The University's first building, Old East (1793), was a
combined dormitory and lecture hall and today continues to serve
as a dormitory.  For its first 150 years, the University placed
responsibility for all student services, (admissions, housing
assignments, student aid, course enrollment, etc.) in the hands
of the Registrar, who was usually a faculty member.  In the days
when enrollments were small and courses few, this responsibility
was not especially burdensome.  However, with the influx of
veterans after World War II and the rapid expansion of the
curriculum, a division of responsibility was required to ensure
that record-keeping as well as services kept pace with the
growing demands.

     In April 1946, James E. Wadsworth was appointed to the newly
established position of Housing Officer in the Department of
Admissions.  On July 1, 1954, with the establishment of the
Division of Student Affairs, the Housing Office was placed under
the supervision of the Dean of Students (later Vice Chancellor
for Student Affairs).  The late 1950s and early 1960s witnessed
the construction of a number of dormitories on the campus, and
the period 1962-1967 saw the opening of the South Campus
high-rise dorms, Craige, Ehringhaus, Morrison, and Hinton James.

     This was also a period of significant change in the
administration of the dormitories.  In the fall of 1960, the
Resident Advisor system was instituted.  Originally envisioned as
a program for freshmen, the system was gradually expanded after
the residence college concept was adopted as the guiding
principle of the Housing Office during the 1963-1964 academic
year.  The incorporation of responsibility for the housing needs
of women students into the Housing Office in November 1967 and
the efforts of Harry Smith as Special Assistant to the Chancellor
for Residence Life led to experiments in coeducational living.

     On July 1, 1970, the Department of Residence Life was
created in the Division of Student Affairs with the Housing
Office as an integral part.  By November 1971 the Department had
control of married student housing and responsibility for staff
salaries and maintenance/renovation funding.  The residence
college at UNC-Chapel Hill never achieved the academic status, with
resident professors and on-site classes, that characterized such
colleges at Michigan and Yale.  On the Chapel Hill campus the
concept never progressed past the social stage, and this failure
coupled with ongoing fiscal accounting problems led to student
dissatisfaction with the program and eventually to loss of
administrative support for it.

     On July 1, 1973, the Department of University Housing was
established with James D. Condie as Director.  The new department
consisted of the following divisions:

     Contracts Office
     Finance and Personnel Office
     Operations Office
     Residence Life Office
     Married Student Housing Office
     Off-Campus Housing Information Center

At this time the University was faced with a shortage of housing,
and off-campus rents were spiraling.  In an effort to develop a
fairer system of room assignment, the Department of University
Housing tried a first-come-first serve system, then a lottery.
In the process a room contract was instituted, restricting room
shifts by making the student responsible financially for the room
assigned.  The pressure of this system and the bitterness of
student reactions to it led to Dr. Condie's resignation in 1973.
The involvement of Student Government in the operation of the
lottery eventually eased student grievances.

     The archival records of the Department of University Housing
consist of files relating to policy development and revision,
especially in the area of room assignment, as well as annual
reports, budget information, staff meeting minutes, and various
studies and surveys of University housing needs and procedures.
Also included are statistics and other documentation regarding
dormitories, housing capacity, housing occupancy, etc.  The
majority of the records date from the 1970s and 1980s.  More
information on the earlier development of the University's
student housing program will be found in the RECORDS OF THE VICE
CHANCELLOR FOR STUDENT AFFAIRS and in the RECORDS OF THE
CHANCELLOR’S OFFICE.

     Names, titles and tenures of those who have headed the
Housing Office and the Department of University Housing are
listed below.

     James E. Wadsworth,
          Housing Officer                         1946-1956
          Director, Housing Office                1956-1970
          Housing Assignment Officer              1970
          Assistant Director for Housing,
               Department of Residence Life       1970-1972
          Assistant Director for Single
               Student Housing, Department
               of Residence Life                  1972-1973

     James D. Condie,
          Associate Dean of Student Affairs
               and Director of University
               Housing                            1973-1981

     George F. Harpster,
          Acting Director of University Housing   1981-1983

     Wayne T. Kuncl,
          Director of University Housing          1983-

     The archival records of the Department of University Housing
are arranged to reflect its responsibilities and activities.  The
major divisions are as follows:

SUBGROUP 1: Administrative and General Subject Files
     Series 1: Administrative Files
     Series 2: General Subject Files

SUBGROUP 2: Space Assignment Records


SUBGROUP 1: ADMINISTRATIVE/GENERAL SUBJECT FILES

     Subgroup 1 consists of two series: Series 1, Administrative
Files; and Series 2, General Subject Files.  Series 1 contains
correspondence to and from the Dept. of University Housing,
housing policy statements, and staff meeting minutes and
information.  Series 2 contains annual reports; budget
information; publicity; tables and files related to the U.S.
Dept. of Health, Education and Welfare’s 1979 lawsuit against the
University; and surveys and studies of various local and national
housing policies.

     SERIES 1: ADMINISTRATIVE FILES

Box 1:
     Correspondence:
          General, 1969-1979
          Associate Director of Housing, 1978-1979
          Contracts Office, 1974-1976
     Committee on University Residential Living, 1972
     Policy:
          General, 1970-1978
          Alcoholic Beverages, 1973
          Contracts, 1979
          Electric Appliances, 1971; 1979
          Enhancement Fund, 1973
          Financial Aid, 1972-1978
          Guests, 1974
          Lofts, 1977
          Lounge Use, 1972
          Manual, 1973-1974
          Noise, 1972
          Off Campus Housing, 1974; 1978
          Office, 1975-1978
          Operations, 1977-1978
          Paint, 1972
          Procedural Manual, 1974
          Residency:
               General, 1971-1978
               Exemptions, 1974
          Restricted Entry, 1974; 1977
          Solicitation, 1978
          Waterbeds, 1973
          Withdrawal Procedure, 1970
          Women's Housing, 1970
     Residence Life Staff Meeting Minutes, 1978-1979
     Staff:
          Directory, 1971-1976; 1979-1980
          Meetings, 1973-1976
          Resident Assistant Information, 1973-1978
          Resident Directors Program:
               General, 1973-1978
               Accountability Program, 1973-1978
               Meeting Minutes, 1974-1975; 1977-1978

     SERIES 2: GENERAL SUBJECT FILES

Box 2:
     Annual Reports, 1974; 1979-80
     Budget/Business:
          Budget Office, 1972-1979
          Cashier's Office, 1973-1977
          Room Rents, 1960-1976; 1978-1980
     HEW Investigation:
          Correspondence and Data, 1973-1980
          Print-outs, Occupancy, 1979
          Tables, 1978-1980
     Housing Forms and Letters, 1970-1971
     Publicity:
          Clippings, 1972-1974
          Newsletters:
               Residence Hall, 1974-1976
               University Housing, 1974-1975
          Room to Live:
               Graduate, 1977-1978
               Undergraduate, 1976-1978
     Surveys/Studies:
          Age Distribution of College Students, 1950-1975
          Coed Survey, 1979
          "Sign-Up", (B.A. 190 Project), 1979
          Surveys of University Housing Procedures:
               Needs, Housing, 1977-1978
               North Carolina Universities, 1976
               Married Student Housing, 1978
               Off Campus Housing, 1976-1979
               Private Home Owners, 1978
               Universities, other, 1950; 1979
               Southeastern Association, 1976


SUBGROUP 2: SPACE ASSIGNMENT RECORDS

     Subgroup 2 contains statistics and other documentation,
including policies and procedures, concerning dormitories,
sign-up, housing capacity, occupancy, and consolidation.

Box 3:
     General, 1974-1979
     Capacity, 1969-1979
     Consolidation Policy, 1970-1973; 1979
     Dormitories;
          Carr, 1976
          Coed, 1975
          Craige, 1972-1980
          Ehringhaus, 1975-1979
          Granville Towers, 1968-1978
          Henderson Residence College, 1974
          Hinton James, 1971-1979
          Morrison, 1973-1976
          Odum Village, 1972
          Physical Facilities Improvements, 1973-1977
          Women's North Campus, 1976
     Occupancy Reports, 1955-1980
     Sign-Up:
          Data, 1972-1978
          Office Information:
               General, 1969-1978
               Guidelines, 1979-1980
               Instructions:
                    Graduate, 1979
                    Grant-in-Aid Athletes, 1979
                    Granville Towers Residents, 1979
                    Undergraduates, 1979
               Memos to the Resident Directors, 1979
               Miscellaneous, 1979
               Preliminary Drawing, 1979
               Preliminary Results:
                    Men, 1979
                    Women, 1979
               Results of Residence Hall Drawings, 1979
               Sign-Up Schedule
          Proposals, 1975-1976

Box 4:
     Special/Temporary Housing:
          Special:
               Athletic:
                    General, 1971-1980
                    Policies, 1977-1980
               International Students, 1971-1979
               Singles, Guaranteed, 1968; 1970
               Triples:
                    Temporary, 1970-1971
                    Voluntary, 1977-1978
          Temporary Housing:
               Commencement, 1971-1980
               International Program In
                    Environmental Aspects of Industrial
                    Development, 1972-1974
               International Program in Sanitary
                    Engineering Design, 1972
               Latin American Scholars Program, 1978; 1980
               Medical Allied Health Professions
                    Program, 1975-1976
               Medical Education Development Program, 1977
               Medical Technician Program, 1974
               Minority Orientation, 1977-1978
               National Science Foundation Institute, 1960
               Short-Term and Extension, 1950; 1972-1980
               Summer Housing, 1970-1980
               Tar Heel Days, 1977-1978