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Happy Birthday, Carolina!

University Day

 Each year on Oct. 12, Carolina celebrates University Day, which marks the laying of the cornerstone of Old East — the campus’ first building and the oldest state university building in the nation. The day is a celebration of our mission as the country’s first public university and our service to North Carolina, the nation and the world through our teaching, research and public service.

Read more about the celebration

The stage during University Day.

Celebrating service

The theme for this year's celebration was service to North Carolina.

During the ceremony, the University highlighted how service is connected to all aspects of what we do at Carolina and heard from faculty members whose work is aimed at improving the lives of North Carolinians.

Explore Carolina's impact on the state
  • Marine Sciences doctoral student Carter Smith turns a crank on some research equipment as she stands in water near the N.C. coast.

    The Institute for Marine Sciences conducts cutting edge research, trains scientists and provides expertise to government agencies and industry. Located in Morehead City on more than six acres of waterfront property, it is an ideal site to study the ecology, conservation and restoration of marine resources, and to develop new technologies to safeguard our coasts.

    UNC Institute for Marine Sciences
  • Purple plastic inside a 3D printer

    The Shuford Program in Entrepreneurship, led by Carolina's Bernard Bell since 2017, teaches students an entrepreneurial mindset that can be applied to any career. Successful entrepreneurs serve as faculty, advisors and guest speakers, sharing their real-world expertise with the students in social, commercial, artistic and scientific entrepreneurship.

    Shuford Program in Entrepreneurship
  • A North Carolina flag flies on South Building.

    Housed in the School of Government and led by Anita Brown-Graham, ncIMPACT brings experts and data to bear on some of the state's most pressing issues. The initiative works with policy experts and community leaders across North Carolina in a nonpartisan effort to improve education, jobs, health care and other pressing issues.

    ncIMPACT

Impact on the State

From student service projects to cutting-edge research to UNC-Chapel Hill's impact on the state economy, Carolina serves communities from the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Crystal Coast.

  • 3rdbest public university in the nation
  • $1 billionin annual research expenditures
  • 424Carolina startups headquartered in North Carolina
  • 12,587North Carolinians employed by UNC-Chapel Hill companies
  • 2 millionhours of community service contributed by undergraduates in the past 16 years
  • 22disaster relief trips hosted throughout North Carolina since 2016

Across the Tar Heel State

Read more stories
  • Cape Fear river

    Trapped on the surface

    Researcher Nathan Hall studies the Cape Fear River, which has become more susceptible to algal blooms — a potential public health concern for more than 1.5 million people relying on the river as a drinking water source.

  • Travis Williams poses in front of the hospital

    Going where the need is greatest

    Travis Williams is a medical student on a mission to bring excellent care to underserved corners of North Carolina.

  • Venus flytrap

    Carnivorous conservation

    Native only to a 90-mile inland radius around Wilmington, the Venus flytrap is a symbol of the Atlantic coastal plain’s unique ecology — and a contender for the federal endangered species list.

  • Dr. Rick Leuttich, director of the UNC Center for Natural Hazards and Disasters, sits at his computer to use modeling to predict storm surge from hurricanes and the areas affected

    An eye on the hurricanes

    Researchers are helping our state prepare for hurricanes by studying the challenges we face, from storm surge and flooding to water quality and beach erosion.