University Gazette | University Gazette Article
By Susan Hudson
Chancellor Robin Cummings of UNC Pembroke came to Chapel Hill Oct. 8 not only as the head of his academic institution but also as a Tar Heel alum, a Lumbee Indian and a native of Pembroke. He wants his alma mater to help revitalize his hometown and support entrepreneurship among students and residents in the region.
“The challenge is great, but the opportunity to have real, meaningful impact is greater,” he told a small group, primarily from the Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise and Kenan-Flagler Business School. The Pembroke and Carolina delegations gathered at the Kenan Center to discuss possible collaborations between the two universities.
Cummings gave a brief history lesson on his school’s beginnings as the Croatan Normal School in 1887. In an era when Native Americans in Western states were forced to attend schools that stripped them of their American Indian culture, Croatan Normal School was unique – the only school started for American Indians by American Indians.
More recently, with the collapse of its tobacco and textile economy, the region has struggled. Robeson County, the state’s largest county by area, is one of 10 counties classified as “consistently poor,” meaning 20 percent of the population has been in poverty through three censuses. In K–12 schools, 80 of the students receive free or reduced-price lunches – another gauge of poverty.
“The good news is that the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well,” Cummings said. More good news is that Pembroke received $100,000 in the last state budget for downtown revitalizations and, if voters approve the higher education bond, UNC Pembroke will get $23 million for new construction, to include a business incubator.
“We are at a tipping point. It’s time to move the innovation needle into the positive area,” Cummings said.
Carolina presenters at the meeting offered various services: startup consulting (Kenan Institute); patent searching, market sizing and opportunities for grants and funding (Technology Commercialization Carolina); MBA student consultants (Entrepreneur Technical Assistance Program, NCGrowth, STAR program).
“We’ve described some of the things you can use, but we don’t have to be limited to that. We’ll be thinking about creative ways we can partner,” Mark Little, Kenan Institute interim executive director told the Pembroke visitors. “Whatever you’ve got, we probably have something for it.”
By Susan Hudson
Chancellor Robin Cummings of UNC Pembroke