<P> The first public institution of higher education in North Carolina, the school opened its doors to students on February 12, 1795 . The university offers degrees in over 70 courses of study through fourteen colleges and the College of Arts and Sciences . All undergraduates receive a liberal arts education and have the option to pursue a major within the professional schools of the university or within the College of Arts and Sciences from the time they obtain junior status . Under the leadership of President Kemp Plummer Battle, in 1877 North Carolina became coeducational and began the process of desegregation in 1951 when African - American graduate students were admitted under Chancellor Robert Burton House . In 1952, North Carolina opened its own hospital, UNC Health Care, for research and treatment, and has since specialized in cancer care . The school's students, alumni, and sports teams are known as "Tar Heels". </P> <P> The campus covers 729 acres (3 km) of Chapel Hill's downtown area, encompassing the Morehead Planetarium and the many stores and shops located on Franklin Street . Students can participate in over 550 officially recognized student organizations . The student - run newspaper The Daily Tar Heel has won national awards for collegiate media, while the student radio station WXYC provided the world's first internet radio broadcast . North Carolina is one of the charter members of the Atlantic Coast Conference, which was founded on June 14, 1953 . Competing athletically as the Tar Heels, North Carolina has achieved great success in sports, most notably in men's basketball, women's soccer, and women's field hockey . </P> <P> Chartered by the North Carolina General Assembly on December 11, 1789, the university's cornerstone was laid on October 12, 1793, near the ruins of a chapel, chosen because of its central location within the state . The first public university chartered under the US Constitution, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is one of three universities that claims to be the oldest public university in the United States and the only such institution to confer degrees in the eighteenth century . </P> <P> During the Civil War, North Carolina Governor David Lowry Swain persuaded Confederate President Jefferson Davis to exempt some students from the draft, so the university was one of the few in the Confederacy that managed to stay open . However, Chapel Hill suffered the loss of more of its population during the war than any village in the South, and when student numbers did not recover, the university was forced to close during Reconstruction from December 1, 1870 until September 6, 1875 . </P>

Who founded the university of north carolina at chapel hill