A Message from the Chancellor
The University of North Carolina Wilmington is focused on providing our students with the most powerful learning experience possible. Their potential inspires everything we do, from teaching and research, to applied learning and civic engagement. Our students, faculty and staff devote each day to the pursuit of knowledge, whether gathering it or sharing it.
The excellence that defines UNCW merits national recognition in a number of rankings. We have earned a “top 10” ranking from U.S. News for 12 straight years and “Best in the Southeast” recognition from The Princeton Review for six consecutive years. Our first-ever selection as one of the top “military-friendly” schools in the country stems from the extraordinary work underway with our programs at Camp Lejeune, and our first inclusion in the prestigious Fiske Guide indicates UNCW’s increasing national presence.
As much as we appreciate great rankings, they are only one measure of UNCW’s success. We track other results as well. For example, at 87 percent, our freshman-to-sophomore retention rate is one of the highest in the UNC system. Our graduation rates also are among the best, and, most importantly, our students and alumni tell us over and over again that this university has made a tremendous difference in their lives. In a recent survey, more than 90 percent of our alumni said they are satisfied or extremely satisfied with their UNCW experience.
Bright, talented students are drawn to the power of the UNCW experience. Our incoming freshmen have an average high school G.P.A. of 3.77, and their average SAT score is 1168, our highest ever. In fact, the average SAT score for our incoming class has increased 80 points over the past 10 years.
UNCW expects great things from our students, and they consistently deliver. This year, we have a Fulbright Scholar, two Hollings Scholars, one of only three Portz Scholars in the nation, and literally thousands of students who have excelled in class and research activities, at internships and service learning programs, and as community volunteers and campus club leaders.
Our student-athletes soar in the classroom and in competition. They maintain outstanding GPAs and have one of the best graduation rates among schools in both North Carolina and the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). Last year, our Seahawks won conference championships in men’s tennis, track and field, and men’s swimming and diving, the eighth consecutive title for the team. A Seahawk also earned the 2009 CAA student-athlete leadership award.
The momentum that propels UNCW to soar higher derives from our students’ achievements, faculty and staff accomplishments and strong support from alumni, friends, volunteer board members and other donors.Some of our significant, recent achievements include the following:
- Janie Canty-Mitchell, associate dean for research and community partnerships in our School of Nursing, is one of only 20 nurses nationwide – and the only one in North Carolina – selected as a 2009 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Executive Nurse Fellow. This program focuses on expanding the role of nurses to lead change in the U.S. health care system.
- Clyde Edgerton, UNCW professor of creative writing, made Oprah Winfrey's summer reading list with his novel The Bible Salesman. His letters are included in an “Author to Author” exhibition featuring the South’s “literary lions” at UNC-Chapel Hill’s Southern Historical Collection. Clyde and two colleagues, David Gessner and Ben George, also recently published The Book of Dads, a collection about the joys and challenges of fatherhood that earned strong reviews.
- David Gill, associate professor of English education with the Watson School of Education, has received numerous accolades for his fiction novel, Soul Enchilada, including a nomination for the Best Book for Young Adults award by the American Library Association.
- The federal Department of Education awarded a $967,000 grant to a partnership formed by the UNCW Department of Philosophy and Religion and Brunswick, New Hanover and Pender County schools. The grant will support programs that focus on teaching American history.
- Wilmington commercial real estate entrepreneur David Swain and his wife Diane gave $1 million to the Cameron School of Business to support programs provided by the Center for Business and Economic Services, which is now named for this generous couple.
- Our Center for Marine Science received a $15 million matching grant, funded by federal stimulus money, to support construction of a building for marine biotechnology in North Carolina.
- We have broken ground on a new oyster hatchery at CMS. This project, a partnership with the North Carolina Aquarium Division, will help UNCW continue significant research into the best ways to rebuild the state’s oyster population.
- CMS also is a partner in a new cooperative institute funded by a $22.5 million grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The institute’s mission focuses on three areas: development of advanced underwater technologies, exploration and research of frontier regions of the eastern continental shelf and beyond, and improved understanding of deep and shallow coral ecosystems.
I hope you will have an opportunity to experience our pride in UNCW by visiting our campus. We have constructed or renovated at least 20 buildings in the past five years, creating a campus that is well-equipped to provide students with the most powerful learning experience possible. Our cultural arts events, lifelong learning programs and youth camps create strong connections between UNCW and our regional community.
I am extremely proud of the progress we are making in so many areas at our great university. The remarkable achievements we’ve attained, combined with our ongoing commitment to reaching our strategic goals, have positioned UNCW to soar even higher this year. I appreciate your interest in the University of North Carolina Wilmington.
Sincerely yours,
Rosemary DePaolo
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