1925
Albert Coates begins to bridge the gap between criminal law as it was taught in the classroom and as it was practiced in state and local agencies by providing administrative training for law enforcement officials through three-day short courses at the UNC Law School in Chapel Hill, followed by district schools across the state. In addition to these programs, Coates researches and analyzes practices and procedures in administering local government law, family law, and legislative activity, and enhances the value of his law school classes with practical knowledge based on his extensive experiences gained by observing and meeting with legislators and public officials.

1930
Albert Coates develops a plan to educate public officials and rallies them to put his plan into effect.

1931
The inaugural issue of Popular Government, published in January, demonstrates Albert Coates’ commitment to study and improve governmental institutions and their practices. Learn more about the founding of the Institute of Government through this video about Albert and Gladys Coates.

1931
On December 28-29, 1931, the first meeting of a steering committee of public officials is held in Chapel Hill to consider the “Tentative Plan for County, District and State-wide Schools of Governmental Officers, for Continuous Study of the Structure and the Workings of Governmental Institutions and Processes in the Cities, the Counties, and the State of North Carolina.”

1932
On May 6, 1932, 300 public officials and representatives of groups of citizens’ associations meet in Chapel Hill to approve Coates’ ambitious plan for studying, improving, and explaining the workings of government. At the meeting, a number of ‘associations of government officials’ are formed as ‘divisions of the Institute of Government’ to participate in systematic studies of the history and present status of laws and practices in North Carolina governments, to collect in a “central demonstration office” documents relating to the methods and practices of the individual cities and counties, to plan schools for officials, to prepare guidebooks that explain the powers and duties of the office and recommended methods and practices, and to make the results of the studies widely available to officials, citizens, and students interested in government.

The Statewide School of Governmental Officers on September 8-11, 1932, is attended by several hundred representatives of officials, civic organizations, and schools, and is the first comprehensive Institute of Government school in Chapel Hill. Major themes discussed in the four-day program are taxation, public debt, local-state-federal governmental relations, criminal law, the North Carolina Constitution, unemployment, and education relating to government.

The Institute inaugurates the practice of having public oath-taking ceremonies for newly inducted public officials in North Carolina. On December 5, 1932, public installations of county officials are held in the courthouses of eighty of the 100 North Carolina counties. These county meetings are connected by a statewide radio broadcast from the state capitol with Governor Ehringhaus, Chief Justice Stacy, and others participating. The State Board of Elections endorses the practice for all city, county, and state elections in the future.

1933
Albert Coates hires Henry P. Brandis, Jr., Dillard Gardner, and Nelson (Buck) Grice as the first three Institute faculty members. Brandis studies existing property tax laws, prepares a series of guidebooks, and conducts schools for tax officials. Dillard Gardner focuses on the administration of justice in the courts; and Buck Grice addresses accounting and budget policies and procedures.

From 1933 to 1939, 22 guidebooks on North Carolina laws are compiled by Institute faculty and distributed to state and local government officials.

The Institute holds the first biennial institute for the discussion and interpretation of laws enacted by the 1933 General Assembly for North Carolina public officials and citizens.

1934
The 1934 issue of Popular Government, vol. 1, no. 3, provides the first summary of legislative actions taken by the 1933 General Assembly affecting the entire state. Henry Brandis also analyzes laws affecting local governments, and distributes summaries of legislation affecting cities and counties to each local government unit in North Carolina.

1930s
The Institute begins publishing and distributing bulletins of digests of Attorney General opinions.

1934
The Institute provides opportunities for public officials and citizens to meet to discuss the General Assembly’s proposed constitution for North Carolina and publishes in the June 1934 issue of Popular Government an impartial analysis of the proposed constitution by Dillard S. Gardner, in anticipation of its submission to voters in November 1934.

1935
Institute faculty Brandis and Grice begin to systematically analyze and digest all bills introduced in the General Assembly, and with assistance from Elizabeth Coates, staff secretary, mimeographs them and mails them to legislators, the governor, lieutenant governor, state department heads, and to all affected governmental units. Since 1935, the Legislative Reporting Service has produced the Daily Bulletin and other publications to inform government officials and citizens about the status and content of North Carolina legislation.

From 1935 through 1939, the Institute offers numerous schools statewide, and publications in criminal law administration, finance administration, administration of justice in the courts, legal and governmental aspects of public health, welfare, and relief administration, federal, state, and local relationships, and laws affecting married women’s rights for state and local government officials, and institutes in civics and public affairs for citizens’ organizations.

1936
FBI special agent Ed Scheidt is loaned by the FBI to the Institute for nine months in 1936 to inaugurate a police training program.

1937
Faculty member Grice issues the first of a continuing series of annual calendars of duties for North Carolina local government officials that continue to be published annually as Finance Calendar of Duties for City and County Officials.

Formal instruction in street and highway safety is introduced in ten-day schools for groups of law enforcement officers in 1937 following the 1935 publication of Guides to Highway Safety, with 500,000 copies distributed to public officials, citizens’ organizations, students, and teachers in high schools and colleges.

1938
Gladys Hall Coates takes over the studies of student government started by Albert Coates and collaborates with Albert in delivering a series of lectures and working with student government officers.

1939
The first Tar Heel Boys State is held in 1939 under the direction of Albert Coates. Sponsored by the American Legion and conducted at the Institute of Government, the program provides a week’s training in government and citizenship for 139 high school students with leadership potential. Institute faculty teach in the program from 1939 to 1964.

The first Institute building is dedicated in November. Effective fundraising by Albert and Gladys Coates generates funds sufficient to build and furnish the first home of the Institute of Government, located on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill.

The Institute library comes into being in the new Institute building. From the Institute’s beginnings, Albert Coates had contemplated a library that would function as a clearinghouse of practical information on government to answer the questions of local and state officials and actively collected materials from North Carolina cities, counties as well as materials from the federal government and other states.

Faculty member Elmer Oettinger compiles the first Notary Public Guidebook, another title that continues to be published today.