University of North Carolina

From semanticweb.org

The University of North Carolina is located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina which is in Orange County, North Carolina, USA. Through its teaching, research and public service, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is an educational and economic beacon for the people of North Carolina and beyond. It is known for its basketball and for being is the 5th best public university. Further background information can be found in the Wikipedia article about University of North Carolina.

[edit] History

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was the nation\’s first state university to open its doors and the only public university to award degrees in the 18th century. Authorized by the N.C. Constitution in 1776, the university was chartered by the N.C. General Assembly Dec. 11, 1789, the same year George Washington first was inaugurated as president. The cornerstone was laid for Old East, the nation\’s first state university building, Oct. 12, 1793. Hinton James, the first student, arrived from Wilmington, N.C., Feb. 12, 1795.

[edit] Location

The 729-acre central campus includes the two oldest state university buildings, Old East and Person Hall. Old East and Playmakers Theatre, an 1852 Greek-revival building, are National Historic Landmarks. The American Society of Landscape Architects selected the Carolina campus as one of the most beautifully landscaped spots in the country. That listing is among the praise affirming the charm of mighty oaks, majestic quadrangles, brick sidewalks and other landscaping synonymous with UNC. Carolina\’s Grounds Services crew maintains beloved trees, flowers, shrubbery and green spaces. They use top environmental practices endorsed in the campus master plan. Their work resulted in the university\’s selection for a 2005 Grand Award from the Professional Grounds Management Society\’s Green Star Awards competition, co-sponsored by Landscape Management magazine. This program recognizes the value of maintaining a well-manicured landscape.

[edit] Capital Construction and Renovation Program

Today, the campus is undergoing an unprecedented physical transformation made possible in part by North Carolinians\’ overwhelming approval of the $3.1 billion bond referendum for higher education. The referendum, approved in November 2000, was the nation\’s largest higher education bond package. The bonds mean $515 million for renovations, repairs and new buildings so 21st century students at Carolina can learn in a 21st century environment. Also guided by a visionary master plan for growth now rapidly coming to life, the university is investing funds from non-state sources, including private gifts and overhead receipts from faculty research grants, for other buildings essential to excellence. The resulting $1.8 billion capital construction program is among the largest underway at any major American university. UNC anchors one corner of the famed Research Triangle Park, which has played a vital role in nurturing the economic development of North Carolina.

[edit] Recent Ranking

Several national publications regularly publish rankings that listed Carolina prominently in categories ranging from academic quality to affordability to diversity to public service to international presence. Recent highlights include: 5th best public university in U.S. News & World Report\’s 2006 "Best Colleges" guidebook. Affirmation as a national leader in student accessibility; 1st among public campuses and 10th overall in "Great Schools, Great Prices," based on academic quality, net cost of attendance and average student debt. 5th among publics for "least debt." 54% of course sections enrolled fewer than 20 students-a key UNC measure of excellence. Kenan-Flagler Business School: tied for 5th among undergraduate programs; tied for second among public campuses. 4th among public universities in "The Top American Research Universities," produced in December 2004 by the Lombardi Program on Measuring University Performance at the University of Florida. Based on categories such as research, endowment assets, private giving, faculty, and advanced training. 1st among the 100 best U.S. public colleges and universities that offer the best combination of top-flight academics and affordable costs as ranked by Kiplinger\’s Personal Finance magazine. Carolina has been first for five consecutive times since the magazine began its periodic surveys in 1998. The magazine\’s 2006 analysis stressed academic quality, as well as cost and financial aid offerings. Carolina was the only school in Kiplinger\’s survey that meets 100 percent of each student\’s financial need. A "best value" among 81 schools chosen for "America\’s Best Value Colleges, 2006 Edition" by The Princeton Review/Random House for outstanding academics, relatively low costs, and generous financial aid packages. Carolina has appeared in this publication two years in a row. 1st among public research universities, for the third consecutive year, recording the highest rate of undergraduates studying abroad in 2003-2004; 6th among all public and private research universities for the total number of undergraduates going abroad, according to an annual report published by the Institute of International Education. 4th for industrial outreach in the fields of microtechnology and nanotechnology, according to Small Times magazine. The magazine examined funding, facilities, patenting, company formation, collaborations with industry, research, publishing and courses and degree programs in its rankings of 50 schools. Industrial outreach was one of six categories of rankings published. "Hottest" for health careers, according to the Kaplan/Newsweek 2005 "How to Get into College" guide, based on admissions trends and interviews with a broad array of educators, admissions officers, students and other longtime observers of the admissions process. An article in the guide says UNC\’s diverse offerings in the health disciplines-all in the same place-are helping attract prospective students. Among the "50 Best Colleges" appearing in a 2005 list compiled by CosmoGirl! magazine. The magazine looked at which schools provide the best environment for their female students to be successful not only while enrolled but also after graduation. Factors considered included female role models on campus, quality of women\’s sports programs, availability of entrepreneurial courses, career centers that excel in internship and job placement, and effectiveness of alumni networks.

[edit] Key Statistics

Now in its third century, Carolina offers bachelor\’s, master\’s, doctoral and professional degrees in academic areas critical to North Carolina\’s future: business, dentistry, education, law, medicine, nursing, public health and social work, among others. Offerings include 71 bachelor\’s, 107 master\’s, 74 doctorate and four professional degree programs. The health sciences are well integrated with the liberal arts, basic sciences and high-tech programs. Patient outreach programs affiliated with Carolina and the UNC Health Care System serve citizens in all 100 North Carolina counties. Carolina belongs to the select group of 62 leading American and Canadian campuses forming the Association of American Universities. In fall 2005, Carolina enrolled more than 27,000 students. from all 100 North Carolina counties, the other 49 states and more than 100 other countries. Eighty-two percent of Carolina\’s undergraduates come from North Carolina. Those students learn from a 3,100-member faculty. Many of those faculty members hold or have held major posts in virtually every national scholarly or professional organization and have earned election to the most prestigious academic academies and organizations. The Carolina academic community benefits from a library with more than 5.7 million volumes and more than 53,000 serial subscriptions perennially ranks among the best research libraries in North America as judged by the Association of Research Libraries. The most recent association listings place Carolina 16th among 113 research libraries in North America. UNC\’s Southern Historical Collection, with more than 20 million unique items, is the largest collection anywhere of materials that document the region. The North Carolina Collection, with more than a quarter-million printed items and a half-million photographs, is the largest collection of its kind devoted to documenting a single state. In a typical week during the academic year, people make nearly 75,000 visits to Carolina\’s libraries to research, reflect, learn and create. Carolina\’s 249,419 alumni live in all 50 states and in 142 countries. Notable alumni include writers Thomas Wolfe, Shelby Foote, Kaye Gibbons, Russell Banks and Jill McCorkle; athletes Michael Jordan, Vince Carter, Antawn Jamison, Dre Bly, Mia Hamm, Marion Jones and Davis Love III; Tar Heel Head Basketball Coach Roy Williams; journalists Alan Murray, Roger Mudd, Charles Kuralt, Stuart Scott and Tom Wicker and numerous North Carolina governors and elected officials. Others include UNC President Erskine Bowles, former White House Chief of Staff; former Sen. John Edwards (now director of UNC\’s new Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity); Sen. Paul Wellstone; Bill Harrison, chairman and chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co.; Sallie L. Krawcheck, chief financial officer and head of strategy for Citigroup Inc.; Ken Thompson, chairman and chief executive officer of Wachovia Corp.; Dr. Mary Sue Coleman, a biochemist and former Carolina vice chancellor and now the University of Michigan president; Dr. Elson Floyd, former Carolina executive vice chancellor and now president of the University of Missouri system; U.S. President James Polk; geneticist Francis Collins; actors Billy Crudup, Jack Palance, George Grizzard and Andy Griffith, as well as actresses Louise Fletcher and Sharon Lawrence; editorial cartoonist Jeff MacNelly; Hugh McColl, retired chairman and chief executive officer of Bank of America Corp.; and fashion designer Alexander Julian.