2016 was a year of continued growth and expanded reach for the Higher Education Works Foundation. It was also a year of change for public higher education in North Carolina:
- On March 1, Margaret Spellings became President of the University of North Carolina System. The Higher Education Works Foundation has built a relationship with the new president and has emphasized the importance of her success to North Carolina’s future.
- By nearly a 2-to-1 margin, North Carolina voters approved a $2 billion bond issue in March with roughly 2/3 of the proceeds going to build capacity for future students at our public universities and community colleges. The Higher Education Works Foundation developed and distributed robust content to explain the bond projects to the public.
- The NC General Assembly adopted HB2, a controversial measure that tarnishes the state’s image, threatens federal support for education and cost the state jobs and events. The Higher Education Works Foundation opposed HB2 and developed meaningful content about it, including an appeal from former Gov. Jim Martin for both sides to listen to each other.
- The 2016 General Assembly also awarded the second university faculty raises in seven years – a 1.5% raise coupled with a 0.5% bonus and a merit raise that averaged 0.75%. The raises were overdue and welcome, but not enough to stem continued poaching of university faculty. And despite a budget surplus, legislators required universities to cut almost $63 million – continuing a trend of nearly $800 million in state disinvestment since the start of the Great Recession. We continue to view legislative support for public higher education as cause for concern.
- In July, Jimmie Williamson became President of the NC Community College System, succeeding Scott Ralls, who left to become President of Northern Virginia Community College.
With the help of our campus partners, our reach grew dramatically over the year:
Other Achievements:
- Raised more than $708,000, for a total of $2.8 million since inception in late 2013.
- Began 2017 with enough cash and commitments to cover 9.5 months of increased expenses.
- Generated more than 10 million impressions via social and display advertising, which led to more than 147,000 interactions.
- Reached more than 1.6 million people on Facebook and Twitter, bringing the total reached in our lifetime to more than 3.9 million.
The media took notice – the Higher Education Works Foundation received attention in:
- The News & Observer,
- Greensboro News & Record,
- Business North Carolina,
- WRAL-TV,
- The Winston-Salem Journal,
- The (Durham) Herald-Sun,
- The (Wilmington) Star-News, and
- NC Policy Watch.
IN 2017, we will reach more people and continue to amplify the success and importance of North Carolina’s public universities and community colleges:
- Last fall, we launched a series called “What Makes a Great University” that explores the distinctive features that set each of our universities apart. That series will continue in 2017.
- We will share more content from our campus partners.
- We will partner with President Spellings to communicate the University’s new strategic plan across the state.
- We will continue to build relationships with our state’s community colleges.
- And we will monitor actions of the 2017 General Assembly and their effects on public higher education in North Carolina.
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