During Ferguson's term as Chancellor, the University responded to a redefinition of its role and function, converting the former Woman's College into a complex, multipurpose, coeducational university--offering doctoral degrees and having responsibilities and strong ties to the urban area of the central Piedmont. In addition, the University coped with the tide of social, economic and political change that shook the community and nation during the sixties and seventies.

The papers reflect the manner in which the Chancellor administered and adapted the University to its new role. Dealing with state agencies (including the Board of Higher Education, Board of Trustees, and Board of Governors), campus offices and organizations (including the Academic Cabinet, Administrative Council, Deans and Department Heads, and Faculty Council) and General Administration in Chapel Hill, Ferguson performed the tasks that were necessary to accomplish the University's new role and provided the strength and continuity necessary for its effective performance.

The papers, consisting primarily of correspondence and related materials, show some of the newly emerging trends in education including the "non-traditional" student (adult education, women's studies, Upward Bound and Head Start); the increased expectations of faculty (grants, sponsored programs, Research Council, leaves of absence); and the relationship of the UNC system with the state's private colleges and with the Technical Institutes and schools in the Community College system.

National concerns that were reflected on this campus included drug use and abuse, Vietnam War protests, the growing concern over the environment and ecology, the Civil Rights and Black Power movements, the energy crisis and resulting conservation of resources, and streaking.

Some of the state and local issues facing the University during Ferguson's years were the problems created by the growth of the University (land acquisition and traffic problems), the Speaker Ban Bill, the problems of Tate Street and "Hippie Hill," the food workers strike and the suit filed by the Department of Health, Education and Welfare against the UNC system regarding the integration of the system's various campuses.

The increasing independence, activism and influence of students is shown in several campus issues: the Pill Bill, dormitory visitation policies, drinking and smoking policies, SCORE (Student Committee Organized for Research and Evaluation), SCRAM (Student Consumer Rights Action Movement), and the Buckley Amendment.