2021 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report

Several of the area colleges and universities are also experiencing significant capital construction . In 2016, North Carolina voters approved NC A&T State University (A&T) and UNC Greensboro (UNCG) for a combined $195 million in Connect NC Bond funding. Following the opening of its $90 million newly constructed 150,000 square-foot student center, A&T is investing $90 million for construction of a new 130,000 square-foot, four-story Engineering Research and Innovation Complex (ERIC). A&T began the bidding process for the construction of ERIC in April 2019 and is on track to complete the project by late fall 2021. UNCG completed the new $105 million, five-story Nursing and Instructional building in 2020. The 180,000- square-foot facility serves as the new, state-of-the-art home of the School of Nursing which previously was spread across four buildings around campus. The facility will house 36 labs, 14 classrooms, nine research suites, and a community engagement center. The $76 million state-of-the-art chiller plant, built in coordination with the Nursing and Instructional building, was also completed in 2020. In addition, UNCG completed a $51 million student residence hall in 2019 as the final piece of its Spartan Village student housing development. The mixed-use project includes retail space and pedestrian walkways connecting residence halls and the Kaplan Center for Wellness. At Guilford Community Technical College (GTCC), $34 million in renovations for the new Center for Advanced Manufacturing has now been completed. The school’s transportation and welding programs will be located in the 250,000 square-foot building and will include a flex lab for use by companies for employee training. Overall, the Piedmont Triad region received $355 million in funding from the $2 billion state bond package, approved in March 2016. Since September 2014, A&T has ranked number one as the largest historically black college and university (HBCU) in the country. Fall 2021 enrollment numbers marked A&T’s eighth consecutive year of record enrollment at 13,322 students, an increase of 4.5% over the 2020-21 academic year. A&T also has the nation’s largest enrollment of black undergraduates in the fields of engineering and agriculture and has the largest number of masters graduates in mathematics and statistics among HBCUs. Much of the increase in enrollment numbers can be attributed to the institution’s newly revised strategic plan, A&T Preeminence: Taking the Momentum to 2023. The plan sets an enrollment goal of 14,000 students by its conclusion.

XIV