Leaders of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill were known as Presidents until the formation of the Consolidated University of North Carolina in 1932. Between 1934 and 1945, the title Dean of Administration was used for the leader of the university (subordinate to the President of the Consolidated University system), which in turn became Chancellor. An asterisk (*) indicates an interim or acting appointment. [1] [2]
| Image | Name | Term |
|---|---|---|
 | Rev. David Ker | 1794–1796 |
 | Charles Wilson Harris | 1796 |
 | Rev. Joseph Caldwell | 1796–1797 |
| James Smiley Gillaspie (or Gillespie) | 1797–1799 | |
| | Rev. Joseph Caldwell | 1799–1804 |
| Image | Name | Term |
|---|---|---|
| | Rev. Joseph Caldwell | 1804–1812 |
| Robert Hett Chapman | 1812–1816 | |
| | Rev. Joseph Caldwell | 1816–1835 |
 | Elisha Mitchell * | 1835 |
 | David Lowry Swain | 1835–1868 |
 | Rev. Solomon Pool | 1869–1872 |
 | Rev. Charles Phillips | 1875–1876 |
 | Kemp Plummer Battle | 1876–1891 |
 | George Tayloe Winston | 1891–1896 |
 | Edwin Anderson Alderman | 1896–1900 |
 | Francis Preston Venable | 1900–1914 |
 | Edward Kidder Graham | 1914–1918 |
| Marvin Hendrix Stacy* | 1918–1919 | |
 | Harry Woodburn Chase | 1919–1930 |
 | Frank Porter Graham | 1930–1932 |
| Image | Name | Term |
|---|---|---|
| Robert Burton House | 1934–1945 |
| Image | Name | Term |
|---|---|---|
| Robert Burton House | 1945–1957 | |
 | William Brantley Aycock | 1957–1964 |
 | Paul Frederick Sharp | 1964–1965 |
| Joseph Carlyle Sitterson | 1965–1972 | |
| Nelson Ferebee Taylor | 1972–1980 | |
| Christopher Columbus Fordham | 1980–1988 | |
 | Paul Hardin III | 1988–1995 |
| Michael Hooker | 1995–1999 | |
| William Octavius McCoy* | 1999–2000 | |
 | James Moeser | 2000–2008 |
| Herbert Holden Thorp | 2008–2013 [3] | |
 | Carol L. Folt | 2013–2019 [4] [5] |
| Kevin Guskiewicz | 2019–2024 | |
 | Lee Roberts | 2024–present |
The University of North Carolina is the public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC System to differentiate it from its flagship, UNC-Chapel Hill.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolling students in 1795, making it one of the oldest public universities in the United States.
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte is a public research university in Charlotte, North Carolina. UNC Charlotte offers 24 doctoral, 66 master's, and 79 bachelor's degree programs through nine colleges. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".
Elizabeth City State University (ECSU) is a public historically Black university in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. It enrolls nearly 2,500 students in 28 undergraduate programs and 4 graduate programs and is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and the University of North Carolina system.
Frank Porter Graham was an American educator and political activist. A professor of history, he was elected President of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1930, and he later became the first President of the consolidated University of North Carolina system.
James Charles Moeser is a musician and university administrator who served as the ninth chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is a trained concert organist. A native of Colorado City, Texas, Moeser earned bachelor's and master's degrees in music from the University of Texas at Austin and a doctorate from the University of Michigan.
The Confederate Monument, University of North Carolina, commonly known as Silent Sam, is a bronze statue of a Confederate soldier by Canadian sculptor John A. Wilson, which once stood on McCorkle Place of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) from 1913 until it was pulled down by protestors on August 20, 2018. Its former location has been described as "the front door" of the university and "a position of honor".
The University of North Carolina School of Law, sometimes referred to as Carolina Law, is the law school of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Established in 1845, it is among the oldest law schools in the United States and is the oldest law school in the state of North Carolina.
The Robertson Scholars Leadership Program is a joint merit scholarship and leadership development program at Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The scholarship offers participants a unique "dual citizenship" at both Duke University and UNC-Chapel Hill. Approximately 25-30 students are selected from the pool of applicants to both universities.
Joseph Carlyle "Lyle" Sitterson was an American educator who served as chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from February 16, 1966, to January 31, 1972.
Herbert Holden Thorp is an American chemist, professor and entrepreneur. He is a professor of chemistry at George Washington University. He was the tenth chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, assuming the position on July 1, 2008, succeeding James Moeser, and, at age 43, was noted as being among the youngest leaders of a university in the United States. At the time of his selection as chancellor, Thorp was the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and a Kenan Professor of chemistry at the university. Thorp is a 1986 graduate of UNC; he later earned a Ph.D. in chemistry from California Institute of Technology, and was a postdoctoral associate at Yale University.
Emil J. Kang serves as Program Director for Arts and Cultural Heritage at The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation where he leads the Foundation’s grant making program. Kang assumed the role in 2019.
On the morning of March 5, 2008, Eve Marie Carson was shot and killed in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States where she was a student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Julius LeVonne Chambers was an American lawyer, civil rights leader and educator.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a coeducational public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. It is one of three schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States. The first public institution of higher education in North Carolina, the school opened on February 12, 1795.
Tony Waldrop was an American academic administrator, researcher, and athlete. In 2014, he became the third president of the University of South Alabama.
Kevin Guskiewicz is an American academic administrator who is the president of Michigan State University. He previously served as the 12th chancellor and 30th chief executive of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Carol Lynn Folt is an American academic administrator who is the 12th president of the University of Southern California. She is also the first female president in the university’s 142-year history. She assumed her duties on July 1, 2019. She was previously the 11th chancellor, and the 29th chief executive, of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, being the first woman to hold the post. Prior to that, she was provost and interim president of Dartmouth College. On January 14, 2019, she announced her resignation as UNC chancellor.
Julie Story Byerley is an American physician who is known as a leader in the fields of medical education and pediatrics. Byerley has served as a clinical professor and Vice Dean for Education for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine. She currently serves as President and Dean of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine as well as Executive Vice President and Chief Academic Officer for Geisinger Health System.
Valerie Sheares Ashby is an American chemist and university professor who currently serves as president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She was the Dean of Trinity College of Arts and Sciences at Duke University from 2015 to 2022 and formerly chair of the chemistry department at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 2012 to 2015. With her research group, she holds ten patents. On April 4, 2022, it was announced that Ashby would assume the position of president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
