William States Lee College of Engineering records

What is now the William States Lee College of Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte began as course offerings in engineering at the Charlotte College Center in 1946. When Charlotte College became the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 1965, Engineering became its own department and was elevated into a division by the 1969/1970 academic year. In 1973, the division became a college encompassing the following four departments: Engineering Analysis and Design; Engineering Science, Mathematics and Materials; Urban and Environmental Engineering; and Engineering Technology.

The first Master’s program was begun in 1979, and in 1981 the College started the process of restructuring into Mechanical, Civil, and Electrical Engineering departments. The rest of the 1980s brought several beginnings including the Computer Science Department (1984), an inter-institutional Ph.D. program (1986), and degree-specific Master’s programs (1987). In 1993, Ph.D. programs were begun in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, and the following year the College was dedicated as the William States Lee College of Engineering. During 1997-1998, the motorsports program began, and the School of Information Technology was created, leading to Computer Science’s move out of Engineering in 2000.

For a detailed timeline and a more comprehensive narrative, see the College’s website: https://engr.uncc.edu/about-us/college/history