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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 seventh 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 will graduate 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. The University’s policies protect affordability and offer an outstanding education.
  • Last fall, Carolina enrolled the most academically prepared first-year class in University history, with 3,895 students drawn from a record 20,000 applications. This year’s applications surpassed that, hitting the 21,487 mark – a 7 percent increase). Total student enrollment in fall 2007 exceeded 28,000 for the first time.
  • 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 $610 million in outside research funding in fiscal 2007 – more than double the amount a decade ago. The research is helping cure diseases, bring innovation to industry and spin off businesses and new jobs for North Carolinians. Key areas include a genome science initiative, an Institute for Advanced Materials, Nanosciences and Technology and the Renaissance Computing Institute, based at Carolina in partnership with Duke University, North Carolina State University and state agencies. The University aspires to reach $1 billion in sponsored research by 2015.
  • Last year, 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. The fund directed $25 million to Carolina in 2007-08 and the total will increase to $50 million per year beginning in 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 that North Carolinians are concerned most about – such as education, health care and economic development. The University’s focus on excellence is to help North Carolina be the best that it can be.
  • The Carolina First Campaign, completed in December 2007, was the most successful fundraising effort in University history, raising more than $2.38 billion as the fifth largest completed campaign in U.S. higher education and the largest completed drive at a university in the South.
  • The campaign’s success more than made good on 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 – now at $2.1 billion – one of the nation’s largest campus building programs on the main campus.
  • New buildings include the FedEx Global Education Center, which brings together all international education activities under one roof. The center makes a major statement about what campus leaders envision for Carolina in the future – bold, innovative and a symbol for progress. For North Carolina to compete in the global economy, the University must be a player on the world stage.


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 Contact: Mike McFarland, University Relations, 919-962-8593, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it