Chancellor's Message
Leveraging private gifts for public dollars
Chancellor Holden Thorp
That total was up 5.6 percent from 2008’s $678 million and more than double the amount from a decade ago. This is a remarkable testament to the quality of our faculty. Very few universities can show these kinds of results for important research that will help improve people’s lives and advance knowledge. And in the current economic downturn, it’s great for North Carolina that our research enterprise is bringing hundreds of millions of dollars into the state.
The contracts and grants come primarily from the federal government – especially the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation. The NIH is traditionally our largest source of research funding. Particular to last fiscal year was our strong showing in attracting new federal research funding as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which President Obama launched to help spur the economy back to growth.
The common theme in all of these examples is that a privately endowed professor played a critical role in attracting significant public funds to Carolina.
But while these are public funding sources, we in large part can thank private giving for the results. That’s because our very best faculty often are the ones who land our largest research awards, and our very best faculty often hold endowed professorships created by private donors.
Take Tom Meyer, Arey Professor of Chemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences. He’s directing a new research center that last spring was awarded a U.S. Department of Energy and ARRA grant expected to be valued at $17.5 million over five years. The interdisciplinary center will bring together scientists from across our campus as well as other universities to develop solar fuels from next-generation photovoltaic technology. It’s one of 46 Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs) being funded at U.S. universities and research institutions to accelerate scientific breakthroughs for advanced energy technology development, and is the only EFRC in North Carolina and one of 16 that received ARRA funds for job creation.
The center will focus on nothing less than the most critical issue of our time – creating clean, sustainable energy to power the future.
This fiscal year, our outstanding faculty again are doing a great job of bringing in research dollars. One recent example is that the National Human Genome Research Institute and the National Institute of Mental Health named UNC a Center of Excellence in Genomic Science. The distinction came with an award of $8.6 million over five years to fund a new Center for Integrated Systems Genetics, or CISGen. About $6 million will come from the ARRA.
CISGen will use mouse models to examine the genetic and environmental factors that underlie and contribute to complex problems such as autism, depression and anxiety, as well as how genes and the environment interact to shape them. The CISGen team will be co-directed by Patrick Sullivan, Ray M. Hayworth and Family Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry in our School of Medicine’s Department of Genetics.
Another one of our top faculty members also is working on research that could have far-reaching benefits for human health.
Just last month, the NIH selected Joseph DeSimone, Chancellor's Eminent Professor of Chemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences, for a Pioneer Award, one of only 18 such honors handed out this year. The Pioneer Award supports scientists who propose pioneering – and possibly transforming – approaches to major challenges in biomedical and behavioral research. Awards are for up to $500,000 per year for five years.
Joe will use his award to develop new methods for safely delivering promising biological therapeutics — such as proteins, antibodies and nucleic acids — to specific locations in the body. Ultimately, these could treat numerous diseases, including cancer and cardiovascular conditions, as well as neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s.
The common theme in all of these examples is that a privately endowed professor played a critical role in attracting significant public funds to Carolina. Without their expertise and reputation, those funds may very well have gone elsewhere. And without the support of our donors like you who made those professorships possible, these outstanding faculty might not be at Carolina.
Hark the Sound.
Holden