UNC Asheville was founded in 1927 as Buncombe County Junior College, part of the Buncombe County public school system. In 1930 the school merged with the College of the City of Asheville to form Biltmore Junior College. In 1934 the college was renamed Biltmore College and placed in the control of a board of trustees. 1936 brought both a further change of name to Asheville-Biltmore College, and control was transferred to the Asheville City Schools. The 20,000-square foot Overlook, or "Seely's Castle", home of Fred Loring Seely, who designed Grove Park Inn, described as "one of Asheville's most pretentious private residences", became part of Asheville-Biltmore College in 1949. The house, no longer part of the college, was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. In 1961 Asheville-Biltmore College moved to the present UNC Asheville campus in north Asheville. In 1963 it became a state-supported four-year college, and awarded its first bachelor's degrees in 1966. Its first residence halls were built in 1967. It adopted its current name in 1969 upon becoming part of the Consolidated University of North Carolina, since 1972 called the University of North Carolina System. It is one of three baccalaureate colleges within that system, and has been classified as a Liberal Arts I institution since 1992.
The university is led by Chancellor Nancy J. Cable, along with Acting Provost Karin Peterson and several advisory groups. The institution operates under the guidance and policies of the Board of Trustees of the University of North Carolina at Asheville. As part of the University of North Carolina's 17-campus university system, UNC Asheville also falls under the administration of President Margaret Spellings and the UNC Board of Governors advised by the UNC Faculty Assembly.
UNC Asheville's Student Government Association consists of two branches, an 18-seat Student Senate and an executive branch comprising a President, Vice-President, and Cabinet. Representation in the Student Senate is divided among the four classes, with three additional seats each being given to residential and commuter students. SGA's authority is derived from the Chancellor and the Board of Governors.
Athletics
UNC Asheville's athletics teams are known as the Bulldogs. They are a member of the NCAA's Division I and compete in the Big South Conference.
UNC Asheville was desegregated in 1981, along with all schools in the University of North Carolina system, via the Consent Decree. This was done following negotiations with the United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare which began in 1970.
Faculty
UNC Asheville had 221 full-time faculty members as of Fall 2018, with 87.3% holding terminal degrees in their field. Another 99 faculty serve part-time.
