University of North Carolina Chartered in 1789 , the University of North Carolina was one of the first public universities in the United States and the only one to graduate students in the eighteenth century . Originally comprising a single campus in Chapel Hill , today it is a multi - campus university composed of all 16 of North Carolina ' s public universities , as well as the NC School of Science and Mathematics , the nation ' s first public residential high school for gifted students . Commonly referred to as the University of North Carolina system or the UNC system to differentiate it from the original campus in Chapel Hill , the university has a total enrollment of over 183 , 000 students and confers over 75 % of all baccalaureate degrees in North Carolina in 2008 . History . Founded in 1789 , the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is the oldest public university in the United States . In 1877 , the State of North Carolina began sponsoring additional higher education institutions . Over time the state added a women ' s college ( now known as the University of North Carolina at Greensboro ) , a land - grant university ( North Carolina State University ) , five historically black institutions , and one to educate American Indians ( the University of North Carolina at Pembroke ) . Others were created to prepare teachers for public education and to instruct performing artists . During the Depression , the North Carolina General Assembly searched for cost savings within state government . Towards this effort in 1931 , it redefined the University of North Carolina , which at the time referred exclusively to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ; the new " Consolidated University of North Carolina " was created to include the existing campuses of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , North Carolina State University , and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro . The three campuses came under the leadership of just one board and one president . By 1969 , three additional campuses had joined the Consolidated University through legislative action : the University of North Carolina at Charlotte , the University of North Carolina at Asheville , and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington . In 1971 , North Carolina passed legislation bringing into the University of North Carolina all 16 public institutions that confer bachelor degrees . This round of consolidation granted each constituent institution a Chancellor and a Board of Trustees . In 1985 , the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics , a residential high school for gifted students , was declared an affiliated school of the university . In 2007 , the high school became a full member of the university . Structure . Article IX of the North Carolina State Constitution provides authorization for the creation of the University of North Carolina . Under this authorization , Chapter 116 of the North Carolina General Statutes entrusts the University of North Carolina to its Board of Governors . The Board of Governors is the policy - making body charged with " the general determination , control , supervision , management , and governance of all affairs of the constituent institutions . " It elects the president , who administers the university . The 32 voting members of the Board of Governors are elected by the General Assembly for four - year terms . The current Chairman of UNC ' s Board of Governors is Peter Hans , who was preceded by Hannah Gage . The president of the UNC Association of Student Governments ( ASG ) is also a non - voting member . Each of the UNC campuses is headed by a chancellor who is chosen by the Board of Governors on the president ' s nomination and is responsible to the president . Each university has a board of trustees consisting of eight members elected by the Board of Governors , four appointed by the governor , and the president of the student body , who serves ex officio . ( The UNC School of the Arts has two additional ex officio members ; and the NC School of Science and Mathematics has a 27 - member board as required by law . ) Each board of trustees holds extensive powers over academic and other operations of its campus on delegation from the Board of Governors . Legal mandate . The legal authority and mandate for the University of North Carolina can be found in the North Carolina Constitution . Article 9 of the constitution deals with all forms of public education in the state . Sections 8 and 9 of that article stipulate the function and cost to students of the University of North Carolina . " The General Assembly shall maintain a public system of higher education , comprising The University of North Carolina and such other institutions of higher education as the General Assembly may deem wise . The General Assembly shall provide for the selection of trustees of The University of North Carolina and of the other institutions of higher education , in whom shall be vested all the privileges , rights , franchises , and endowments heretofore granted to or conferred upon the trustees of these institutions . The General Assembly may enact laws necessary and expedient for the maintenance and management of The University of North Carolina and the other public institutions of higher education . " " The General Assembly shall provide that the benefits of The University of North Carolina and other public institutions of higher education , as far as practicable , be extended to the people of the State free of expense . " Institutions . Within its seventeen campuses , UNC houses two medical schools and one teaching hospital , ten nursing programs , a school of dentistry , and a school of pharmacy , as well as a veterinary school , two law schools , 15 schools of education , three schools of engineering , and a school for performing artists . The oldest university , the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , first admitted students in 1795 . The smallest and newest member is the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics , a residential two - year high school , founded in 1980 and a full member of the University since 2007 . The largest university is North Carolina State University , with 33 , 819 students as of 2009 Fall . While the official names of each campus are determined by the North Carolina General Assembly , abbreviations are determined by the individual school . Notes . The enrollment numbers are the official headcounts ( including all full - time and part - time , undergrad and postgrad students ) from University of North Carolina website : http : / / www . northcarolina . edu / web / facts . php . This does not include the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics , the figure for NCSSM is taken from its own website : http : / / www . ncssm . edu / about - ncssm / facts . php . With the exception of the University of North Carolina at Pembroke and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts , the institutions that joined the University of North Carolina in 1972 did so under their current name . As of 1972 , all public four - year institutions in North Carolina are members of the University . Presidents . An asterisk ( < nowiki > * < / nowiki > ) denotes acting president . Reputation . In January 2013 , a group of students and alums filed a complaint with the U . S . Department of Education ' s Office of Civil Rights , alleging that the university violates the rights of sexual assault victims .