Charles Duncan McIver (September 27, 1860 – September 17, 1906) was the founder and first president of the institution now known as
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Life and career
He was born 1860 in Lee County,
North Carolina
North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
and graduated from
UNC-Chapel Hill, where he was a member of the
Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies, in 1881. McIver became a teacher in
Durham and
Winston North Carolina until 1889 when he and
Edwin A. Alderman were chosen by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to hold teacher institutes across the state.
As crusaders for women′s education, McIver and Alderman first drew up a plan for a state-supported teachers′ college in 1886. In 1891, they advocated for a new bill focused on a teachers′ college specifically for women (not co–educational). The North Carolina legislature passed this bill, and issued a charter for a ″Normal and Industrial School for White Girls″ on February 18, 1891.
McIver was chosen to be the first president of the State Normal and Industrial School (now UNCG), which opened to students on October 5, 1892. In addition to serving as president, he also taught many of the courses in the pedagogy department. His initial salary was $2250 per year.
McIver was married to Lula V. Martin and they had four children. He died on September 17, 1906, of
apoplexy
Apoplexy () refers to the rupture of an internal organ and the associated symptoms. Informally or metaphorically, the term ''apoplexy'' is associated with being furious, especially as "apoplectic". Historically, it described what is now known as a ...
on a train taking
William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator, and politician. He was a dominant force in the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, running three times as the party' ...
from Raleigh to Greensboro.
He was buried in Greensboro.
UNCG's McIver Street, two former buildings (The McIver Memorial Building – 1956; and its replacement, The McIver Building 1958-2018
oth demolished, and McIver Parking Deck are named after him, and a statue (dubbed "Charlie" by students) was erected in his honor. It was a campus tradition to paint messages and clothes on the beloved founder until the donation of
"The Rawk" in 1973. A duplicate statue is on the grounds of the North Carolina state capitol in Raleigh. He is the only person honored on Capitol Square who was not a political or military leader.
Schools named in his honor include the former
Charles D. McIver School at Greensboro, Charles McIver School in Kannapolis (opened in 1908, no longer in use) and the Charles Duncan McIver Special Education Center in Guilford County.
References
External links
Finding Aid for the Charles Duncan McIver Records, Office of the Chancellor, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 1855-1906Digitized collection of Charles Duncan McIver Records in UNCG Special Collections and University ArchivesImages of Textiles and Artifacts from Charles Duncan McIver located in UNCG Special Collections and University Archives
Further reading
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:McIver, Charles Duncan
University of North Carolina at Greensboro faculty
1860 births
1906 deaths
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni
Presidents of the University of North Carolina System
People from Lee County, North Carolina
19th-century American academics
20th-century American academics