UNCW & Wilmington College History -- Women & Gender

Digital copies of yearbooks from the James Walker Memorial Hospital, 1940s-1960s, available as part of the Nursing in Wilmington, N.C. digital collection from University Archives.

Contains 38 digital copies of "The Fledgling," UNCW's student yearbook, from 1950-1989.

This digital collection showcases the accomplishments of student athletes through photographs of trophies, plaques, certificates and other memorabilia from UNCW athletics programs.

The UNCW Code of Student Life began as the Wilmington College student handbook with rules and regulations for campus life.

Dr. Paz Bartolome discusses her career as a professor of education at UNC-Wilmington. Dr. Bartolome came to UNCW in 1970 and is in her last year of phased retirement. She was born in the Philippines and arrived in the United States in 1973. She discusses teaching college students in her specialty areas of language arts education and early childhood education. For five years in the early 1970s, Dr. Bartolome directed the Child Study Center at UNCW, and for 19 years she owned the Little Red Schoolhouse, a daycare and preschool center in Wilmington.

Dr. Delilah Blanks taught social work from 1972-1992. Her first class was an evening course in introductory social work. Dr. Blanks earned her Ph.D. in health education from UNC-Chapel Hill in 1982. Her earlier degrees are an M.S.W. from UNC and a bachelor's degree from Shaw University. While at UNCW she developed and expanded the Social Work curriculum. She also worked with Ralph Parker, director of the Office of Minority Affairs, to retain and recruit minority students from the region. Dr. Blanks reflects on her students, the classes she taught, and the role of the university in the region. Starting in1988, she has served on the Bladen County Board of Commissioners. She discusses the issues she addresses as a County commissioner. Dr. Blanks has held leadership positions in state and national professional organizations, such as having recently served as president of the NC Association of County Commissioners.

Sybil Burgess discusses her career at UNCW as a faculty member in the Department of Chemistry for 21 years. She came in 1982 as a part-time instructor, then worked full-time as an instructor, and was hired for a tenure-track position starting in 1983. She discusses her research in biochemistry, the courses she taught and the department when it was located in DeLoach Hall and then moved to Dobo. Since retirement, Dr. Burgess has begun a second career as a full-time faculty member at Brunswick Community College, where she teaches biology and chemistry.

In this interview, retired professor Dr. Barbara A. Greim discusses the creation of UNCW's Computer Science Department, including the procedure of receiving approval for the initial Computer Science program, budgetary and new-hire concerns, details concerning the 1998 split from the Mathematics Department, and the particulars of her tenure as Chair.

Doretha Stone was born in South Carolina and moved to Wilmington at age six. She graduated from Williston High School in 1959, going on to earn bachelor's and master's degrees in nursing at Winston-Salem State University and UNC Greensboro, respectively. Stone worked briefly as a nurse at Meharry Medical College in Tennessee before returning to Wilmington, where she taught pediatrics at Community Hospital. After a time at the National Institute of Health, Babies Hospital, and New Hanover Hospital, she began teaching in the associate degree program at UNCW. She retired in 2002, but continues managing a home health agency in the Cape Fear area. In this interview, Stone discusses the development of the bachelor's program in nursing and the clinicals she implemented for students. She also recalls her experiences outside academics.

Dr. Hernandez discusses her career teaching at Wilmington College and UNCW from 1963 until 1999. She came to Wilmington from NCSU, following her move from her native Cuba with her husband. Her husband became a Wilmington College/UNCW professor of mathematics. She highlights changes on campus and in the Wilmington community. When she began in 1963, she says there were 100 faculty members and 500 students. Dr. Hernandez closes by reflecting on her life in retirement.

Born and raised in New York City, Dr. Sylvia Polgar moved to Chapel Hill with her husband in 1967. She completed her PhD in Sociology at UNC Chapel Hill in 1973 with a dissertation on children's play. In 1976, Polgar was hired as part of the sociology department at UNCW. Here, she discusses teaching students, interactions with faculty members, the development of the university, and the beginnings of the women's studies program.

Interview with Bertha B. Todd who was the first and last librarian at Williston High School. She discusses her career in education and librarianship in Wilmington, as well as her role in community service and race relations. Following integration and the closing of Williston, she transferred to Hoggard High. Mrs. Todd intervened to prevent riots during integration.

Oral History interview with Edelmira Segovia (b. 1976), regarding her general life history from growing up in Peru to her current role as the director of Centro Hispano at UNC-Wilmington. Interview by the State Archives of North Carolina

In this interview, Louise Gorham, longtime supporter of UNCW, discusses her time as a student at Wilmington College from 1957-1959. She describes early faculty, the Isaac Bear Building and her involvement later with the Friends of UNCW.

In this interview, Georgia Bowden, Herman Johnson, Eva Mae Smith and Lela Pierce Thompson discuss their education and experiences at Williston College and Wilmington College during and after segregation.

In this interview, alumna Brenda Pate discusses her experiences as a student at Wilmington College and UNCW.

Transcriptions of oral history interviews. The collection's categories are Voices of UNCW, Southeast North Carolina, Arts, and Military.

Oral histories collected by students in Dr. Amanda Boomershine's SPN 490: Service learning and research class (since Fall 2015). The students interviewed first and second generation Latinx North Carolinians on a variety of topics including language, culture, immigration, and education.

The Faculty Wives Club was founded in 1959 to promote Wilmington College through socials and special events. It was renamed the University Women's Club in the 1970s. Among other activities, the club held events for the chancellor, Board of Trustees, and faculty. This scrapbook includes newspaper clippings, correspondence, newsletters, photographs, and programs.

The Faculty Wives Club was founded in 1959 to promote Wilmington College through socials and special events. It was renamed the University Women's Club in the 1970s. Among other activities, the club held events for the chancellor, Board of Trustees, and faculty. This scrapbook includes newspaper clippings, correspondence, newsletters, photographs, and programs.