The UNC Tomorrow Commission report recommended that UNC should "become more directly engaged with and connected to the people of North Carolina, its regions and our state as a whole." In his inaugural address, UNC PResident Tom Ross noted that UNC "must never lose our clear focus on the University's duty to contribute to the common good, to develop leaders for our communities and to serve those communities in ways that enhance the quality of life for the people who live in them."
The University has a long history of working directly with the people of the state, with statewide organizations like the UNC School of Government, which helps teach government leaders to work more effectively and efficiently, as well as the Cooperative Extension Service, the Industrial Extension Service, and the Small Business and Technology Development Center, which help advise businesses and community organizations on how to work more effectively. Smaller university-based centers throughout the state have addressed regional needs.
But in the wake of UNC Tomorrow, UNC is taking its engagement efforts to a new level.
Across the state, campuses have launched "rapid response" efforts to help the state and its communities recover from the economic crisis, including convening of meetings and workshops, revisions to curriculum, and the placing of scores of students in government and business to assist with the recovery.
And campuses have made a long-term commitment to aggressively build their engagement efforts. Thanks to the leadership of NC State University and UNC - Chapel Hill, eleven campuses of the University, more than any other university system in the nation, have been recognized by the Carnegie Foundation for its elective "Community Engagement" designation, in recognition of their existing efforts to reach out to their community through scholarship and volunteer efforts. Systemwide engagement efforts are led by Leslie Boney.
For an overview of UNC's community engagement efforts, please look here.
UNC Engagement and Outreach Offices
Elizabeth City State University
North Carolina A&T State University
North Carolina Central University
Winston-Salem State University
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