U NC-Chapel Hill has a reputation for excellence as one of the top public research universities in the nation. This status could be at risk if the UNC Board of Governors goes through with proposed cuts to the system’s research centers.
Earlier this year, researchers were able to avoid budget cuts of $13.1 million.
Now, state lawmakers have asked the board to consider even deeper cuts. Their proposal would direct $15 million from research to distinguished professorships and the five-year strategic directions initiative. The board will discuss it next month.
Cutting state funding for research would hurt thousands of students and faculty, many of whom were originally drawn to UNC by research opportunities. But they are not the only ones affected.
In 2013, according to the University, UNC research directly funded more than 5,050 full-time jobs and annually created more than 15,000 throughout the state. Research helps pay for jobs in almost every county in the state. Reducing research funding would mean fewer jobs statewide in the future.
State funding also helps to attract external funding at a rate of almost $8 for every $1 spent by the state. Cuts could be compounded if external funding goes elsewhere.
The North Carolina Department of Commerce reported in its latest innovation report that the state’s universities produce both a significant amount of intellectual property and a well-educated workforce.
Lawmakers and the BOG should reconsider cutting funding from programs that have long solidified UNC’s place among the nation’s elite research universities.
