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Reconstruction & Gilded AgeProgressive & Modern Era

Charles D. McIver

Lee County, Lee County, North Carolina

Marker Inscription

Charles D. McIver 1860-1906. Educator and first president of what is now UNC-Greensboro, 1891-1906. Boyhood home is 200 yds. W.

Erected by North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources

The Story

Charles Duncan McIver was North Carolina's foremost champion of education in the late 19th century, crusading tirelessly for the schooling of women and for training teachers. In 1891 he became the founding president of the State Normal and Industrial School, today the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and led it until his death in 1906. His boyhood home stood just west of this marker.

Why it matters

McIver's campaign helped open higher education to women in the South and built the teacher-training foundations of the state's modern public schools.

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