Department of History records

The Department of History at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte has existed since the University’s inception in 1965. Prior to 1968, the department was named History and Political Science, but by the 1968-1969 academic year, the two subunits had been given separate departments within the College of Arts and Sciences. The following year, the academic structure of the university was changed to divisions, and the Department of History became part of the Division of Humanities. In 1971, the structure changed to colleges, and the Division of Humanities became the College of Humanities. In 1980, the Department of History’s parent unit changed again when the College of Humanities merged with the College of Science and Mathematics and the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences to become the College of Arts and Sciences. One final change occurred in 2008 when the College of Arts and Sciences became the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Within the Department of History is the UNC Charlotte Graduate History Association, which is composed of history faculty and graduate students. Its major official activity is to sponsor a History Forum for advanced undergraduate and graduate students. The Forum invites graduate student speakers from history programs throughout the United States. It has been held in the spring every year since 1989.

Edward (Ed) Perzel, whose office files make up a majority of this collection, first appears in the 1966-1967 university catalog as an instructor of history. By 1968-1969, he was promoted to Assistant Professor, by 1972-1973 to Associate Professor, and by 1977-1978 to Professor. By 1981-1982, he had become Chairperson of the Department of History, and by the 1987-1989 catalog printing, he had filled the position of Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. During both of these positions, he maintained his role as professor. By the 2001-2003 catalog, he is designated as Professor Emeritus in the Department of History.