University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
EN-14: Participation in Public Policy

The university partners with the towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro in many ways. The Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership works to bring the resources of the town, university, and downtown community together to maintain, enhance, and promote downtown as the social, cultural, and spiritual center of Chapel Hill through economic development. The university also partners with Chapel Hill Transit and with the Orange Water and Sewer Authority (OWASA) on reclaimed water projects.

"During the last two years, UNC Chapel Hill has advocated at the North Carolina State Legislature for the following three matters: · Successful – Establishment of the NC Policy Collaboratory. In 2016, UNC Chapel Hill successfully worked with the Legislature to establish the NC Policy Collaboratory to facilitate the “policy and research expertise of The University of North Carolina for practical use by State and local government” in North Carolina. The Collaboratory initially is focused on “environmental and economic components of the management of natural resources within the State of North Carolina and of new technologies for habitat, environmental, and water quality improvement.” The Legislature specifically tasked the Collaboratory with developing a plan for improvement of the shellfish aquaculture industry in the state and conducting a study of nutrient management for two large lakes that serve as drinking water sources. · Unsuccessful – Additional Funding for Hurricane Response. In late 2016, UNC Chapel Hill unsuccessfully advocated at a special session of the Legislature for additional funding for the Collaboratory to develop an action plan in response to Hurricane Matthew, which struck the state. Had the University been successful, we would have fully funded a center to work with the state’s Office of Emergency Management on resiliency of infrastructure and of communities to future storms. The Collaboratory was able to partially fund this work with the money it received as part of its establishment despite our failure during the special session. · Pending – Renewable Energy Legislation. Starting in late 2016 and continuing through spring of 2017, UNC Chapel Hill has been working with a stakeholder group to develop a comprehensive renewable energy bill for the Legislature. The University has been leading the effort to create a new “green source rider” program that would allow the University and other large electricity users to purchase renewable energy through large utilities in the state. Currently, large customers cannot buy renewable energy through utilities and only can develop renewable projects that can exist “behind the meter”. The University also has been advocating for a study of battery storage on the electricity grid to determine whether a larger battery storage program should be implemented within the state. The University has joined with renewable energy producers, industry trade groups and large corporate power customers on this effort. We are hopeful that the proposed bill language will be passed during the current legislative term."

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has long been a national leader in making a college degree possible for deserving students regardless of whether they can pay the full cost of their education. Carolina again showed that commitment by helping to launch a new alliance to educate more lower- and moderate-income students at America's top schools with the highest graduation rates. Carolina and other leading public flagships, private universities, and liberal arts colleges joined the American Talent Initiative. The national goal of the initiative is to attract, enroll and graduate 50,000 additional high-achieving, lower-income high school students at the 270 colleges and universities with the highest graduation rates by 2025.

The Vice Chancellor's Office for Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Economic Development works to strengthen UNC's innovation ecosystem to meet the needs of faculty, students, staff, and community members as they translate their novel ideas into practical benefit and change the world. To date, UNC Gillings School of Public Health faculty and students have conducted research and service projects in more than 80 countries. The Water Institute works with governments, regulators, utilities, and private service providers to identify barriers to sustainable access to high quality water and sanitation services at scale and actionable opportunities to improve service delivery. We believe that helping governments develop smart governance mechanisms, promote innovative service delivery models, and implement evidence-based policies can accelerate access to high quality water and sanitation services. http://waterinstitute.unc.edu/focus-areas/governance-and-regulation/

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was named a project site for the Association of American Universities' (AAU) five-year initiative to improve the quality of undergraduate education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields at its member institutions. UNC-Chapel Hill is one of eight campuses to each be awarded $500,000 from 2013-2016 as part of a $4.7 million grant. The project bolsters an ongoing initiative in the College to enhance undergraduate education through the use of innovative, evidence-based, student-focused instructional techniques and technologies that have been found to be effective for students with wide-ranging academic experience, including those new to the sciences.