We’ve got the latest budget updates and everything you need to know about Gov. Cooper’s visit.
BUDGET UPDATE
The North Carolina Senate passed its initial version of the two-year state budget this week. The Senate included several of UNC Charlotte’s highest priorities:
- Funding $15 million for enrollment growth critical to our fast-growing campus
- Funding repair and renovations for UNC campuses
- Providing salary increases for employees at 1.5 percent or $750, whichever is greater
Several University budget priorities and policy items were not included. UNC Charlotte will work diligently to make the case to House budget writers and leaders for the following:
- Faculty Recruitment and Retention Fund; $3 million to the UNC system.
- Tools to more efficiently manage the campuses budgets and address critical needs:
- Increase carry forward authority from 2.5 percent to 5 percent of appropriation
- Increase approval authority from $300,000 to $1 million
One harmful provision that could create huge roadblocks to personnel actions: all new positions would require the Board of Governors approval. This removes all ability of the campus to add positions including faculty, police and maintenance staff to serve the growth of the student population.
What’s next?
The House will review the Senate budget and create their budget over the next two weeks.
What can you do?
Chancellor Philip L. Dubois will travel to Raleigh next week to meet with key leaders and make the case for these issues.
You CAN make a difference if you personally know any of the key leaders listed below. Please contact Betty Doster at betty.doster@uncc.edu or 704-608-9382 before contacting these legislators so she may provide the latest information.
Speaker Tim Moore, Rep. Linda Johnson, Rep. Dean Arp, Rep. Craig Horn, Rep. John Fraley, Rep. Jonathan Jordan, Rep. Hugh Blackwell, Rep. Justin Burr, Rep. Becky Carney, Rep. Pat Hurley, Rep Donnie Lambeth, Rep. Nelson Dollar or Rep. Chuck McGrady.
GOV. COOPER VISITS CAMPUS
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper visited UNC Charlotte in April to experience the power of Big Data. University leaders discussed how UNC Charlotte’s Data Science Initiative is a collaborative, multidisciplinary effort with transformational implications for the industries in the greater Charlotte region and the entire state.
UNC Charlotte is at the forefront in developing the education, training and research programs in data science and analytics, integrated with business and industry expertise. This curriculum provides new generations of data scientists, analysts and managers with the technical and business skills needed to transform data into business solutions.
Cooper visited UNC Charlotte’s Visualization Center, where he participated in live demonstrations that utilized large data sets – one was a geospatial immersive demo focused on emergency management, especially Hurricane Matthew that greatly affected eastern North Carolina, and the other analyzed social media trends and patterns to better understand the past and present. Analysts apply these data sets to help the retail, banking, energy and health care industries, to name a few.
Cooper also met with students, faculty and some of the University’s key industry partners, including representatives from Bank of America, Carolinas Healthcare System, Peak 10 and the Business Innovation Growth Council. Cooper also participated in the University’s Day of Service, helping students from the Student Philanthropy Council make sandwiches. Food Lion contributed the meat, cheese and bread for the sandwiches, which were donated to Urban Ministry, Men’s Shelter of Charlotte, McCrorey YMCA and United Way of Cabarrus County.
(Gov. Cooper joins students Jessica Beavers, Nivea Ealey, Sean Myhand and Emmitt Scott at Operation Sandwich)
While on campus, Cooper promoted his proposed NC Invents program, a $10 million effort to help universities identify technologies with commercial potential and to move them forward by creating development plans to attract investors. The program, introduced in the governor’s recommended state budget for 2017-19, also highlights the importance of state investments in higher education.
Cooper returned to Charlotte in early May to talk to the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce Board of Advisors meeting, hosted by the University and held at UNC Charlotte Center City. While here, Cooper announced that Charlotte lawyer Frank Emory will chair the N.C. Economic Development Partnership. In Chancellor Philip L. Dubois’ opening remarks to the group, he noted that Gov. Cooper has 49er green in his family, as his late mother received her master’s degree in education from the Cato College of Education at UNC Charlotte.