Below is a reprint of a full-page ad that appeared in several newspapers on July 7, 2021. Higher Ed Works received permission from the former trustees to republish the ad in its entirety.
UNC Chapel Hill has faced its share of controversies, and it is working its way through challenges it faces right now.
But in recent years, as one major company after another announced plans to open or expand research and technology hubs in North Carolina, they cited the same key factor driving those investments: Access to talent, driven by the state’s world-class universities.
- “We need the most talented team possible,” Google Vice President of Engineering Marian Croak said when she announced a new cloud computing hub in Durham.[1]
- Fujifilm unveiled a new biotechnology project in North Carolina because of the state’s “strong pool of technical talent, local resources and partners with the right competencies.”[2]
- Apple announced a $1 billion campus in Research Triangle Park, a “transformative investment” for North Carolina.[3]
- When Silicon Valley Bank recently ranked the Triangle the most-poised market in the country to become an innovation hub, a bank executive credited the region’s “concentration of academic excellence” and the talent pipeline it produces.[4]
- Pfizer continued to expand its plant in Sanford, backed by research at UNC Chapel Hill. “The company’s gene therapy development is founded on technology pioneered at the University of North Carolina,” Pfizer said.[5] “The facilities in North Carolina employ more than 3,600 people, with 650 employed at the Sanford facility alone.”
That deep well of talent and research is centered around the nation’s oldest public university. UNC Chapel Hill now ranks as one of the largest, most-successful research institutions on the planet, conducting more than a billion dollars in sponsored research each year.
Through the efforts of high-powered faculty at the cutting edge of their fields, Carolina has become the 6th-largest recipient of federal grant dollars,[6] and overall research funding at the university has quadrupled in the last two decades.[7] Those investments haveaccelerated growth in everything from data science to disease prevention. They have generated 945 U.S. patents and 217 active start-up businesses.
Backed by generousstate supportand a hard-earned reputation for faculty independence and excellence, Carolina maintains nationally ranked programs in pharmacy, chemistry, business, journalism, marine science, public health, nursing, computer science, and dozens of other specialties. The Carolina faculty is a pillar of strength with its highly regarded teaching, research and service.
That wide-ranging capacity was on display over the past year. Carolina faculty mobilized to test COVID treatments, advise business owners on safe reopening, and develop telehealth programs to serve patients more effectively. “Each one of these projects will have a direct impact on improving the health and safety of North Carolinians,” Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz said. “We are looking forward to working with our fellow System schools to find solutions and strategies for fighting COVID-19.”[8]
Many have asked, ‘Why is the University of North Carolina outstanding? Why is it unique?’… I would suggest that the University is outstanding because it is a leader. It has exercised leadership in the unceasing fight for higher standards of education throughout North Carolina, and its influence has been felt in every corner of the state.”
— Luther Hodges,
Governor of North Carolina, 1960
The pandemic posed enormous challenges to higher education everywhere in the country, and there were predictions of major enrollment challenges and funding problems in a disrupted school year. Instead, North Carolina’s public universities saw record-setting enrollment last fall,[9] and UNC Chapel Hill welcomed the largest class in its history.[10] “I think it’s an extraordinary achievement, and a vote of confidence in our universities,” UNC System President Peter Hans said last year.
Some 82% of Chapel Hill’s students come from North Carolina, and 36% of those students come from the state’s rural counties.
At least some of that record-setting enrollment is driven by another remarkable achievement that sets North Carolina universities apart: Flat tuition. UNC Chapel Hill has long been one of the most affordable schools in the country, regularly topping national rankings for high value and low student debt. That reputation has been strengthened by a halt in tuition increases for five years, keeping costs for in-state undergraduates stable since 2017.[11] UNC is near the top of Princeton Review’s list of best-value colleges,[12] and has topped the Kiplinger’s Magazine ranking for value for the past 18 years.[13]
Those honors come from a combination of low overall cost and well-designed financial aid programs that put Carolina within reach for talented students at any income level. When UNC won the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Prize in 2017, the Foundation cited the University’s record of keeping debt low for all students. “UNC-Chapel Hill provides low-debt, full-need student financial aid and admits students on a need-blind basis,” the Foundation wrote. “Its Carolina Covenant program provides debt-free financial aid for the lowest-income students.”[14]
As a result, Carolina has bucked the national trend of rising student debt. Most UNC students graduate with no student loans at all, and the average among borrowers is far below the national norm.[15] “The way we invest our financial aid dollars not only keeps Carolina affordable for students across the state, but also enhances the quality of our class,” said Rachelle Feldman, interim vice provost for enrollment. “We’re able to admit the best students we can find and promise them they’ll leave without burdensome debt.”
As the University emerges from the pandemic and prepares for a more normal year, University leaders are ready to build on these strengths. “We are well on our way to raising $1 billion in student scholarships to meet the needs of our students and reflect the state that we serve,” Chancellor Guskiewicz said during his installation speech. “We will expand the number of students we accept and bring more first-generation students, more minority students, more rural students to Carolina, training them to become the next Rhodes Scholars, civic leaders, CEOs, teachers and doctors.”[16]
The relationship between the state and its universities has been a virtuous cycle for more than two centuries, and it is emerging from the past challenging year in better shape than ever. Carolina and its sister institutions are North Carolina’s greatest asset. We need to appreciate them, nurture them and grant them the independence they need to be great universities. For the sake of our state and its future, we must each do our part to fulfill that mission.
[1]https://www.researchtriangle.org/news/google-picks-durham-for-engineering-hub-aims-to-create-1000-jobs/.
[2]https://fujifilmdiosynth.com/about-us/press-releases/fujifilm-selects-north-carolina-as-the-location-to-build-the-largest-cell-culture-biopharmaceutical-cdmo-facility-in-north-america/.
[3]https://www.nccommerce.com/news/press-releases/governor-cooper-announces-apple-will-create-3000-jobs-wake-county.
[4]https://www.wraltechwire.com/2021/06/04/report-triangle-region-drew-11b-in-new-investments-added-18000-jobs-despite-pandemic/.
[5]https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/projects/pfizers-gene-therapy-manufacturing-facility/.
[6]https://research.unc.edu/about/facts-rankings/.
[7]https://provost.unc.edu/posts/2018/11/28/carolina-rises-fifth-among-u-s-universities-federal-research-funding/.
[8]https://sph.unc.edu/sph-news/north-carolina-policy-collaboratory-distributes-29-million-for-covid-19-research/.
[9]https://www.northcarolina.edu/news/unc-system-announces-third-straight-year-of-record-enrollment/. [10]https://www.unc.edu/posts/2021/03/18/now-more-than-ever/.
[11]https://cashier.unc.edu/tuition-fees/prior-year-rates/.
[12]https://www.unc.edu/posts/2021/04/23/carolina-places-in-the-top-5-of-the-princeton-reviews-best-value-colleges-2021/.
[13]https://www.unc.edu/posts/2019/07/25/carolina-named-best-value-2019/.
[14]https://www.jkcf.org/our-stories/unc-chapel-hill-wins-1-million-cooke-prize/.
[15]https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?199120-University-of-North-Carolina-at-Chapel-Hill and https://oira.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/297/2020/12/CDS_2019-2020_20201201.pdf and https://greensboro.com/blogs/the_syllabus/the-syllabus-some-encouraging-news-on-student-debt/article_39eeb56a-08c7-11eb-85d8-2b5bb1b2c4c1.html.
[16]https://chancellor.unc.edu/posts/2020/10/11/installation-address-happiness-of-a-rising-generation/.
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