J. Marshall Crews in his book From These Beginnings about the founding of UNCW, stated that "On September 4, 1947, at 4 p.m., Wilmington College, with seventeen faculty members, opened the doors to 238 students, seventy-five percent of whom were veterans.” Classes were held in Issac Bear Building on Market Street, across from New Hanover High School. A total of 14 degrees were awarded that year. On July 1, 1969 Wilmington College became The University of North Carolina at Wilmington which is now more commonly referred to as UNCW. Mr. Crews went on to say that “The College was a solid foundation on which to build a great university which time will verify.”

Did you also know that many of UNCW's former leaders have had a military background? Some highlights are included below (information courtesy UNCW Marketing & Communications):

• Former Wilmington College President John T. Hoggard, for whom Hoggard Hall was named, was a physician and surgeon, serving his country in the Spanish-American War and in World War I.
• Former Wilmington College president William M. Randall, for whom our library was named, was an academic dean at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. He also served as an intelligence officer stationed in the Middle East during WWII where he utilized his Arabic language skills, and a member of the commission sent to reorganize the Vatican Library by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
• Former UNCW Chancellor William H. Wagoner, for whom Wagoner Hall was named, served in the U.S. Navy in 1945-46.
• Former UNCW Chancellor James R. Leutze, for whom Leutze Hall is named, served in the U.S. Air Force, rising to the rank of captain. As a professor of history at UNC-Chapel Hill, Leutze was named chair of the Curriculum for Peace, War and Defense and, in recognition of his teaching and research, was appointed the first Dowd Professor of War and Peace.

In the past thirty-plus years UNCW has become one of the leading universities of the southeast and maintains a deep tradition of educating and collaborating with local military personnel - both active and retired - and their spouses and families.

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