Thanks to our partner, the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, catalogs from the school and its precursors are now available on our website. The catalogs are from 1906, when the school was called the Croatan Normal School, to 2013, when it was known as it is now as UNC-Pembroke.

The title page of the 1906 catalog for the Croatan Normal School.

The school was originally established in 1887 as the Croatan Normal School as a result of legislation that passed in response to a petition by Native Americans of the area. This original school was established for the training of Native American teachers in Robeson County. In 1909 the school was moved to Pembroke and in 1911 the name was changed to the Indian Normal School of Robeson County. Then, in 1913, the name was changed again to the Cherokee Indian Normal School of Robeson County. In 1933, junior college coursework was added to the school’s curriculum and in 1939, four-year degree programs were instituted. In 1941 the name was changed again to the Pembroke State College for Indians. In 1945, enrollment was opened to people from all government-recognized groups of Native Americans, rather than just the Native Americans from Robeson County. In 1953, white students began to be admitted to the school and in 1969, the name was changed to Pembroke State University. In 1972, the University of North Carolina system was established, with Pembroke State University as one of the sixteen campuses included. In 1996, the school became The University of North Carolina at Pembroke, as it is known today.

The cover of the Pembroke State University course catalog from the 1975-1976 academic year.

We’ll be working with the University of North Carolina at Pembroke to fill in additional catalogs over the coming months. We’ve also worked with them to scan their yearbooks, and you can see those on their contributor page. For more information about the university, visit their website.

Thanks to our new partner, the Penland School of Craft, we now have course catalogs covering the years 1939-1962, nine issues of the Grapevine campus newsletter, several issues of the Mountain Milestones pamphlets from 1932-1962, Annual Reports from 1998-2015, and the student publications The Story of the Penland Weavers and the Weaver’s Hornbook: Tale of What Is Weaving Where.  The Penland Line, a newspaper published by the staff of Penland for the Penland and wider craft community, is also now on DigitalNC.  

The cover of the Weaver’s Hornbook: Tale of What Is Weaving Where (1953).

Penland School of Craft is an educational institution in Penland, NC. It was founded by Lucy Morgan in 1929 and it functions to this day as an educational community for craft artists, offering courses in mediums such as book arts and textiles. Students live on-campus throughout the duration of their workshops, and they only take one workshop at a time to ensure total immersion in their chosen craft. The school also offer a number of residencies and fellowships throughout the year.

The cover of the course catalog for the tenth session of the Penland School, which spanned the time period of June 26th to August 26th, 1939.

For more information about the Penland School of Craft, visit their institutional website.