Albert Coates was born in Johnston County, North Carolina, in 1896. He received a bachelor’s degree from UNC in 1918, followed by an LLB from Harvard Law School in 1923. After graduating from Harvard, Coates returned to UNC to join the law school faculty, where he taught until 1969.
In 1928 Albert married Gladys Jane Hall, who would become his ultimate collaborator. Born in Portsmouth, Virginia, in 1902, Gladys received a bachelor’s degree from Randolph-Macon Women’s College in 1924. Following her marriage and subsequent move to Chapel Hill, Gladys threw herself wholeheartedly into the town’s civic and cultural life. She wrote extensively about North Carolina and University-related topics, by herself and with Albert.
The Coates founded the Institute of Government in 1931 to help train government officials, originally funding the venture themselves. The institute became part of the university in 1942 and became the School of Government in 2001. Albert Coates served as the institute’s director from 1931 to 1962. In 1997, the building that originally housed the Institute of Government was renamed the Coates Building, in honor of the institute’s founders. The UNC School of Government is currently the largest university-based local government training, consulting, and research organization in the country.
The Coates remained active following Albert’s retirement, taking speaking engagements and continuing their research and writing. Albert passed away in 1989 and was followed 13 years later by Gladys, in 2002.