University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Student Union.

The University of North Carolina's Student Union was established in 1931. Its membership included students, university staff, alumni, trustees, and those who had contributed toward the construction of Graham Memorial (named for Edward Kidder Graham), the building that was to house the union until 1968. The Frank Porter Graham Student Union, a larger building, was completed in 1968 and still houses the union. While in Graham Memorial, the Student Union was called Graham Memorial Student Union. In 1968, its name became Carolina Union. Defined by the university as a student organization, the union has an activities board, made up of students, which plans and coordinates programs. The activities board, however, is overseen by the union's board of directors and director; the latter is a full-time administrator who reports to the vice chancellor for student affairs.

From the description of Records of the Student Union, 1931-2000. WorldCat record id: 27122265

The Student Union at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was established in 1931. Membership was open to students, staff, alumni, trustees, and those who had contributed to the construction of Graham Memorial, the building that first housed the union. Named for Edward Kidder Graham, who was university president from 1913 to 1918, Graham Memorial included a main lounge that was the site of numerous teas, receptions, dances, and concerts. A second lounge housed the Horace Williams Philosophy Library. A grill, game room, bowling alley, and barbershop were located in the basement; and on the second floor were meeting rooms, offices, and a large banquet hall. Graham Memorial remained the location of the Student Union until the growing popularity of union programs necessitated a larger building.

The Frank Porter Graham Student Union was completed in 1968 and opened in January 1969. It was named for Frank Porter Graham, president of the Consolidated University of North Carolina from 1932 to 1949. Enlarged in 1979, the building includes offices, conference rooms, lounges, an information desk, a ticket sales counter, a bowling alley, concert facilities, darkrooms, arts and crafts centers, and a snack bar. Most of the major student organizations, including Student Government, are housed there. Since 1968 the official name of the union has been Carolina Union.

In the fall of 1972, the union began maintaining a facility in Chase Dining Hall on the South Campus. This space included Upendo Lounge, created in 1972 to provide the Black Student Movement with a place for meetings, programs, and social events. The Chase facility also housed other recreational resources for the use of South Campus residents.

Throughout its existence, the Student Union has coordinated and funded educational, creative, and recreational activities for the University community. These activities have included dances, guest lectures, films, tournaments, receptions, and large-scale entertainment events such as Jubilee, Chapel Thrill, and Springfest. Through such activities, the union continues to serve, as its original purpose stated, as an organization designed to enlarge upon the benefits of study and at the same time to symbolize the Carolina student's traditional freedom to live and mature through activities beyond the academic context.

According to records in this collection (see particularly Charlie Shapard's The History of the University of North Carolina Student Union: A Study of the Growth and Development of Graham Memorial ), a faculty-student committee was appointed by President Frank Porter Graham met on 9 May 1931 to consider policies and organization of Graham Memorial. This committee recommended the appointment of a board of directors composed of the president of the student body, the editor of The Daily Tar Heel, the president of the Woman's Association, presidents of the three upper classes of the undergraduate student body, the president of the university, the executive secretary of the university, the dean of students, the executive secretary of the YMCA, and the president and secretary of the Alumni Association.

The board of directors appointed a director of the union to be in charge of its day-to-day operations. Until 1958, this appointment did not require administrative approval. The director of the union was appointed for a two-year term and was usually a recent graduate of the university who had been active in student organizations. During World War II and through the late 1940s, however, the position of director turned over even more frequently; and the maintenance of continuity became a problem. Finally, in 1958, the director of the union became a permanent administrative position within the university's Division of Student Affairs.

The present structure and governance of the Student Union is somewhat complicated. Defined by the university as a student organization, the union has an activities board, composed of students, that plans and executes programs. However, the activities board does so under the supervision of the director of the union and with the approval of the union's board of directors. The Board of Directors remains the union's governing body. In accordance with the union's bylaws, the board of directors is made up of students, faculty, and administrators. The president of the union, who is a student, chairs both the activities board and the board of directors. The director, who reports to the vice chancellor for student affairs, has administrative responsibility for the union and its employees. The permanent directors of the union have been: Howard Douglas Henry (1958-1987), Archie W. Copeland (1987-1992), and Donald E. Luse (1992- ).

From the guide to the Student Union of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Records, 1931-2000, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. University Archives.)