Summer School celebrates 140th anniversary
From humble beginnings, today more than 7,000 students take courses through Summer School, and 95 percent of those students are Carolina students.
In 1877, Rutherford B. Hayes became president, Thomas Edison invented the phonograph, the first college lacrosse game was played and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Summer School opened its doors.
In the Summer School’s first year, it also challenged the University’s gender barriers by becoming the first school at the University to enroll women. The University as a whole didn’t allow women to enroll as undergraduate students until 20 years later.
In that first year, 235 students from across North Carolina enrolled in summer classes. More than half of them were teachers. Today, more than 7,000 students take courses through Summer School, and 95 percent of those students are Carolina students.
Summer School Dean Jan Yopp said students today have many options for learning in summer besides enrolling only in traditional lecture-style classes.
“They can immerse in summer undergraduate research, experiential education, travel,” Yopp said, “and there are so many choices for courses that meet a specific need or just are of interest to them.”
Faculty as well as students benefit from spending their summertime in the classroom. Chemistry professor Gary Glish, for instance, said Summer School courses have been some of his favorite to teach during his 25 years at the University.
“I think the best part is that, in general, the students are more engaged and focused,” he said. “The other good part is that the class size is usually smaller in the summer for the class I teach, so you have more opportunity for interactions with the students.”
While he has seen the popularity of Summer School increase since he began teaching, Glish says the quality of the program has not changed. Departments have a continued commitment to serving students and the community and ensuring that each student receives the best education.
Yopp said Summer School in collaboration with many units across campus is seeking ways to innovate and diversify educational opportunities.
“We have amazing partners across campus who put time and energy in developing courses and programs that benefit students and faculty,” Yopp said. “If a germ of an idea is proposed, soon a team is in place to make that idea a reality.”
