Facts About Carolina
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Through its teaching, research and engagement, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill serves as an educational and economic beacon for the people of North Carolina and beyond.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was the nation’s first state university to open its doors and the only public university to award degrees in the 18th century. Authorized by the N.C. Constitution in 1776, the University was chartered by the N.C. General Assembly Dec. 11, 1789, the same year George Washington first was inaugurated as president. The cornerstone was laid for Old East, the nation’s first state university building, Oct. 12, 1793. Hinton James, the first student, arrived from Wilmington, N.C., Feb. 12, 1795. Recent Rankings and RatingsSeveral national publications regularly publish rankings that listed Carolina prominently in categories ranging from academic quality to affordability to diversity to engagement to international presence. Recent highlights include:
1st among the 100 best U.S. public colleges and universities that offers students high-quality academics at an affordable price, according to Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine in its February 2012 issue. For the 11th time in a row, UNC-Chapel Hill ranked first on Kiplinger’s list of campuses that provide the best value to in-state students. The magazine also listed Carolina number one for the value offered to out-of-state students. Kiplinger’s changed its methodology this year to more strongly emphasize value because of the economic challenges facing higher education. For academics, the formula considered the percentage of students returning as sophomores and the four-year graduation rate. The magazine also favored campuses with low sticker prices and abundant financial aid, with bonus points for schools that keep student borrowing low. Carolina stands out in all of these categories. Kiplinger’s story, “Best Values in Public Colleges,” reported that from the 1990s through the post-2008 recession, “UNC-Chapel Hill has been a leader for academic excellence, low cost and generous financial aid – exactly the criteria by which we define value.” #1 on the “2012 Best Value Colleges” list published by The Princeton Review and reported jointly with USA Today. This list annually names the top public and private colleges recommended as the nation's "best values" for undergraduate education based on more than 30 factors analyzed in three areas: academics, cost of attendance and financial aid. (See http://www.unc.edu/campus-updates/2012_Princeton_Review for details.) 5th best public university in U.S. News & World Report’s 2012 “Best Colleges” guidebook for the 11th consecutive year. 1st among public campuses for the 7th consecutive year and 12th overall in “Great Schools, Great Prices,” based on academic quality and the net cost of attendance for a student who received the average level of need-based financial aid. Tied for 22nd (with three other schools) for academic reputation as rated by high school guidance counselors. Listed among outstanding undergraduate programs with “A Focus on Student Success,” for an exemplary first-year experience (seminars and other programs bringing small groups of students together with faculty and staff), undergraduate research/creative projects and service learning. Kenan-Flagler Business School’s undergraduate business degree program tied for 6th.
8th among public universities ranked in the top 25 public and private universities listed in the 2010 edition of“The Top American Research Universities,” produced by The Center for Measuring University Performance at Arizona State University. Evaluates top research universities with at least $40 million in annual federal research funding using quantitative measures such as endowment assets, private giving, faculty awards, doctorates granted, postdoctoral appointees and SAT/ACT range. 12th among national universities in The Washington Monthly's 2011 College Rankings, "What Colleges Can Do For You." Based on the magazine's calculation of how well individual colleges and universities meet their public obligations in social mobility, research and public service. 12th for graduates and among the “Best Schools for Entrepreneurs,” according to a 2011survey conducted by Entrepreneur magazine and The Princeton Review. Top schools were recognized for teaching business fundamentals, staffing with successful entrepreneurs, and providing experiential or entrepreneurial opportunities outside the classroom. Tied for 10th among research institutions producing Fulbright Students in 2011-112, with 18 students receiving grants in the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. That ranks 3rd among all public universities and 1st in the Southeast. Almost 1,700 U.S. students, artists and young professionals in more than 100 different fields of study have been awarded grants to study, teach English and conduct research in more than 140 countries. 12th among “America’s Best College Buys,” according to a 2011 ranking published by Forbes magazine. The ranking – assessing “where you can get the most quality for each tuition dollar spent” – was based on a formula dividing each school’s overall quality score in a separate “America’s Top Colleges” ranking by its average sticker price tuition (in-state for publics) and fees. Measures for the quality score included post-graduate success, which evaluates alumni pay and prominence; student satisfaction, which includes professor evaluations and freshman to sophomore year retention rates; debt, which penalizes schools for high student debt loads and default rates; four-year graduation rate; and competitive awards, which rewards schools whose students win prestigious scholarships and sholarships like the Rhodes, the Marshall and the Fulbright. Forbes collaborated with the Center for College Affordability and Productivity. Among the “Best in the Southeast” featured in “2011 Best Colleges: Region by Region,” published by The Princeton Review. The Southeast list includes 133 institutions based on criteria including excellent academic programs and input from campus visits, college counselors and advisors. Also considered were student responses to a survey about their campus experiences on issues ranging from the accessibility of faculty to their fellow students. North Carolina was one of 12 states featured in the Southeast. Overall, 623 campuses were named to regional best lists – about a quarter of the nation’s four-year colleges and universities.
Among 49 campuses featured as “Best Buy Schools” in the 2012 edition of the “Fiske Guide to Colleges.” Based on quality of academic offerings in relation to the cost of attendance. Fiske researchers combined cost data with academic and other lifestyle information about each campus to determine which schools offer remarkable educational opportunities at a modest cost. Among 43 public universities featured by PARADE magazine in its August 2010 “College A-List” rankings report for “Large Schools” based on recommendations from top high school guidance counselors across the country. Reported PARADE, “UNC-Chapel Hill has strong academics across the curriculum. … “The nation's first public university is full of tradition, spirit, and smart, engaged, happy students who work hard and are very proud of their school." 2nd among major U.S. universities in the percentage of African-American students in the 2008 first-year class, according to The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. Carolina had held the No. 1 spot for 6 of the previous nine years. Black students made up 10.8 percent of the entering class in 2008. 16th among the nation’s top 100 institutions in federally financed research and development expenditures in 2009, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education. Carolina spent $431.83 million for a 7th-place improvement in the national rankings. 23rd in 2008. 28th in the total number of doctoral degrees awarded (440 total degrees in 2009), as reported by the National Science Foundation. Additional rankings include: 9th in doctorates awarded to black students, 2005-2009 (120 degrees); 18th in doctorates awarded to American Indian/Alaska Native students, 2005-2009 (seven degrees); 10th in doctorates awarded in the life sciences, 2009 (175 degrees); and 17th in doctorates awarded in the humanities, 2009 (66 degrees). 23rd among the top doctorate institutions recording the highest participation (nearly 39 percent) by undergraduates studying abroad in 2006-2007, according to a 2008 report published by the Institute of International Education. The report showed 1,467 UNC undergraduates studying abroad. Tied for 2nd among top research universities producing faculty Fulbright Scholars in 2010-2011, with 6 Carolina scholars selected to other countries to lecture, conduct research or participate in seminars. 43rd among the world’s top 400 universities in 2011-2012, according to the London-based Times Higher Education magazine. Based on 13 separate performance indicators designed to capture the full range of university activities, from teaching to research to knowledge transfer. Those indicators cover teaching, research, citations, industry income and international outlook. 41st in the Academic Ranking of World Universities published by the Center for World-Class Universities and the Institute of Higher Education of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China. Carolina is among the top 30 U.S. campuses appearing on this list. Based on six objective indicators, including the number of alumni and staff winning Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals, number of highly cited researchers selected by Thomson Scientific, number of articles published in journals of Nature and Science, number of articles indexed in Science Citation Index - Expanded and Social Sciences Citation Index, and per capita performance with respect to the size of an institution. More than 1000 universities are ranked by every year. 26th in the 2010 worldwide university rankings, as measured by High Impact Universities in affiliation with the University of Western Australia. Part of a pilot project to benchmark the research performance of top universities. Carolina placed 13th for faculty in the arts, humanities, business and social sciences; 25th for faculty in medicine, dentistry, pharmacology and health sciences; 34th for faculty in life, biological and agricultural sciences; and 49th for faculty in pure, natural and mathematical sciences.
UNC is widely recognized as one of the leading “green” schools universities. Carolina ranked 10th in the first UI GreenMetric World University Ranking, launched in 2010 by Universitas Indonesia. Those results reflect an online survey about the current conditions and policies related to green campuses and sustainability worldwide. Morrison Residence Hall was the winner of the first-ever National Building Competition sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR program. The National Wildlife Federation’s 2008 National Report Card on Sustainability in Higher Educationawarded UNC its most exemplary marks for sustainability activities in the state and among the country’s top eight. UNC’s many “green” courses, research programs, student organizations, and campus operations have been highlighted in “The Princeton Review’s Guide to 311 Green Colleges: 2011 Edition,” published in collaboration with the U.S. Green Building Council, as well as Blue Ridge Outdoors magazine’s “2010 Honor Roll of the Region’s Greenest Colleges and Universities” and the “2008 Green College Report” by kiwi. 39th among the top 100 “Coolest Schools” survey conducted by by Sierra Magazine, published by the Sierra Club, to highlight America’s greenest campuses. Categories tracking the commitment to sustainability included energy supply, efficiency, food, academics, purchasing, transportation, waste management, administration, financial investments and other initiatives." More than 20 degree programs or specialty areas from several schools appeared prominently in the 2011 U.S. News & World Report's “ America's Best Graduate Schools” report. Highlights included: School of Public Health, 2nd for master’s and doctoral programs, 3rd for the master’s in health-care management, and tied for 11th for master’s degree programs in nursing; School of Medicine, 2nd overall for primary care, tied for 20th for research; School of Nursing, tied for 4th in master’s degree programs; Kenan-Flagler Business School's master of business administration degree program, 19th; School of Education, tied for 29th overall; and School of Law, tied for 30th. 5th in the research category among the top U.S. universities for work in nano- and microtechnology. Small Times magazine ranked Carolina in its 2009 University Report and Rankings. The annual survey identifies which campuses are the best of the best in the field, based on a survey gauging capabilities and strengths in research and commercialization, as well as standing in a peer review measure. 4th among large colleges and universities contributing the greatest number of graduating seniors to Teach For America. Carolina made its debut at eighth on the top contributors list in 2008 and has risen steadily since then. This year, UNC contributed 80 graduates to the incoming corps. Nearly 8 percent of UNC’s senior class applied to Teach For America. Throughout Teach For America’s 20-year history, more than 540 UNC alumni have taught as corps members. Among the top 15 doctoral-level U.S. colleges and universities most friendly to junior faculty, according to a November 2010 report from the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education, a 160-member consortium based at Harvard's Graduate School of Education. Based a survey of 15,000 junior faculty at 127 of the collaborative's member colleges nationwide, on work-life criteria like tenure practices, clarity of expectations for tenure, and work and home balance. In all, 32 institutions made the list of outstanding campuses. 8th among large U.S. colleges and universities for the number of alumni volunteering for the Peace Corps in 2012. Eighty-seven undergraduate UNC alumni are representing the United States abroad. Since the Peace Corps’ inception, 1,178 Carolina alumni have served as volunteers. Kenan-Flagler Business School ranked 10th in Bloomberg Businessweek magazine’s 2012 list of the best undergraduate business programs. It also was ranked 3rd for public undergraduate programs, 7th for both academic quality and student satisfaction, and 9th for internships. It received grades of A+ for teaching, job placement, and facilities and services based on student responses. Kenan-Flagler appeared in several recent best M.B.A. program lists: Bloomberg BusinessWeek, 16th, and Forbes, 15th based on return on investment. Bloomberg BusinessWeek ranked the executive MBA program (global), 11th, The Wall Street Journal, 6th; and the Financial Times 27th (OneMBA). For executive education custom programs, the Financial Times ranks Kenan-Flagler 29th globally and 11th in the United States. 10th among graduate and 19th among undergraduate entrepreneurship programs by Entrepeneur magazine and The Princeton Review. Based on survey data from more than 2,300 schools. Among the top 100 U.S. colleges and universities awarding undergraduate degrees to minority students, according to a 2011 issue of Diverse: Issues in Higher Education magazine. Carolina ranks 2nd for graduating African-American students majoring in area, ethnic, cultural, gender and group studies, 8th for graduating all minorities in those same major areas, 8th for graduating African-Americans in the physical sciences, 9th for graduating Asian Americans majoring in health and medical administrative services, and 10th for graduating Asian Americans majoring in area, ethnic, cultural, gender and group studies. Forbes magazine concluded in 2010 that the men’s Tar Heel basketball team was the most valuable in the country – generating $29 million, up 12 percent from last year when the team also claimed the No 1 spot. Based on revenue, value that basketball programs contribute to their universities’ academic programs and athletic programs, their conferences and their local communities. STACK magazine ranked Tar Heel athletics 4th based on academics, athletic opportunity and overall performance in 2010. Ranks the nation’s premier academic and NCAA football, basketball and other Division I sports programs. Combining the best in athletics with the best in academia, the magazine’s “Elite 50” list was announced in 2007 (when Carolina was No. 1) and updated annually. Stanford and Florida top the most recent list. Key Statistics
In fall 2011, Carolina enrolled 4,026 first-year students from a record 23,753 applications. Eighty percent graduated in the top 10 percent of their high school class, and they posted an average 1300 on the SAT. Eighteen percent were first-generation college students; another 12 percent were eligible for the Carolina Covenant, which promises qualified low-income students the chance to graduate debt-free. In all, Carolina enrolled 18,579 undergraduates. Total enrollment is currently 29,137. Students learn from a full-time 3,221-member faculty. Many of those faculty members hold or have held major posts in virtually every national scholarly or professional organization and have earned election to the most prestigious academic academies and organizations. Carolina's academic community benefits from a library with 6.7 million volumes and 80,000 serial titles that perennially ranks among the best research libraries in North America as judged by the Association of Research Libraries. The most recent association listings place Carolina 17th among research libraries in the United States and first in the South. UNC's Southern Historical Collection, with more than 24 million unique items, is the largest collection anywhere of materials that document the region. Carolina's 274,167 alumni live in all 50 states and more than 150 countries. More than 148,000 of those alumni live in all 100 North Carolina counties. Notable alumni include writers Thomas Wolfe, Shelby Foote, Russell Banks and Jill McCorkle; athletes Michael Jordan, Vince Carter, Antawn Jamison, Mia Hamm and Davis Love III; Tar Heel Head Basketball Coach Roy Williams; journalists Charles Kuralt, Alan Murray, Stuart Scott and Tom Wicker and numerous North Carolina governors and elected officials. Others include former UNC President Erskine Bowles, former White House Chief of Staff; Sen. Paul Wellstone; Bill Harrison, former chairman and chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co.; Ann Martinelli Livermore, former executive vice president, technology solutions group, Hewlett Packard Co.; and UNC President Emeritus C.D. Spangler. More include Peter Grauer, chief executive officer and chairman of Bloomberg, L.P.; Amy Woods Brinkley, former global risk executive for Bank of America Corp.; Mary Sue Coleman, a biochemist and former Carolina vice chancellor and now the University of Michigan president; Elson Floyd, former UNC executive vice chancellor, now president of Washington State University; U.S. President James Polk; geneticist Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health; Jonathan Reckford, chief executive officer, Habitat for Humanity International; actors Billy Crudup, Jack Palance, George Grizzard and Andy Griffith, as well as actresses Louise Fletcher and Sharon Lawrence; editorial cartoonist Jeff MacNelly; Hugh McColl, retired chairman and chief executive officer of Bank of America Corp.; and fashion designer Alexander Julian.
The Carolina Covenant is part of Carolina’s commitment to making college possible for qualified students regardless of their financial means. Eligible low-income students who are admitted to Carolina can enroll without worrying about how they will pay for it. And, if they work 10 hours to 12 hours per week in a federal work-study job, they can graduate debt-free. The Carolina Covenant also includes academic and personal support services to help Covenant Scholars make the most of their college experience and succeed in completing their undergraduate degree program. Private Support The Carolina First Campaign finished in 2007 as the fifth biggest fund-raising drive among completed campaigns at that time in the history of U.S. higher education and as the largest in the South. Carolina First raised $2.38 billion, and those funds have helped Carolina compete nationally for top faculty and students, invest in departments and programs and build and renovate facilities.
Commitments in 2011 also helped the University create 11 endowed professorships, as well as a total of 77 undergraduate scholarships and graduate fellowships. Carolina had more than 77,000 donors for the year. Students
In fall 2011, Carolina enrolled 4,026 first-year students from a record 23,753 applications. Eighty percent graduated in the top 10 percent of their high school class, and they posted an average 1300 on the SAT. Eighteen percent were first-generation college students; another 12 percent were eligible for the Carolina Covenant, which promises qualified low-income students the chance to graduate debt-free. In all, Carolina enrolled 18,579 undergraduates. Total enrollment is currently 29,137. Fifty-two high school seniors from across the United States and around the world were selected as Morehead-Cain Scholars for fall 2011. The oldest and arguably most prestigious merit scholarship program in the United States, the Morehead-Cain – formerly the Morehead Scholarship – fully funds four years of undergraduate study and four summer enrichment experiences.
Carolina's graduating Class of 2011 included 194 Public Services Scholars. The program provides a way for students to learn new skills, strengthen their commitment to service and link their academics to making a difference. This program, run by the Carolina Center for Public Service, is for students who have a minimum grade-point average, complete at least 300 hours of public service, take one service-learning course and attend four skills-training workshops. The students are serving communities across North Carolina, the nation and the world working in nursing homes, hospitals, public schools and a wide range of non-profits. More than 2,200 students participated in the program during the 2010-2011 academic year.
Since the U.S. Rhodes Scholar program began in 1904, 47 Carolina students have been selected. In the past 25 years, Carolina has produced more Rhodes Scholars than any other national public research university. Among all research universities, the University ranks sixth for the most winners in the last five years, behind only Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Princeton and the University of Chicago. In November 2010, Carolina had two Rhodes winners, and both were seniors and Morehead-Cain Scholars. That marked the seventh time – and third consecutive year – that two Rhodes winners came from the University.
Laurence Deschamps-Laporte of Repentigny, Quebec, Canada, is one of 11 winners chosen in that country. Steven Paul Shorkey Jr. of Charlotte, N.C., was one of 32 Americans selected. Both came to Carolina on Morehead-Cain Scholarships, full, four-year scholarships to UNC that also fund four summer enrichment experiences and additional educational opportunities. Both also study in the College of Arts and Sciences. Carolina has produced 32 Rhodes Scholars since 1957, when the first Morehead Scholars graduated. Of those, 29 have been Morehead – now Morehead-Cain – Scholars. Other Carolina students distinguished themselves during the 2010-11 academic year by earning distinguished scholarships in the United States and abroad. One senior won the prestigious Luce Scholarship, while three other undergraduates were selected for Goldwater and Gates Cambridge scholarships. All are studying or studied in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Michael Mian of Concord, N.C., and a senior Morehead-Cain Scholar, was selected to receive a 2011-2012 scholarship from the Henry Luce Foundation in New York City. The Luce funds a year of living and learning in Asia for recent college graduates and young professionals who have had only limited exposure to the continent. The foundation’s goal is to connect future American leaders with Asian colleagues in their fields. Selection criteria include outstanding academic achievement and leadership ability. With 31 Luce Scholars since the program began in 1974, Carolina leads the nation in its number of Luce recipients.
Timothy Palpant of Raleigh, N.C., and Varvara Zemskova of Poolesville, Md., won Barry M. Goldwater Scholarships, given to nurture careers in math, the natural sciences or engineering. The Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program of Springfield, Va., select the recipients. Carolina has produced 41 winners. Christopher Carter of Elkin, N.C., received the Gates Cambridge Scholarship, a merit award covering all expenses for one to three years of graduate studies at the University of Cambridge in England. The Morehead-Cain Scholar was the first UNC winner of the award, created by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, for students worldwide to recognize intellectual ability, leadership and desire to perform community service.
Through a special partnership, the Carolina Student Transfer Excellence Program (C-STEP) enables more community college students to transfer to and graduate from Carolina. Talented low- and moderate-income students are guaranteed admission to the University if they enroll at Alamance or Carteret community college or Durham, Fayetteville or Wake technical community college and complete the program. Carolina also guarantees to meet 100 percent of every admitted student's financial need through grants, scholarships and loans. For a special story on one C-STEP student, see http://www.unc.edu/spotlight/CSTEP_Dawson
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. He was one of three recipients of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Smithies was chosen for his role in introducing gene modifications in mice using embryonic stem cells. More than two decades ago, Smithies co-discovered a technique to introduce DNA material in cells, mirroring a natural process. This gene targeting led to Smithies’ lab producing the first animal model of cystic fibrosis. Today, scientists around the world use these techniques to produce mice that model heart disease, Alzheimer’s, diabetes and cancer.
President Obama selected Barbara Rimer, dean of the UNC Gillings School of Public Health, to chair the President's Cancer Panel. The panel was established as part of the National Cancer Act, signed by President Nixon in 1971. The three-member panel monitors the development and execution of the activities of the National Cancer Program, and reports directly to the President on barriers to program implementation. Members serve three-year terms, and at least two of the three panel members must be distinguished scientists or physicians. The panel meets at least four times each year, and these meetings are open to the public. Rimer, a behavioral scientist, is the Alumni Distinguished Professor in the department of health behavior and health education.
Jessica Lee, associate professor of pediatric dentistry, was selected to receive a 2010 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers -- the highest honor given by the U.S. to scientists and engineers early in their research careers. Lee is principal investigator for an NIH-funded effort addressing how the oral health literacy of caregivers and parents affects their preschool-aged children.
Pharmacology researcher Thomas Kash won the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. It’s the highest honor given by the U.S. government to science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their research careers.
David Rubinow, chair of psychiatry, has been elected to the Institute of Medicine, one of the nation's highest honors for health and medicine professionals. He is an internationally recognized expert in the evaluation and treatment of women with mood disorders.
Jacquelyn Dowd Hall, the Julia Cherry Spruill Professor of history, was elected as a fellow in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honorary societies. She is a pioneering scholar in Southern women’s history and the founding director of the Southern Oral History Program in UNC’s Center for the Study of the American South. In 1999, Hall was called “one of the nation’s pre-eminent scholars of the New South” when awarded a National Humanities Medal by President Bill Clinton. Carolina faculty members have brought distinction to North Carolina and the University through their academic and professional achievements. Many have been honored with election as members of the National Academies or fellows of other national distinguished learned societies. UNC-Chapel Hill boasts 35 members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; 20 members of the Institute of Medicine; 5 members of the National Academy of Engineering; 11 members of the National Academy of Sciences; and 58 fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Joseph DeSimone, Chancellor's Eminent Professor of Chemistry, founded discoveries resulting in a successful spin-off company, Liquidia Technologies. Now the company is at the forefront of efforts to use nanotechnology to tackle diseases and has received a $10 million investment from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Liquidia Technologies will use the foundation’s equity investment to support the development and commercialization of safer and more effective vaccines and therapeutics. Liquidia uses PRINT (Particle Replication in Non-wetting Templates) technology — a technique invented in DeSimone’s UNC lab — to manufacture precisely engineered nano- and microparticles with control over size, shape and chemistry. It could advance the development of vaccines to prevent diseases, such as malaria, that mainly affect people in the developing world. Sheila Kannappan, assistant professor of physics, has received a Faculty Early Career Development Award from the National Science Foundation. These awards support the research of promising young faculty in the early stages of their careers in the chemical and life sciences. She will analyze galaxies and the larger cosmic web through the University's partnership in the SOAR (Southern Observatory for Astrophysical Research) and SALT (Southern African Large Telescope) in Chile and South Africa.
Ben Major, assistant professor of cell and developmental biology, received a $1.5 million research grant from the National Institutes of Health through the 2010 NIH Director’s New Innovator Award, which goes to “highly innovative research that has the potential for significant impact.” Major was the only N.C. recipient and was named a 2010 Sidney Kimmel Scholar, recognized as one of the country's most promising young cancer researchers. The NIH grant and award was made possible by previous support from the University Cancer Research Fund, funded by the North Carolina General Assembly. Major aims to find out what our 20,000 genes do, what happens when they work together and what that means for the fight against cancer. His work has implications for how researchers can pinpoint the function of each gene in the human genome – and whether they should be considered for targeted drug discovery efforts.
Wizdom Powell Hammond, a public health researcher, has been named to the 2011-2012 class of White House Fellows, a prestigious program to foster leadership and public service. Hammond is assistant professor of health behavior and health education in the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and a member of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. Her community-based research examines the impact of neighborhood, health care and socioeconomic resources on racial health disparities, with an emphasis on vulnerable black males. Anthony Richardson, assistant professor in the department of microbiology and immunology, has been named a Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences by the Pew Charitable Trusts. Richardson's research focuses on understanding the contribution of bacterial physiology to infection and disease. He is the 10th UNC scientist to receive this honor.
Carolina ranks among the top U.S. public universities in research support. Faculty attracted more than $788 million in total contract and grant funding in fiscal 2011, far exceeding the comparable figure from the previous year — $677 million — after excluding the $126 million in federal stimulus funding, which since has expired. The steady growth of research funding over the past 15 years is a great tribute to the success of the faculty and a multidisciplinary approach to advancing knowledge and science. The School of Medicine remains the University’s largest source of contract and grant funding, with faculty bringing in $382.5 million in 2011. Among individual departments and centers and institutes, UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center ($63.8 million) and the Carolina Population Center ($59.9 million) had the highest research awards totals. Federal government funding accounted for 72.8 percent ($574.5 million) of the 2011 total. UNC faculty ranked 16th among the nation’s top 100 institutions in federally financed research and development expenditures in 2009, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education. Carolina spent $431.83 million for a 7-place improvement in the national rankings. The University placed 23rd on this list in 2008. Carolina also ranked 12th among universities in National Institutes of Health funding for fiscal 2009 ($320.8 million) and 19th in federal support for science and engineering along with 1st in the South ($382.3 million). In 2008, the University won a prestigious Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) – $4.3 million a year for five years – to improve health outcomes by reducing the time it takes for laboratory discoveries to become treatments for patients, engaging communities with clinical research efforts, and training a new generation of clinical and translational researchers. Carolina KickStart, a related effort, facilitates and accelerates University startups through education, mentoring, funding and incubating companies spinning out of Carolina.
Myron S. Cohen, director of the UNC Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, led an internationally heralded research study that made a major discovery in the efforts to halt the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The large international clinical trial found that treating HIV-infected individuals with antiretroviral therapy while their immune systems are still strong significantly reduces the risk of their sexual partners contracting the virus. The findings were the first from a major randomized clinical trial to indicate that treating an HIV-infected person can make them less contagious, not just keep them healthy. The study was due to run until 2015. However, data gathered so far clearly revealed the benefits of early treatment, prompting health officials to release the results in May 2011. The journal Science named the UNC-led study the 2011 "Breakthrough of the Year". Editors said the study’s results “have galvanized efforts to end the world’s AIDS epidemic in a way that would have been inconceivable even a year ago.” The UNC institute builds on Carolina’s global health presence in about 50 countries. Full-time UNC researchers and local employees are fighting malaria and HIV/AIDS transmission in Malawi. Carolina faculty are targeting the resurgence of syphilis in China and Madagascar and leading an international consortium developing a new oral drug to treat African sleeping sickness, which threatens the lives of millions. Other UNC investigators are active in India, South Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Russia, Thailand, Cambodia, the Dominican Republic, South America and the Caribbean. Chemistry Professor Tom Meyer led a coalition of scientists joined by the promise of solar fuels to secure a grant worth $17.5 million from the U.S. Department of Energy and President Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Nationwide, 46 Energy Frontier Research Centers aim to accelerate breakthroughs in energy technology development. The University’s proposal was the only one funded in North Carolina and among 16 designed to create jobs. Carolina’s center will study low-cost and efficient solar fuels production by artificial photosynthesis. Solar fuels could use the sun’s energy to make fuels from water and carbon dioxide for heating, transportation and energy storage. The technology being studies at Carolina could also make electricity using inexpensive “solar shingles” on the roofs of buildings. Since the 1940s, scientists at the University’s Institute of Marine Sciences in Morehead City have served North Carolina by addressing important questions related to the nature, use, development, protection and enhancement of coastal marine resources. Current work includes FerryMon, the first ferry-borne water quality monitoring system in the United States.
More than 50 spin-off companies resulting from UNC discoveries include Synerca Pharmaceuticals, the first spinoff to use the Carolina Express License launched in April 2010. Synerca is based on work by Scott Singleton in the Eshelman School of Pharmacy, to develop anenzyme inhibitor that make antibiotics more effective. Synerca is developing a therapy to address the growing problem of bacterial resistance to current antibiotics—about 2 million people contract bacterial infections in U.S. hospitals each year, and 90,000 die as a result. Since 1966, the Carolina Population Center has helped drive related social science and health research projects across the UNC research community. The center focuses on creating new knowledge about population size, structure, and processes of change and shares its data and findings with professionals, policy-makers and the public. In summer 2009, the center was engaged in more than 43 active research projects, and in fiscal year 2009-2010 brought in more than $47 million in external support. Faculty and students affiliated with the center are working in 85 countries around the world, as well as in the United States and central North Carolina. Education and Cultural Resources From the Ackland Art Museum and the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center to the North Carolina Botanical Garden and Carolina Performing Arts, Carolina offers a vast array of educational and cultural opportunities. At Carolina, one is a powerful number.
Professor Howard McLeod of the Eshelman School of Pharmacy is director of the UNC Institute for Pharmacogenomics and Individualized Therapy – which makes him not just an expert in prescription drugs, but an expert in people. Pharmacogenomics is the study of how people’s genes affect their responses to drugs. Not everyone processes a drug the same way, and this research helps doctors give patients the right drug and dose that works for them. One of McLeod’s most successful projects involves breast cancer patients and the life-saving drug tamoxifen, which kills cancer cells. Oncologists were calling McLeod and asking him why the regular dose of tamoxifen wasn’t helping their patients. McLeod and his team discovered that about half of breast cancer patients do not respond to the typical drug dose. McLeod worked with patients in clinical trials around North Carolina to develop a new way of prescribing tamoxifen, and the trials paid off. The FDA changed the dosing recommendations. In North Carolina alone, the new tamoxifen recommendations can help more than 3,000 women each year. 1 Combative Chemist; 2 Million Patients with Drug-Resistant Bugs Associate professor Scott Singleton knows how to fix the unfair fight that bacterial infections are waging against 2 million patients annually in U.S. hospitals. To combat these bugs that have developed a resistance to the antibiotics created to kill them, Singleton has come up with a one-two punch: antibiotics plus something called a RecA inhibitor. “The inhibitor holds the bacterium down while the antibiotic beats it up,” he said. To partner with companies to develop new, more effective antibiotic compounds and bring them to market, Singleton started Synereca Pharmaceuticals (note that RecA is part of the name) in July 2009. He is the company’s president and chief scientific officer. In March 2010, Synereca became the first UNC research spinoff company to use the Carolina Express License. “We look forward to re-arming antibiotics to help save lives,” Singleton said. 1 Curious Engineer; 44,500 Brain Tumors to Zap
Professor Otto Zhou is applying carbon nanotube X-ray technology invented at UNC to a promising experimental microbeam radiation therapy now housed in massive synchrotrons – facilities larger than Kenan Stadium. Using carbon nanotechnology, Zhou and Sha Chang, associate professor of radiation oncology, hope to be the first to deliver the same radiation dose with a desktop-size device. About 44,500 Americans are annually diagnosed with brain tumors; only 30 percent survive. “We’ve made little progress in 30 years in the survival rate,” Zhou says. “We want to build a system to cure brain tumors.” Zhou, an engineer who holds about 50 issued or pending U.S. patents, collaborated with Siemens Medical Solutions of Germany to form XinRay Systems, a small start-up company in Research Triangle Park, to develop the smaller, more accurate X-ray machine. 1 Determined Scientist; 2,200 Square Miles of Healthier Water
Professor Hans Paerl of the UNC Institute of Marine Sciences knew that collecting water quality data from Pamlico Sound would prove invaluable. As the second-largest estuary on the East Coast, the most important fishery and a very popular recreational destination, Pamlico Sound is critical to the state. To collect that invaluable data, Paerl and research partner Joe Ramus developed FerryMon, the nation’s first ferry-based water quality-monitoring system. It uses sensors attached to ferries already patrolling the 2,200-square mile Pamlico Sound and its tributary rivers daily. The sensors measure salinity, temperature, chlorophyll and other water-quality data and send it back to Paerl’s lab in real time. Changes in the water’s composition, which can happen after a storm or other natural event, can be harmful to wildlife and upset the balance of the ecosystem. That’s why it’s crucial to monitor changes in the water closely. Before FerryMon, post-hurricane water quality was commonly diminished—a fact unknown until thousands of fish turned up dead. Now, coastal managers know of changes right away and can react accordingly.
A few years ago, the small mountain town of Spruce Pine was facing a major loss of jobs in its once-thriving textile and furniture industries. The town contacted the Kenan-Flagler Business School for guidance. The leaders in Spruce Pine had heard of the school’s STAR (Student Teams Achieving Results) program, which matches students with businesses in need. Thanks in part to a Golden LEAF grant, STAR sends teams of top MBA and undergraduate students to build strategies for corporations and non-profits looking to strengthen their global competitiveness. The students get real-world experience, and the businesses benefit from advice that would otherwise cost a fortune. A year of collaboration with the STAR team, led by MBA students Jon Parise and Tina Prevatte, brought big changes for Spruce Pine. They successfully marketed their crafts to national retailer A Southern Season, made plans to sell their products online and developed marketing and branding strategies. Since STAR students collaborated with Spruce Pine, the project has grown to help more than 100 artisans—such as woodworker Frank Baskin—sell their crafts. 1 Generous Dentist; 380,000 New, Improved Chompers
Before graduating with her UNC dentistry degree, Dr. Sharon Nicholson Harrell she wanted to help underserved North Carolinians. Harrell began working in community clinics and serving as dental director for the Cumberland County Health Department. In 1997, she jumped at the chance to work for FirstHealth of the Carolinas, a fledgling non-profit hospital network. It was her dream to direct a program from scratch. Leaders at FirstHealth identified dental care as the No. 1 unmet need for low-income children in Hoke, Moore and Montgomery counties. Nearly half of the children in those counties were getting little to no dental care. And of the 35 dentists in the region, only three participated in publicly assisted programs. Harrell opened the first pediatric FirstHealth dental clinic in 1998 in Southern Pines. Most of her first patients hadn’t seen a dentist in years—if ever—and many were emergency cases. More than a decade later, the picture is much different at Harrell’s Southern Pines clinic, where she has helped take care of 380,000 chompers over the years. Building Program
The October 2010 dedication of Venable Hall and Murray Hall, the latest buildings to open as part of the Carolina Physical Science Complex. The namings honor the Venable family and longtime Professor Royce Murray. The original Venable Hall, home to the chemistry department since 1925, was demolished in 2007. The new Venable and Murray halls house the William R. Kenan Jr. Chemistry Library along with department of chemistry classrooms, lecture halls, conference rooms and the department of marine sciences.
The opening in fall 2009 of the North Carolina Cancer Hospital, which ushers in a new era for cancer care and treatment for patients and their families. The hospital, part of the UNC Health Care System, is the clinical home of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. The hospital triples the previous patient care space and significantly increases the number of patients who can be served. The state’s only public cancer hospital, the facility was funded by an $180 million authorization from the North Carolina General Assembly.
The fall 2009 dedication of the new Education Center at the North Carolina Botanical Garden. It is the first public building in North Carolina to receive a platinum Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) designation for green architecture. The building was designed to be a center of learning, teaching both the science and the enjoyment of plants and nature.
Updated February 2012 |
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