Touchdown! UNCC scores state money

Rejoice, 49er fans. Buzz with happiness.
No, football hasn’t been approved by the campus poo-bahs. This is even bigger. UNC Charlotte’s top needs fared very, very well in the new state budget.
Here’s a quick rundown, according to David Dunn, vice chancellor for university relations and community Affairs:

• The Energy Production and Infrastructure Center (EPIC) got $56 million, the full
  amount needed to build it. That’s the university’s top capital priority.
• The budget provides $34 million for enrollment growth for the UNC system. That’s a
  critical development, particularly for fast-growing campuses such as UNCC.
  Otherwise the cost of educating additional students who have enrolled since last
  year would have to be paid from existing operating budget. For UNCC, it amounts
  to some $6 million. Some 700 new students are expected for the fall semester.

UNCC still lags behind other research and doctoral-granting campuses in per-student funding. Lawmakers did nothing to make up for historic disparities in the state funding formula.
Still, N.C.’s fourth largest campus fared well at a tight economic time when lawmakers could have held back on higher education.