Dear Campus Community,
As you probably are aware, Congress is currently negotiating a deal to avoid a federal government shutdown. If a Congress does not pass a funding bill that is signed into law by midnight on Tuesday, September 30, a funding gap will occur, and the federal government will begin a temporary shutdown of affected activities.
UNC-Chapel Hill has plans for shutdown scenarios, and our campus is well prepared. Our Office of Federal Affairs and other front-line units are coordinating closely with the appropriate agencies of the federal and state governments as we determine the possible impact on the University.
Currently, the University is operating on a normal basis. We will continue to use available funds to support work related to research contracts and grants. Students receiving federal financial aid will not experience any changes to their awards.
No one can predict how long a shutdown might last. A longer-term scenario could present challenges for some areas of University operations, and we will continue our analysis to determine what steps the campus may potentially need to take moving forward.
We are committed to keeping you informed about how a federal government shutdown affects you and our campus. The University’s Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research maintains a website that is updated daily to help the campus community access information about the current federal budget issues related to a shutdown.
This page will updated to include relevant information, including specific federal agency communications and links to individual agency shutdown plans.
In addition, our vice chancellors and other senior administrators will communicate directly with you if needed about the federal shutdown and operations in areas including research administration and human resources.
Should it be necessary, we will follow up with more information early next week.
Sincerely,
James W. Dean Jr.
Interim Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost