History

Founding of the Peace Institute, offering education for boys and girls in primary grades and to women from high school to college. Named in honor of William Peace, a Raleigh businessman and church elder, who pledged $10,000 to the Rev. Joseph M. Atkinson in trust for the First Presbyterian Church.

During the Civil War, the Main Building served as a Confederate hospital. After the war, it was used by the United States government to house locality's offices of the Freedman's Bureau.

Opening of Peace Institute after delays due to the Civil War and Reconstruction. The First Presbyterian Church regained ownership of the property and repaired the Main Building.

R. Stanhope Pullen, a local businessman and philanthropist, who owned the eight acres of land the campus is built on, signed over ownership of the property to the Peace Institute.

Peace offered an academic program for young women that encompassed the last two years of high school and the first two years of college.

Official name change from Peace Institute to Peace College.

Peace College saw its greatest growth with the construction of 11 new buildings and many renovations to existing structures.

Peace College awarded its first baccalaureate degree.

Continuing its revitalization efforts, the Board of Trustees unanimously voted to transition Peace to coeducational and to rename the college William Peace University. The move signaled the institution’s commitment to growth in both size and scope.

The first male students matriculated.

William Peace University launched a new visual identity to showcase its focus on innovation and growth while reaffirming its historic roots.

Alumna Peggy (Garner) Britt '56 made the largest single gift in Peace history, donating $5 million to benefit scholarships.