UNC System finally gets funding for enrollment growth in new state budget
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- State budget allocates $153.9 million for UNC enrollment growth, matching request.
- UNC System saw record-high enrollment and increased retention last year.
- The budget directs sports gambling revenue to NC State and UNC‑Chapel Hill athletics.
Hello reader! This is Higher Stakes, your source for NC higher education news. I’m Jane Winik Sartwell, and I report on colleges and universities for the News & Observer.
This week, we’re looking at sports gambling revenue and enrollment growth in the state budget, leadership changes at university marine labs, a fast food executive who joined Duke leadership, St. Augustine’s University’s continued journey in bankruptcy court, and how a grant once cancelled by DOGE is coming back to NC Central.
Former UNC chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz won’t head to Clemson after all
Kevin Guskiewicz, who served as chancellor of UNC-Chapel Hill from 2019 to 2024, announced in late May that he was leaving his current job as chancellor of Michigan State to lead Clemson University. In his statement to the Michigan State community, Guskiewicz cited “discouraging behavior by a few trustees” including “publicly undermining decisions and putting personal interests above the best interests of the university and our faculty, staff and students.”
Clemson celebrated Guskiewicz’s imminent arrival. But now, it looks like he won’t be moving to South Carolina after all.
On Monday, Clemson’s Board of Trustees announced that "Kevin Guskiewicz has chosen to remain at Michigan State University for personal reasons.”
UNC System finally gets funding for enrollment growth in new state budget
Last week, state lawmakers finally passed a state budget — a year late. And after all the frustration of waiting, the UNC System got its one big request met: enrollment funding. Enrollment funding allows North Carolina’s public universities to grow, covering the cost of teaching and providing services to students beyond what is covered by tuition.
The budget allocates $153.9 million for enrollment growth, right on track with what the university system wanted.
The UNC System saw record-high enrollment and increased retention last year. UNC-Chapel Hill, for example, aims to add 500 students to the incoming freshman class every year for the next 10 years.
The lion’s share of that enrollment growth happened in engineering, biology, nursing and business programs. But to continue serving students at the same level, the system said it needed more money. And after the long wait, lawmakers finally came through.
UNC-Chapel Hill chancellor Lee Roberts celebrated the news in a video message. UNC System President Peter Hans made a grateful statement: “North Carolina’s public universities are growing along with our state, serving more students than ever,” he wrote. “I want to thank our lawmakers for a budget that keeps our universities strong, fiscally sound, and focused on serving North Carolina. At a time when other higher education systems across the country are cutting back, the UNC System is reaching more students, graduating more of them on time, and meeting the workforce needs of a fast-growing state.”
UNC marine lab names interim director after previous leader left for Duke
When prolific marine scientist Joel Fodrie left his job as director of UNC’s coastal lab in June for the same job at Duke, it left an uncomfortable vacuum at UNC’s lab. One professor described the departure as a “great loss,” and others expressed anxiety about the immediate future of the lab.
Now, the lab has named an interim director: professor Janet Nye. She runs the Nye Lab at UNC, where she and her students research fisheries, oceanography and ecology.
“We’re a resilient marine lab,” Nye told me last month. “And we have lots of excellent faculty still here.”
Higher ed headlines from this week
- The new state budget distributes sports gambling revenue to NC State and UNC-Chapel Hill athletic departments. Read my colleague Jadyn Watson-Fisher’s story about how it will work.
- The CEO of McDonald’s has joined the Duke University board of trustees. Read about why the fast food executive went viral earlier this year.
- When the Department of Governmental Efficiency gutted the National Endowment for the Humanities last year, DOGE staffers used ChatGPT to decide which grants to terminate, including an NC Central project on institutional history. Now, a court ruling against DOGE means the money is coming back to the Durham HBCU.
- St. Augustine’s University was back in bankruptcy court last week. The bankruptcy administrator on the case voiced existential concerns about St. Augustine’s path forward.
- The man who led St. Augustine’s with a steady hand from 1967 to 1995 died last week at 105 years old. Read about Prezell Robinson and where to celebrate his life.
What I’m reading
- Davidson College to offer free tuition to households earning $175K or less by Rebecca Noel at The Charlotte Observer
- Another Professor Leaves UNC-Chapel Hill’s Civics School by Matt Hartman at The Assembly
- Duke enrolls record transfer class with 6% acceptance rate, targets veterans and humanities students by Ryan Kilgallen at the Duke Chronicle
- Inside UNC and the General Assembly’s 237 year relationship — and where it stands now by Gabe Thumm at The Daily Tar Heel
Thank you for reading. If you have questions or comments about higher education in NC, please feel free to reach out. My email is jane.sartwell@newsobserver.com. I’d love to hear from you. And if you liked this newsletter, consider sharing it with a friend!
– Jane Winik Sartwell
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This story was originally published July 7, 2026 at 5:00 AM with the headline "UNC System finally gets funding for enrollment growth in new state budget."
