Residential MPA student Syrena Travis was recently awarded the John M. Belk Impact Fellowship. She was one of 15 recipients from this year's pool of 270 applicants. The John M. Belk Impact Fellowship is a ten-month (August-May), paid program that provides hands- on experience for students currently enrolled in community college, undergraduate or graduate programs in North Carolina. To gain exposure to the inner workings of organizations playing a variety of critical roles across North Carolina’s education landscape, Fellows could be placed at organizations such as nonprofits, education systems and institutions, and philanthropy. Congratulations, Syrena!

The work done in PUBA 734/PLAN 764, Community Development & Revitalization Techniques, was recently featured in Forest City's Daily Courier. The story covers the students' work for the Rutherfordton County School system as they work to find new uses for their facilities. The class is taught by MPA Faculty member Tyler Mulligan. You can read the full text of the article here.

The International City/County Management Conference has moved online for 2020. Student registration is FREE as UNC has a student chapter, so check it out! Topics for this year include:

Interested in getting involved in UNC's student chapter of ICMA? Email Molly Gaskin, President.

With the 2020 Census collection drawing to a close, North Carolina’s response rate is below the national rate and below its rate in 2010.

As of August 8, 2020, more than four in every ten North Carolina households have not yet filled out the 2020 Census, according to Carolina Demography at the UNC Population Center. North Carolina communities that have not responded at high rates are predominantly rural, Black, and Brown, with low internet access. As Non-Response Follow-Up efforts begin, North Carolina and the U.S. Southeast response continues to lag. Read more here.

This event will be held from 9am-5pm on two Saturdays: September 26 and October 17. Please attend both days and the content on Day 2 builds on Day 1. We are organizing the course around an amazing set of local, state and national COVID-related experts, to give you a solid foundation for any future public health work you will do.  

Day 1/Sep 26th: COVID – The Disease, Exposures and Inequities

Day 2/Oct 17: Research and Practice Activities Underway to Address the COVID Pandemic

Day 1: http://tinyurl.com/y46tg4e7

Day 2: http://tinyurl.com/y6ea7dff

MPA faculty member Dr. Willow Jacobson recently published "Infusing public service motivation (PSM) throughout the employment relationship: a review of PSM and the human resource management process" with Jaclyn Piatak, Jessica Sowa, & Jasmine McGinnis Johnson in International Public Management Journal. Check it out here!

Through ARS, The University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill seeks to meet the individual needs of applicants and current students with disabilities and medical conditions as they relate to academics, residences, dining, and co and extra-curricular campus activities. ARS coordinates and implements appropriate reasonable accommodations including academic adjustments and provides appropriate resources and services in accordance with the American with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (504).

The Equal Opportunity and Compliance Office is another helpful resource for students, faculty, and staff with questions and seeking advice in regards to ADAAA and 504. UNC staff, faculty, and guests requesting accommodations should contact the Equal Opportunity and Compliance Office.

COVID-19 is affecting the health of communities large and small across North Carolina. But how is the pandemic impacting how people travel in North Carolina, and how might those changes interplay with health policies? A new research project is now underway to examine those questions. Led by the UNC Highway Safety Research Center, this project brings together a team of multidisciplinary research partners from across the UNC System. Learn how this team is researching the interrelationships of public health policies, mobility changes and the transmission of COVID-19 to inform policy decisions in North Carolina.

The Graduate School is currently accepting applications for the 2021 Impact and Horizon Awards recognizing graduate student research that contributes to the educational, economic, physical, social or cultural well-being of North Carolinians. Eligible nominees include current graduate students and alumni who graduated May 2019 and later. A gallery highlighting the research of the 2020 recipients can be found here.

Nominees whose research has demonstrated direct impact will be considered for the Impact Award; Nominees whose research has high potential for direct impact will be considered for the Horizon Award.

Students should submit their applications online; Programs may nominate up to three students.

Looking for some new walls to stare at? Good news! The North Carolina Museum of Art has reopened the galleries! Free timed tickets are available on their website to allow for social distancing. Not ready to head inside? Their park (complete with sculptures) and trails are open each day dawn to dusk.