About

The School provides North Carolina’s local and state public officials with legal, public administration, financial, and management expertise. We deliver this work in three core areas: teaching, research and writing, and advising.

Our faculty members educate approximately 12,000 North Carolina public officials annually in more than 200 unique courses. They also respond to more than 10,000 direct advising requests from officials in all 100 North Carolina counties every year. Finally, the School publishes an array of original print and digital publications that help public officials carry out their work.

The School also houses ten public service-oriented entrepreneurial initiatives that provide targeted, responsive support on key areas of need for communities. For example, the Environmental Finance Center conducts research and helps local governments with finance and management of environmental programs and services such as water resources, solid waste management, air quality, and land conservation. Other entrepreneurial initiatives focus on public leadership, benchmarking, criminal justice, public technology, development finance, and more.

The School’s mission is to improve the lives of North Carolinians by engaging in practical scholarship that helps public officials and citizens understand and improve state and local government.[1]

The School of Government is unique both within Carolina and nationally because its mission of statewide public engagement is carried out through the work of tenure-track and other faculty members. A commitment to North Carolina government enables the School’s faculty members to understand deeply the special challenges facing state and local officials, and encourages them to work closely with officials over time in addressing those challenges. In addition to possessing expertise in their academic disciplines, the School’s faculty members must have the ability to make complicated subjects understandable without sacrificing subtlety and complexity.

The School’s mission flows from the University of North Carolina’s rich history of engagement with the people of North Carolina. Pursuit of the School’s mission directly advances the greater mission of the University, which explicitly includes the extension of “knowledge-based services and other resources . . . to the citizens of North Carolina and their institutions to enhance the quality of life for all people in the state. . . . .”[2]

Carolina’s genuine commitment to serving its own state has distinguished it from other major public research universities. This did not happen by accident. In 1915, President Edward Kidder Graham declared that University service is “the radiating power of a new passion” that goes beyond “thinly stretching out its resources” to the state.”[3] According to Graham, “[t]he State of North Carolina is the constituency of the University of North Carolina; therefore, its needs and aspirations are that University’s chief concern.”[4] This passion for service influenced the work of Frank Porter Graham, Albert Coates, Bill Friday, John Sanders, and many others throughout Carolina’s history, and the University’s mission continues to emphasize public engagement with North Carolina. Former chancellor James Moeser reaffirmed that “[s]ervice and engagement must be an integral part of a university’s life, not something we practice if we have extra time or if the mood strikes us or if our schedule permits or if it happens to be convenient. We must consider it an obligation and a responsibility, something that we owe society.”[5] The University’s current academic plan builds on this tradition, stating “[t]o lead public higher education in America, engagement must remain one of Carolina’s highest priorities.”[6] Carolina is a research university with a mission that has always included and rewarded public service.

1. The School uses the term “public officials” in its broad sense to include elected and appointed North Carolina government officials. Faculty members also help citizens whose activities relate closely to government. For example, nonprofit organizations partner with governments in a variety of ways, including the delivery of important government services. School faculty members work with nonprofits and other individuals and organizations when doing so advances the work of state and local government. Faculty members also help the media understand North Carolina government and the actions of government
   officials.
2. Institutional Self-Study Report. (1995). All Useful Learning—Initiating a Third Century of Distinction 167. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 
3. Graham, E.K. (1919). Education and Citizenship and Other Papers 15. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons. 
4. Odum, H.W. Editor (1925). Southern Pioneers in Social Interpretation 209. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press.
5. Address by Chancellor James Moeser, 10th Anniversary of the Friday Center (March 27, 2001). Chancellor Moeser also declared that “[w]e must very clearly send the message far and wide to all parts of our campus and all corners of our state that we take public service just as seriously and value it just as highly as we do teaching and research. That it is equally important and equally necessary for us to fulfill our obligation to North Carolina citizens. So as we look at tenure and post-tenure review, we must consider how public service and engagement fit into the formula. We must send a message loudly and clearly from the highest levels of the University that service is valued, just as teaching and research are." 
6. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. (2003) Academic Plan 27.

The School has carried out its mission through three consistent values for more than 90 years.

Non-partisan: Our value of non-partisanship means our work does not advocate for specific political ideology or engage in partisanship. We do not alter our education or professional and legal guidance to suit the specific political beliefs of clients, funders, or other individuals and organizations. We recognize the diversity of thought and experience present in our state and strive to cultivate an environment where relevant discussion is professional and respectful.

Policy-neutral: The School of Government holds neutrality as a core value in our work. This means we do not advocate for specified policy goals. Our neutrality value requires us to provide policy makers and other stakeholders with our informed opinions based on our expertise and all relevant facts, without altering our analysis due to personal beliefs or those of our audience.

Responsive: Our responsiveness value means our teaching, research, and advising are carried out in direct response to requests from, or in conjunction with, public officials. Because of our longstanding relationships with governments in all 100 North Carolina counties, state government, and key partner organizations, we are uniquely equipped to respond to emerging needs and urgent challenges throughout the state.

These values have built a legacy of trust with North Carolina’s public officials.

The School of Government was created in 2001 by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to advance innovative public service and engagement at the University. In establishing the School, the University recognized the Institute of Government's distinguished 70-year history of practical scholarship for North Carolina local and state government by adopting its mission as the core of the new School.

UNC-Chapel Hill law professor Albert Coates founded the Institute in 1931 to bridge a gap between academic training and practical, job-related training for local officials. Coates expanded this idea to include civic education for North Carolinians. Learn more about the history of the Institute and the School of Government by viewing a short video.

The School of Government at UNC-Chapel Hill is the oldest and most diversified of its kind in the nation. Other similar institutes in the South can be contacted through the Consortium of University Public Service Organizations (CUPSO).

Each year, more than 12,000 public officials throughout North Carolina attend more than 200 courses and conferences in Chapel Hill and at other locations across the state. Our students include elected officials like city council members, judges, and members of the State legislature; appointed officials like magistrates, county managers, and board of elections members; and government employees like law enforcement, tax appraisers, and city and county clerks, among many others.

Our faculty and staff also teach future public service leaders in the School’s on-campus and online Master of Public Administration (MPA) program.

Courses and programs offered by the School of Government are typically targeted to particular groups of government officials. For example, we help administer courses for city and county clerks. You may learn about our courses, including upcoming conferences, seminars and legal updates, by viewing our online course list.

The School has faculty; professional employees with substantive expertise who work closely with faculty as research fellows, program directors, and research assistants; and professional support staff. The substantive expertise of our faculty and professional employees is interdisciplinary. About two-thirds of the School's approximately 50 faculty members hold law degrees, with specialties such as taxation, public health, public employment, and judicial branch education. Faculty also hold doctorates and other advanced degrees in public administration, finance, and leadership and governance. Professional staff members assist faculty in program and project development and support activities with financial, marketing, technology, research, editorial, design, printing, and distribution services.

We are here year-round to answer your questions. Visit our faculty expertise page to find a faculty member who can help with a particular issue or call the School's receptionist at 919.966.5381.

Aimee N. Wall is the dean of the School of Government, a position she assumed in 2023. She is only the fifth leader in the School’s history, and the first woman to hold the position. Previous School/Institute leaders are founder Albert Coates (1931-61), John Sanders (1962-73 and 1979-92), Henry Lewis (1973-78), and Mike R. Smith (1992-2023).

The Knapp Library is our library and your library, with a collection of more than 15,600 bound volumes, approximately 870 periodical subscriptions, and 20,500 pamphlets on topics relating to public law, public administration, management, and government. Traditional library services are available to all residents of North Carolina, and additional services are available to all state and local government personnel, both elected and appointed.

To get essential information and resources right at your fingertips, you may visit our website and order publications online. You may also order specific publications by contacting our distribution partner, UNC Press with Longleaf Services, at 800.848.6224.

The School of Government is home to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Master of Public Administration program. This nationally-ranked degree program serves full-time and part-time students and is available in on-campus and online formats. With courses ranging from management and leadership, to public policy analysis and project evaluation, the program educates leaders for careers in local, state, and federal government and the nonprofit sector. UNC MPA is among the nation’s best programs and is currently ranked second in the country in the local government specialty according U.S. News & World Report.

There are many ways to get directly involved with the School's work. Over the years, alumni and friends have made a significant difference with financial gifts to support the School. You may also want to check out our employment opportunities for faculty and staff.

The Institute of Government began outside the framework of the university. After more than 10 years as a private organization, the Institute became a part of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1942. The Institute was elevated to the level of a School in 2001, taking a place alongside other professional schools of the University. The School of Government represents an important avenue for the University to fulfill its obligation to serve the people and governments of North Carolina.

The School is located on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the Knapp-Sanders Building, on the southwest corner of Raleigh Road and Country Club Road. Our Visitor Information page provides directions, area maps, parking information, and information about local accommodations.