By Steve Gilliam, University Relations
Contact: (336) 334-5371
Posted 9-27-07
GREENSBORO, NC – History and tradition will be observed at UNCG during the institution's Founders Day on Friday, Oct. 5.
Starting Monday, Oct. 1, students, faculty and staff will be able to sign a huge birthday card in the lobby of Elliott University Center.
The Founders Day ceremony will begin at 1:30 p.m. Friday at the McIver Statue in front of Jackson Library. Alumni Affairs Director Becci Menghini will give welcoming remarks and a brief history of Founders Day. Ellen Lloyd, vice president of the Alumni Association, and John Bryant, Student Government Association president, will participate in the placing of the wreath. After the ceremony everyone is invited to stay for birthday cake and punch.
Founders Day commemorates UNCG’s opening on Oct. 5, 1892, as the State Normal and Industrial School, with an initial student body of 223 and a faculty of 15 and headed by President Charles Duncan McIver. There were two main buildings on a 10-acre plot of land and the curriculum featured three areas of study. Today, UNCG has more than 17,000 students and over 1,000 faculty members. Degrees are offered at the undergraduate level in 86 areas of study, at the master's level in 65 areas, and doctoral degrees in 23 areas. The campus has approximately 210 acres and more than 70 buildings.
Since 1909, the memorial wreath tradition has been continued annually by the UNCG Alumni Association, which also places wreaths on the graves of past presidents and chancellors of the University who are buried in Greensboro.
