About

History

Front row: Frank W. Hanft, Maurice T. Van Hecke, A.C. McIntosh, John Mulder.�Back row: Frederick B. McCall, Millard S. Breckenridge, Albert Coates, Robert H. Wettach, Donald W. Markham. Special thanks to Roger Foote '69, Anna R. Hayes '88 and Myron C. Banks '55 for submitting information!

Overview

UNC School of Law is part of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the nation's first state-supported university. The state constitution authorized a university in 1776, and the N.C. General Assembly chartered the university on December 11, 1789.

In 1793, the cornerstone of the first building was laid, and that building, Old East, is now a National Historic Landmark. The University's first student, Hinton James, arrived from Wilmington, N.C., on February 12, 1795, making this the only public university to confer degrees prior to 1800.

In 1845, William H. Battle became the university's first professor of law, and he oversaw the legal program that has grown into UNC School of Law. At the time, Battle was also a Superior Court judge, and he later sat on the North Carolina Supreme Court.

The School of Law became a charter member of the American Association of Law Schools in 1920, and has been approved by the American Bar Association since 1928. Also in 1928, the School of Law established its chapter of the Order of the Coif.

Leadership of UNC School of Law

As Professor of Law

William Horn Battle, professor of law, 1845-1868 and 1877-1879
Kemp Plummer Battle, professor of law, 1879-1881
John Hall Manning, 1881-1899

As Dean of UNC School of Law

James Cameron MacRae, 1899-1909
Thomas Ruffin, acting dean, 1909
Lucius Polk McGehee, 1910-1923
Atwell Campbell McIntosh, acting dean, 1923-24
Merton Leroy Ferson, 1924-1926
Atwell Campbell McIntosh, acting dean, 1926-27
Abner Leon Green, 1926-27 (absent on leave)
Charles Tilford McCormick, 1927-31
Maurice Taylor Van Hecke, 1931-41
Robert Hasley Wettach, 1941-49
Henry Brandis Jr., 1949-64
James Dickson Phillips Jr., 1964-74
Robert Gray Byrd, 1974-1979
Kenneth S. Broun, 1979-1987
Ronald C. Link, acting dean, 1988-89
Judith Welch Wegner, 1989-99
Gene Nichol, 1999-2005
Gail Agrawal, interim dean, 2005-06
Charles Daye, interim dean, 2006
John Charles Boger, 2006-present

Manning Hall, built in 1923, was originally the home of the law school. It was named for John Hall Manning, a lawyer, congressman and professor. He was also the third leader of the school, and under his leadership enrollment grew from 7 to 87. Photo courtesy of the North Carolina Collection.