The University of North Carolina was chartered in 1789 and opened its doors to students at its Chapel Hill campus in 1795, the first state university in the United States to do so. Throughout most of its history, it has been governed by a Board of Trustees chosen by the Legislature and presided over by the Governor. During the period 1917-1972, the Board consisted of one hundred elected members and a varying number of ex-officio members.

By Act of the General Assembly of 1931, without change of name, it was merged with the North Carolina College for Women at Greensboro and the North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering at Raleigh to form a multicampus institution designated The University of North Carolina.

In 1963 the General Assembly changed the name of the campus at Chapel Hill to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and that at Greensboro to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and, in 1965, the name of the campus at Raleigh was changed to the North Carolina State University at Raleigh.

Charlotte College was added as the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 1965, and, in 1969, Asheville-Biltmore College and Wilmington College became the University of North Carolina at Asheville and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington respectively.

A revision of the North Carolina State Constitution adopted in November of 1970 included the following:

"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 ."

In slightly different language, this provision had been in the Constitution since 1868. On October 30, 1971, the General Assembly in special session merged, without changing their names, the remaining ten state-supported senior institutions into the University as follows: Appalachian State University (Boone), East Carolina University (Greenville), Elizabeth City State University (Elizabeth City), Fayetteville State University (Fayetteville), North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (Greensboro), North Carolina Central University (Durham), North Carolina School of the Arts (Winston-Salem), Pembroke State Univerity (Pembroke), Western Carolina University (Cullowhee), and Winston-Salem State University (Winston-Salem).

This merger, which resulted in a statewide multicampus university of sixteen constituent institutions, became effective on July 1, 1972.

The constitutionally authorized Board of Trustees was designated the Board of Governors, and the number was reduced to thirty-two members elected by the General Assembly, with authority to choose their own chairman and other officers.

University-wide administration and execution of Board policy is the responsibility of the President of the University. The President, the officers of the University, and their supporting staffs constitute the General Administration of the University. The Administrative Council, consisting of the President, the sixteen (16) Chancellors, and the principal members of the President's staff meets monthly as a forum for the exchange of information and advice on matters of multi-campus concern. Advice to the President from the faculty perspective is provided by the Faculty Assembly, whose members are drawn from the faculties of all of the constituent institutions. Advice to the President from the student perspective is provided by the Student Advisory Council, which consists, ex officio, of the student body president of each of the sixteen (16) institutions.

Each constituent institution has its own board of trustees of thirteen members, eight of whom are appointed by the Board of Governors, four by the Governor, and one of whom, the elected president of the study body, serves ex officio. The principal powers of each institutional board are exercised under a delegation from the Board of Governors. Each institution has its own faculty and student body, and each is headed by a chancellor as its chief administrative officer. Unified general policy and appropriate allocation of function are effected by the Board of Governors and by the President with the assistance of other administrative officers of the University.

The General Administration office is located in Chapel Hill. The chancellors of the constituent institutions are responsible to the President as the chief administrative and executive officer of the University of North Carolina.