For immediate use
School of Government Receives $100,000 Gift
from Prudential Retirement for Local Elected Leaders Academy
The gift will support a leadership program for elected county and municipal officials
(Chapel Hill, N.C. — Jan. 8, 2015) – The School of Government at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has received a gift of $100,000 from Prudential Retirement (Prudential) for initiatives to support the School’s work assisting North Carolina local elected officials as they lead and govern their communities.
The gift will support continuation of the Advanced Leadership Corps (ALC) program, which was initiated in 2013 thanks to initial funding from Prudential. ALC is a weeklong leadership program for county and municipal officials that focuses on personal leadership, working effectively with others, and having a positive impact beyond their own cities and counties. Participants are chosen from the ranks of those who have dedicated themselves to learning about local government by attending educational programs and volunteering for their statewide associations, the NC League of Municipalities or the NC Association of County Commissioners.
The gift will also be used to integrate two budget simulations, Budgetopolis and Bottom Line!, into Essentials for County Government and Essentials for Municipal Government courses for newly elected officials. The budget simulations have proved to be an effective way for elected officials to learn how a government budget works, their role in the budgeting process, and the impact of their decisions.
Prudential’s gift will also make it possible for elected leaders from small and economically distressed cities and counties to attend Local Elected Leadership Academy programs by funding scholarships and regional programs.
School of Government Dean Mike Smith said, “We’re grateful for this gift and the continued support by Prudential for educational programs and initiatives that help local elected officials, whose dedication to public service is a strength of North Carolina communities.”
As the largest university-based local government training, advisory, and research organization in the United States, the School of Government offers up to 200 courses, webinars, and conferences for more than 12,000 public officials each year. In addition, faculty members annually publish approximately 50 books, reports, articles, and other print and online content related to state and local government.
Prudential Retirement delivers retirement plan solutions for public, private, and nonprofit organizations. Services include defined contribution, defined benefit and non-qualified deferred compensation record keeping, administrative services, investment management, comprehensive employee education and communications, and trustee services, as well as a variety of products and strategies, including institutional investment and income products, pension risk transfer solutions and structured settlement services. With over 85 years of retirement experience, Prudential Retirement helps meet the needs of 4.0 million participants and annuitants. Prudential Retirement has $356.1 billion in retirement account values as of September 30, 2014. Retirement products and services are provided by Prudential Retirement Insurance and Annuity Company (PRIAC), Hartford, CT, or its affiliates.
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Local Elected Leaders Academy contact: Donna Warner, (919) 962-1575, warner@sog.unc.edu
School of Government, contact: Sonja Matanovic, (919) 966-4178, matanovic@sog.unc.edu