Influences that have had significant effect on North Carolina Central University, a historically black university with a liberal arts tradition, are examined. The following topics are considered: events relating to the university's founding; circumstances affecting the transition of the university from a private normal school to a public institution; the transition of the institution from a public normal school to a public liberal arts college; and events surrounding the establishment of graduate and professional programs. It is concluded that the events that took place during the first 50 years of the existence of the university clearly demonstrate how outside influences tend to affect the developmental directions of an institution. The founding of the university grew out of the depressive conditions of the time, and its transition to a public normal school was a result of a need for an additional state normal school to train black teachers and a well-orchestrated campaign carried out by the founder. The transition to a liberal arts college was the result of another campaign and the need for the state to provide a liberal arts program for black citizens. The authorization for graduate and professional programs was made in order to perpetuate the existing social order that mandated that blacks and members of the majority groups be educated in separate institutions. (SW)