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Following are recent points of pride reflecting accomplishments at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. - Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine ranked Carolina the No. 1 best value in American public higher education for the eighth consecutive time. The rating assessed the 100 best U.S. public colleges and universities that offer the best combination of top-flight academics and affordable costs.
- The first full class of Carolina Covenant Scholars graduated in May 2008. The Carolina Covenant, which provides a debt-free education to qualified low-income students from North Carolina and beyond, is a national model for making a college degree possible for qualified low-income students. In spring 2009, nearly 1,500 UNC students were enrolled in the program. A recent study of the first class of Covenant Scholars also has found that the program helps students succeed in the classroom.
- In fall 2009, Carolina enrolled 3,864 new students drawn from a record 21,507 applications – a 20 percent increase over the past five years. Seventy-nine percent of 2008-09 first-year students were in the top 10 percent of their high school classes; almost 43 percent were among the top 10 students in their graduating classes. In all, Carolina has 28,567 students for 2008-09.
- Oliver Smithies, Excellence Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, received the 2007 Nobel Prize for work that has fundamentally changed the science of genetic medicine and potentially will help millions of people live healthier lives.
- Faculty attracted more than $716 million in total contract and grant funding in fiscal 2009 – up more than 5 percent over the previous year and double the amount the University attracted decade ago. This year’s figure includes only a fraction of the federal stimulus research funding already in the pipeline for Carolina over the next two years as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Carolina research is helping to cure diseases and produce new knowledge to help people.
- In 2007, the North Carolina General Assembly created the University Cancer Research Fund to support basic research in medicine, pharmacy and public health, as well as basic science departments of the College of Arts and Sciences through the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and the School of Medicine. Supporting laboratory, clinical and outreach efforts across North Carolina, the fund directed $25 million to Carolina in 2007-08 and $40 million in 2008-09. Additional annual funding is scheduled.
- That support for research has coincided with the construction of the North Carolina Cancer Hospital, a world-class hospital for cancer patients and their families from North Carolina and beyond. The new hospital, part of the UNC Health Care System, will bring complete cancer care for patients and research facilities into one building and serve as the new clinical home for the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, one of only 38 such National Cancer Institute-designated centers in the United States. The North Carolina General Assembly approved $180 million in funding for the new hospital to replace a facility originally built in the 1950s as a tuberculosis sanatorium. The celebration of the cancer hospital’s opening will be held in September 2009.
- Through teaching, research and public service, Carolina connects with the people of North Carolina every day in ways that improve lives and build futures. The University is committed to addressing the issues about which North Carolinians are most concerned – such as education, health care and economic development.
- The Carolina First Campaign ended in December 2007 after raising $2.38 billion, the fifth largest total among completed campaigns at that time in the history of U.S. higher education and the largest at a university in the South. It was the most successful fundraising effort in University history.
- The campaign’s success more than made good on former Chancellor James Moeser’s pledge in 2000 to triple the investment North Carolinians made by approving the Higher Education Bond Referendum, which brought $515 million for new buildings and renovations. The University invested its own funds (including gifts and faculty research grants) to create – at about $2.1 billion – one of the nation’s largest campus building programs.
- New buildings include the FedEx Global Education Center, which brings together all international education activities under one roof. The center – bold, innovative and a symbol for progress – makes a major statement about what campus leaders envision for Carolina in the future. For North Carolina to compete in the global economy, the University must be a player on the world stage.
Updated July 2009
For more about the University:
www.uncnews.unc.edu/ www.unc.edu/about/ Contact: Mike McFarland, University Relations, 919-962-8593,
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Points of Pride
