The Board of Trustees of the University of North Carolina is hereby redesignated, effective July 1, 1972, as the "Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina." The Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina shall be known and distinguished by the name of "the University of North Carolina" and shall continue as a body politic and corporate and by that name shall have perpetual succession and a common seal. It shall be able and capable in law to take, demand, receive, and possess all moneys, goods, and chattels that shall be given for the use of the University, and to apply to same according to the will of the donors; and by gift, purchase, or devise to receive, possess, enjoy, and retain forever any and all real and personal estate and funds, of whatsoever kind, nature, or quality the same may be, in special trust and confidence that the same, or the profits thereof, shall be applied to and for the use and purpose of establishing and endowing the University, and shall have power to receive donations from any source whatever, to be exclusively devoted to the purposes of the maintenance of the University, or according to the terms of donation.
The corporation shall be able and capable in law to bargain, sell, grant, alien, or dispose of and convey and assure to the purchasers any and all such real and personal estate and funds as it may lawfully acquire when the condition of the grant to it or the will of the devisor does not forbid it; and shall be able and capable in law to sue and be sued in all courts whatsoever; and shall have power to open and receive subscriptions, and in general may do all such things as are usually done by bodies corporate and politic, or such as may be necessary for the promotion of learning and virtue. (1971, c. 1244, s. 1.)
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
20
cases (
8 in the last 5 years), 1964–2025 · leading case:
State v. White, 827 S.E.2d 80 (N.C. 2019).
State v. White, 827 S.E.2d 80 (N.C. 2019).
· cites it 6× “This Court observed that, because NCSU was authorized by N.C.G.S. § 116-3 to own property, the indictment need not repeat that the entity was so empowered.”
Jones v. Pitt Cnty. Mem'l Hosp., Inc., 410 S.E.2d 513 (N.C. Ct. App. 1991).
· cites it 17× “I Plaintiff contends that the trial court erred in dismissing her claim against defendant ECU School of Medicine because N.C.G.S. § 116-3 (1987) provides that the University of North Carolina “shall be able and capable in law to sue and be sued in all courts whatsoever.”
State v. Ellis, 776 S.E.2d 675 (N.C. 2015).
· cites it 3× “” Defendant does not appear to dispute that North Carolina State University is expressly authorized to own property by statute, N.C.G.S. § 116-3 (2013), and is, for that reason, an entity inherently capable of owning property.”
Jacob Doe v. The Univ. of North Carolina Sys., 133 F.4th 305 (4th Cir. 2025).
· cites it 2× “Because the parties’ filings did not address the distinction between state agencies, which “generally receive the protections of Eleventh 2 Doe’s Title IX claim was asserted against UNC-CH only. The defendants accept that “UNC-CH has waived sovereign immunity” with respect to…”
Truesdale v. Univ. of North Carolina, 371 S.E.2d 503 (N.C. Ct. App. 1988).
· cites it 2× “Plaintiff contends that G.S. 116-3 which provides in part that UNC “shall be able and capable in law to sue and be sued in all courts whatsoever” abolishes the doctrine of sovereign immunity insofar as UNC and its constituent institutions are concerned.”
Roberson v. Dale, 464 F. Supp. 680 (M.D.N.C. 1979).
· cites it 2× “” § 116-3. The University is governed by a Board of Governors, whose members are elected by the State Senate and House of Representatives.”
Uzzell v. Friday, 592 F. Supp. 1502 (M.D.N.C. 1984).
· cites it 2× “N.C.Gen.Stat. § 116-3, -11; Code of UNC § 203.”
Bd. of Governors of the Univ. of North Carolina v. United States Dep't of Labor, 722 F. Supp. 1301 (E.D.N.C. 1989).
· cites it 2× “By statute “[t]he Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina shall be known and distinguished by the name of ‘the University of North Carolina’ and shall continue as a body politic and corpo-rate_” N.C.Gen.Stat. § 116-3. Broad corporate powers have been given to the…”
State v. Ellis, 763 S.E.2d 574 (N.C. Ct. App. 2014).
· cites it 2× “§ 116-4 (2013), that North Carolina State University is a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina, “a body politic and corporate” expressly authorized under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 116-3 (2013) to own property.”
Stanley v. Ret. & Health Benefits Div., 310 S.E.2d 637 (N.C. Ct. App. 1984).
“114-2(2), is the Board’s legal advisor. G.S. 135-6(j). These provisions are all indicia of the System’s status as a State agency or instrumentality.”
In Re Carter, 137 S.E.2d 150 (N.C. 1964).
“G.S. 116-3 provides: “The trustees of the University shall be a body politic and corporate, to be known and distinguished by the name of the ‘University of North Carolina,’ and by that name shall have perpetual succession and a common seal * * This statute then states in detail…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.