About the UNC Y
Since its establishment in 1860, the Campus Y has been the largest and most vibrant advocacy and public service student organization at UNC-Chapel Hill. More than 30 student-led social justice committees operate under the roof of our 9,000 square-foot building in the heart of historic north campus. The structure of our current model developed in 1963, during which time it effectively functioned as the student union, serving as a hub for student leadership and social activism and as the leading organization for student action, addressing issues of integration, free speech, gender equality, workers’ rights, world hunger, apartheid, and armed conflict.
Today, the name Campus Y extends to the following three distinct entities:
- UNC Y; a department within the UNC Student Affairs division that fosters student success through leadership development, student advisement and support and high-impact local and global programming. Funds managed by the UNC Y department (in the Student Affairs division budget) support campus-wide student programming and resources, co-curricular development, and operations, including the Bonner Leaders and Global Gap-Year Fellowship programs.
- Campus Y Student Organization; a Registered Student Organization with more than 30 student-led committees and initiatives committed to the pursuit of social justice through advocacy, service, innovation, and direct action. The Campus Y Student Organization funds its activities through private philanthropy, fundraising, undergraduate student senate fee allocations, and project-based grants. It does not receive any state funds.
- Campus Y Building; a historic, shared building on campus that houses the UNC Y department, Campus Y student space, Anne Queen Faculty Lounge (managed by the Office of Faculty Governance) Meantime Coffee Co., Blue Ram Café, and reservable meeting spaces for the entire campus community.
UNC Y programming includes:
- The Global Gap-Year Fellowship, which provides financial support for high school students who defer admission to UNC-Chapel Hill for a year to undertake work, travel, and public service abroad. There typically more than 30 fellows per year.
- The Bonner Leaders Program, an intensive community service program for 15 undergraduates a year that guides students from an exploration of direct service in a local agency to community-based research and public policy. Typically, this includes about 60 students.
- CUBE, our social innovation incubator, which helps students, faculty, and staff grow and accelerate business ventures that have the potential to address social challenges both locally and internationally, creating social value through sustainable, systemic change. Fourteen social ventures are currently serving two-year residencies.