Across North Carolina, local governments are being asked to make increasingly complex decisions about housing, transportation, infrastructure, and economic development—often while facing limited staff capacity and constrained resources. Meeting those challenges requires professionals who can turn data into action and help communities plan for an uncertain future.

When Kristi Nickodem has a free moment, you can probably find her reading. The UNC School of Government faculty member might be immersed in a memoir or novel—but more often than not, she's catching up on the latest developments in artificial intelligence (AI).

“I'm reading the news first thing in the morning, seeing updates throughout the day, and usually checking the news last thing at night,” she said.

Jonathan Q. Morgan joined the UNC School of Government in 2003 and is now a professor of public administration. He teaches, advises public officials, and conducts applied research on economic development.

School of Government faculty member Crista Cuccaro accepted the Public Sector Agency 2026 Historically Underutilized Businesses (HUB) Award for Excellence on behalf of the School of Government at the North Carolina Department of Administration’s 45^th Annual State Construction Conference in March 2026. 

On May 9, 2026, the UNC Master of Public Administration (MPA) program graduated 46 newly minted MPAs from both the online and in-person formats. The festivities at the Frank Porter Graham Student Union were marked by peacock blue hoods, smiling family and friends in attendance, and a unifying theme: "home."

Jill D. Moore, a professor at the UNC School of Government, has been honored with the Ronald H. Levine Legacy Award by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS), one of the state’s most distinguished recognitions in the field of public health.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Carolina Across 100 initiative (CX100) has announced its final program, Our State, Our Future, which will celebrate the accomplished goal of engaging with all 100 counties in North Carolina.