A message from the chancellor: University Day
In an email to campus, Chancellor Kevin M. Guskiewicz previewed Thursday's University Day celebration, which is themed “service to our state.”
Dear Carolina Community,
On Thursday, Oct. 12 at 11 a.m., we will gather as a University community to celebrate 230 years as the nation’s first public university. Together in Memorial Hall, we will remember our history and look to our future. This year’s theme is “service to our state,” and we will recognize alumni who have made a difference in our world and highlight the impact of Carolina’s faculty, staff and students. A panel of alumni who are in government, in our public schools and in the private sector will talk about their experience serving our state and how it has made their careers more fulfilling and meaningful.
Carolina’s impact on our state is difficult to measure, but here are just a few numbers that illustrate the difference we are making. We are a global research powerhouse that attracts over $1.1 billion annually to North Carolina in research funding. Research at UNC-Chapel Hill employs over 10,400 North Carolinians in research projects that span all 100 counties, and nearly 12,000 people are employed by UNC-Chapel Hill startups. Every year, the School of Government provides education and training for approximately 12,000 public officials from all 100 North Carolina counties. UNC Health serves over 1.7 million patients every year. Every one of our graduates of the School of Law participate in pro bono services to meet unmet legal needs in our state.
However, our service to the state is not just about numbers. It’s about the impact that we have on the lives of people. It’s about the thousands of people who didn’t die from a stroke because of UNC Health’s interventions. It’s about the children who learn every day from graduates of our School of Education. It’s about the student whose life was changed because of a scholarship that made attending Carolina possible. And it’s about the opportunities that give hope in situations that can seem filled with despair.
For example, last year on the Tar Heel Bus Tour, I heard how our faculty are changing lives of teenagers in Nash and Edgecombe counties with community-based projects designed to strengthen the capacity of the communities themselves to assess and address their own health-related problems. In Alamance County and North Wilkesboro, we learned how we could become even more engaged in workforce development initiatives across the state. I am confident we will see and learn even more when our faculty head out on this year’s Tar Heel Bus Tour next week.
Our University has a long history of making an impact. We are passionately public and through serving our state, we are inspired to make a difference around the world. I hope that you will join us on Thursday to hear more about the impact our community has on our state. Our work as a university is critical and I am grateful to each of you, our faculty, staff and students, for the part you play in making it possible.
Sincerely,
Kevin M. Guskiewicz
Chancellor
