Hunt Institute may lose state funding

State funding to UNC-system centers and institutes has eroded with each fiscal cycle, with a most recent cutback targeting UNC’s James B. Hunt Jr. Institute for Educational Leadership and Policy.

The proposed N.C. Senate budget would eliminate all general fund support to the institute that develops educational policies and programs to improve public education nationwide.

The N.C. House of Representatives voted Tuesday to reject the Senate’s proposed budget, sending negotiations to a conference committee.

April White, chief operating officer of the Hunt Institute, said in an email that nearly a quarter of the institute’s budget comes from state funding.

“It may not seem like a lot, but the funding we’ve received from the state has been critical to our growth and our ability to carry out our nonpartisan work over the years,” she said.

Funding cuts to centers and institutes are typically done at the discretion of the University through the Board of Governors and not by the Senate, said UNC professor and director of the Program on Public Life, Ferrel Guillory.

In recent reviews by the Board of Governors, many centers and institutes were examined and some closed — like UNC’s Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity in February.

The Hunt Institute, however, received support from the Board of Governors during its review. White said the Board supported the institute’s ability to bring policymakers together in a bipartisan manner, so it came as a surprise that the Senate would cut its funding.

“Overall, the proposed cut is disappointing, but our dedication and service to our legislators — and the educational improvement of our state — will not cease even if our state funds do,” White said.

School of Education Dean Bill McDiarmid said in an email that the Hunt Institute is a unique establishment that holds annual retreats for N.C. representatives and national gatherings for governors to discuss education policy.

“It has served as a nonpartisan hub of research, thinking and discussion about the needs of our schools and of our society and has worked to identify and implement policy changes that address those needs,” McDiarmid said.

Guillory said he believes it is the role of public universities like UNC to give back to society by enriching the public with learnings from the social sciences and humanities.

“The cuts to university programs, centers and institutes should not be seen as just slicing away extra things that the University does,” he said. “It’s central to the role of the public university.”

UNC education professor Fenwick English said the cut reflects conservative efforts to curtail public education progress.

“I’m not surprised anymore at what this Republican-dominated legislature will do to dismantle public education in North Carolina,” he said in an email.

“This is another initiative along the same lines to privatize the public schools and to eliminate any and all opposition to that agenda.”

state@dailytarheel.com