University of North Carolina (1793-1962). School of Commerce

Established in 1919, the University's School of Commerce combined a liberal arts education with practical training in business principles. It offered both the Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Commerce. Dudley DeWitt Carroll was Dean of the School from its founding until 1950. In 1950 the School's name changed to School of Business Administration and, in 1988, to the UNC Business School at Chapel Hill. In 1991 it was renamed the Kenan-Flagler Business School.

From the description of Records of the School of Commerce, 1920-1929 [manuscript]. WorldCat record id: 47171132

The university's Board of Trustees authorized the establishment of the School of Commerce during the summer of 1919. Developing instruction in commerce and industry had been a key interest of University President Edward Kidder Graham, who had died the previous winter. Graham had been conscious of the rapid transformation taking place in North Carolina's economic and industrial life. Essential to the state's economic advancement, according to Graham, was a more scientific direction in the way its industries governed themselves. The school was conceived to serve the business life of North Carolina by providing the foundation for the sound training of future business leaders in the science of industrial administration and management.

Combining a liberal arts education with practical training in business principles, the School of Commerce began operation in September 1919 with an enrollment of 125 students. In 1923 the school was admitted to membership in the American Association of Collegiate Schools of Business, an organization dedicated to the promotion of high standards in professional education for business. As the school increased in prominence and popularity, so did enrollment. Originally housed in Alumni Hall, it moved to the second floor of Saunders Hall in 1922. Soon it overflowed into the first floor, and in 1929 it moved to its first new building, Bingham Hall. By 1953 the school had moved into a three-building court (Carroll, Hanes, Gardner). In 1997 it moved to its current home in the McColl Building.

In 1950 the name of the School of Commerce was changed to the School of Business Administration and, in 1988, to the UNC Business School at Chapel Hill. In 1991 the school was renamed the Kenan-Flagler Business School to honor the past generosity to the university of philanthropist Mary Lily Kenan Flagler and her husband, Henry Morrison Flagler, and in recognition of a generous gift to the school from Frank Hawkins Kenan.

Following is a list of those who have served as dean of the school.

• 1919 - 1950 : Dudley DeWitt Carroll
• 1950 - 1954 : Thomas Henry Carroll
• 1954: Arch Richard Dooley
• 1954 - 1956 : Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs
• 1956 - 1976 : Maurice Wentworth Lee
• 1976 - 1978 : Harvey M. Wagner
• 1978 - 1987 : John Parkhill Evans
• 1987 - 1992 : Paul J. Rizzo
• 1992 - 1993 : Carl Zeithaml, Interim
• 1994 - September 1997 : Paul Fulton
• 1997 September - December 1997 : John Parkhill Evans, Interim
• 1998 - 2003 : Robert S. Sullivan
• 2003 - 2008 : W. S. (Steve) Jones
• 2008 - : James W. Dean, Jr.

From the guide to the School of Commerce of the University of North Carolina Records, 1920-1929, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. University Archives.)