Restrictions to Access

No restrictions. Open for research.

Restrictions to Use

No usage restrictions.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], in the Honors Office of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Records #40229, University Archives, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Acquisitions Information

Received from the Honors Office in December 1999 and January 2007 (Records transfers 19991213.1 and 20070130.1).

Sensitive Materials Statement

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.

The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.

• Allen, Robert Clyde, 1950-
• Curriculum planning--North Carolina--Chapel Hill.
• Education, Higher--North Carolina--History--20th century.
• Universities and colleges--Honors courses--North Carolina--Chapel Hill.
• Universities and colleges--North Carolina--Departments.
• University of North Carolina (1793-1962)--Curricula.
• University of North Carolina (1793-1962)--History.
• University of North Carolina (1793-1962)--Honors courses.
• University of North Carolina (1793-1962)--Students.
• University of North Carolina (1793-1962). College of Arts and Sciences.
• University of North Carolina (1793-1962). Honors Office.
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill--Buildings.
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill--Curricula.
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill--History.
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill--Honors courses.
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill--Students.
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. College of Arts and Sciences.
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Honors Office.

• Office of the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Records (#40076)

The honors program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was established in 1954, within the College of Arts and Sciences, to serve academically gifted freshmen. Prior to the program's inception, gifted students were only recognized through the Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Eta Sigma societies, or, beginning in 1917, through senior-level, departmental honors degrees. The honors program was initially known as the Superior Student Program and had an inaugural class of 26 during the 1954-1955 school year. The students completed courses in English, mathematics, social science and philosophy. The program was considered a success, and in 1956, sophomore courses were added. In 1958, the Committee on Superior Students, chaired by Professor of Mathematics E.A. Cameron, was successful in securing a five-year, $100,000 grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Work began in 1959 to expand the honors program to include courses for upperclassmen and to establish a supervising Honors Council.

The position of assistant dean for honors was introduced in 1967 to centralize the program, increase the opportunities offered to honors students, and improve recruitment efforts. By the end of the 1960s, more than 100 freshmen were being admitted yearly to the program. In 1979, the Committee to Study the Honors Programs in the College of Arts and Sciences, chaired by Professor of History Richard A. Soloway, produced a report, referred to as the "Soloway Report," that evaluated the initial goals of the honors program, examined its current state, and made recommendations for its future expansion.

In the late 1980s, the idea of constructing an undergraduate honors center emerged under the assistant deanship of Robert C. Allen, professor of radio, television, and motion pictures. A number of proposals were considered, and Graham Memorial, which had not been renovated since it opened in 1931 as the university's first student union, was selected to become the new facility. In addition to housing the Honors Office, the renovated facility was intended to be the locus for all types of academic undergraduate involvement, under the umbrella of the James M. Johnston Center for Undergraduate Excellence (JCUE). Associate Dean Robert C. Allen oversaw the development of this $5.7 million project. Architectural planning began in 1992 and construction lasted from 1998 until 1999. In the fall of 1999, the rededication of Graham Memorial marked the opening of JCUE to the university community.

The records of the Honors Office include correspondence, memoranda, reports, proposals, course descriptions, yearly program brochures, news clippings, and lists of students in the program. Of particular interest are files related to the early history and development of the program; and files on the renovation, in the 1990s, of the Graham Memorial building for the use of the new James M. Johnston Center for Undergraduate Excellence, of which the Honors Office became a part. The latter include facilities plans, proposals, and reports; donor information; correspondence with architects and contractors; meeting minutes; and cost estimates. The majority of the records are those of Associate Dean for Honors Robert C. Allen.