The University of North Carolina was the first public university in the country to open its doors, and Old East is the oldest campus building, dating to1793.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_North_Carolina_at_Chapel_Hill
"Public" university vs. the oldest "state-chartered" university. Maybe we are getting our terms mixed up:
http://www.vet.uga.edu/ahrc/points_of_pride.pdf