Established as a school for American Indians, the University of North Carolina at Pembroke has become the most diverse institution among master’s-granting universities in the state.
At the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, the university’s past is as important as its future. Founded in the late 1800s to educate the Croatan Indians (later renamed Lumbee) in North Carolina, the university seems to attract many of the state’s students of color looking to pursue higher education. UNCP, one of 16 schools that make up the University of North Carolina system, is a master’s level university serving more than 6,000 students, nearly 50 percent of whom are minorities.
“Our commitment to diversity is not just rhetoric,” says Dr. Charles F. Harrington, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs. “You can see it on our campus, in our students, in our faculty, in our curriculum and in our staff.”
Students of color flock to UNCP for the high-quality education they stand to receive at a fraction of the cost, Harrington says. “It’s about access and affordability. Our tuition and fees are among the lowest in the state,” he says.
According to UNCP officials, the minimum cost for a full-time, in-state undergraduate living on campus, with a meal plan, is $9,574 a year, significantly less than the $15,000 in tuition and fees at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the state’s flagship school.
The First of Its Kind
