CHAPEL HILL – Amidst budget crunching at public universities statewide, UNC Chancellor Carol Folt says her new University secured more than $777 million in research funding for 2013.

“That was an increase of more than $11 million,” Folt says.

UNC received its largest amount of funding from the National Institute of Health, which gave close to $367 million for research. While Folt says that the University is pushing for more diverse sources of funding, she says the increased funding from government agencies is a positive sign.

“In this federal climate, that is an enormous accomplishment,” Folt says.

UNC has built two new research facilities in the past year: the Carolina Physical Science Complex and the Genome Sciences Building.