The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Distinctions
By combining excellent teaching with important research and community engagement, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) sets an example for contributions that create new possibilities. It is why the university has been highlighted for the eighth consecutive year on Washington Monthly’s list of American universities that contribute most to the public good, and why it has earned the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor, the highest federal recognition a school can receive for its commitment to service learning and civic engagement. UNCG values its role as a source of innovation and leadership meeting social, economic, and environmental challenges in the Piedmont Triad, North Carolina, and beyond.
The university holds two classifications from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, as a “research university with high research activity” and for “community engagement” in curriculum, outreach and partnerships. More than $35 million annually in grants and contracts for research and creative activity are awarded to faculty members annually. Among the most prominent of UNCG’s research initiatives are the Gateway University Research Park and the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering, both partnerships with North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.
Globalization of the curriculum has expanded opportunities for international education, through new programs like the UNC Exchange Program and the Lloyd International Honors College. In addition, innovative signature programs such as Building Entrepreneurial Learning for Life (BELL), Communication Across the Curriculum, Undergraduate Research and Freshman Seminars enhance the student experience.
As a cultural leader, UNCG offers concerts, lectures, dance and theatre performances, exhibitions in the internationally known Weatherspoon Art Museum, and readings by nationally known authors. In athletics, Spartan teams compete in nine women’s and nine men’s sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. With ethnic minority students making up 26 percent of the student body, UNCG is the most diverse of the UNC system’s historically white campuses.