
problem.  Finally, in 1958, the Director of the Union became a
permanent administrative position within the University’s
Division of Student Affairs.

     The present structure and governance of the Student Union is
somewhat complicated.  Defined by the University as a student
organization, the Union has an Activities Board, composed of
students, which plans and executes programs.  However, it does so
under the supervision of the Director of the Union and with the
approval of the Union's Board of Directors.  The Board of
Directors remains the Union's governing body.  In accordance with
the Union's bylaws, the Board of Directors is made up of
students, faculty, and administrators.  The President of the
Union, who is a student, chairs both the Activities Board and the
Board of Directors.  The Director, who reports to the Vice
Chancellor for Student Affairs, has administrative responsibility
for the Union and its employees.  With the exception of Board of
Directors minutes, these records are largely those of the
Director.  Permanent Directors of the Union and their tenures are
listed below.

          Howard Douglas Henry               1958-1987
          Archie W. Copeland                 1987-1992
          Donald E. Luse                     1992-

     For more information on the Student Union, see Series 11 of
the Records of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs in the
University Archives and Records Service.


Box 1:
     Activities Board (Membership lists, minutes, structure),
          1958-1959; 1965-1976; 1985-1987
     Annual Reports, 1937-1964; 1977
     Board of Directors:
          Membership Lists, 1941-1943; 1945; 1957-1958; 1961-1985
          Minutes and Agendas, 1931-1989
     Budgets and Financial Statements:
          Budgets, 1933-1986
          Student Fees, 1950; 1966-1987
          Financial Accounts and Projections, 1974-1989
     Building:
          (E.K.) Graham Memorial:
               Faculty Student Committee on Graham Memorial, 1931
          Frank Porter Graham Student Union:
               Plans and Construction, 1957-1969
               Renovation/Expansion, 1968-1984
          Chase Hall:
               Upendo Lounge, 1971-1983
     Constitution, Bylaws and Policies, 1931-1936; 1945; 1952;
          1957; 1959; 1962; 1971; 1974; 1976-1981; 1983; 1986;
          1989; 1990
     Correspondence, 1932-1947; 1951-1985
     Directorship of Union, 1938-1958

Box 2:
     Entertainment Events:
          Contracts, General, 1971-1986
          Carolina Symposium, 1979-1984
          Chapel Thrill, 1980-1982
          Fine Arts Festival, 1979-1980
          Jubilee, 1965-1971
               (the controversy over the 1965 Jubilee is covered
               in detail in the April - May 1965 issues of the
               Daily Tar Heel, available in the North Carolina
               Collection)
          Springfest, 1978-1979
     History:
          Craig Brown, "A History of the Student Union,
               1918-1980"
          Charlie Shapard, "A History of the University of North
               Carolina Student Union: A Study of the Growth and
               Development of Graham Memorial" (thesis draft),
               1982
          Published Items, 1933; 1956; 1981
          Information and Instructions for Staff Members and
          Special Staff Members of Graham Memorial Student Union,
          1947
     Self-Study, 1972-1973
     Speeches (3):
          Student Union Director Howard Henry (2), 1959; 1960
          "The Union Educates for Democratic Citizenship"
               (speaker unidentified, speech undated)
     Staff Lists, 1958-1968