North Carolina Central University

In 1909, James E. Shepard founded the National Religious Training School and Chautauqua for the Colored Race. In 1915, the school was sold and renamed the National Training School. In 1923, the North Carolina General Assembly began to provide annual support of $20,639, and the name was changed to Durham State Normal School. Despite the support, the school faced financial hardships and mounting debt nearing $49,000. When Shepard could not raise the money, he urged the state of North Carolina to take over the school. In the legislative session of 1925, a bill was passed with only one dissenting vote to make it a state institution, and the school was renamed the North Carolina College for Negroes, becoming the first public liberal arts college for African Americans in the United States. In 1947, the school's name was changed again to the North Carolina College at Durham, and in 1969 the North Carolina General Assembly changed the name to North Carolina Central University (NCCU). In 1972, NCCU joined the University of North Carolina system.

From the guide to the North Carolina Central University Faculty and Staff Photograph Records, 1910-2005, (North Carolina Central University. James E. Shepard Memorial Library.)

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