Two Carolina graduate students joined Dean Beth Mayer-Davis in Raleigh to share the impact of UNC research with state legislators.
By Ethan Quinn
With North Carolina state budget negotiations underway, a delegation from The Graduate School visited the North Carolina Legislative Building to share the impact of UNC research with lawmakers.
Graduate Education Day is an annual event organized by the North Carolina Council of Graduate Schools in which students and administrators from graduate schools across North Carolina visit the North Carolina General Assembly to meet with legislators and advocate for the value of graduate education.
For this year’s event, Dean Beth Mayer-Davis traveled to Raleigh alongside Katherine Burley, a fifth-year doctoral student in public policy, and Annie Oommen, a 2025 graduate of the master’s program in city and regional planning.
The group spent the day talking with North Carolina legislators, including Representative Charles Smith ‘17 (J.D.) of District 44 in Cumberland County and Senator Todd Johnson ‘00 of District 35, which spans Union County and Cabarrus County. Smith and Johnson spoke with the students about the potential of their research to have a positive impact on the state of North Carolina and both expressed their interest in working to support the University, and Carolina research specifically, through the state budget and future legislation. The University received nearly $700 million in state appropriation in fiscal year 2024-25.
“Graduate Education Day is a great opportunity for our students to talk about their research where they can have a real impact,” said Dean Mayer-Davis. “Alongside fellow graduate students from across the state, they get to meet with state legislators, share the ways their research benefits North Carolinians, and advocate for support of university research and graduate education.”
Oommen received a 2025 Impact Award from The Graduate School in recognition of beneficial contributions of her research to the lives of North Carolinians. Her research focused on the availability and reliability of nonemergency transportation services for North Carolina Medicaid beneficiaries, which can be lifesaving for those who need these services to receive medical care.
Oommen hopes that policymakers will consider her findings and take action to improve the quality of these medical transportation services. “Given the Medicaid populace, this research has direct impacts on low-income, disabled, and elderly North Carolinians throughout the state,” she said.
Burley’s research interests include climate and energy policy in the Southeast, with a specific focus on North Carolina.
In 2024, Burley received a research scholarship to fund her investigation of heat exposure and heat-related health outcomes in North Carolina communities. She hopes her work can inform policy changes that will protect North Carolinians vulnerable to these effects, including elderly individuals and low-income and marginalized communities.
“I was really glad to be part of Graduate Education Day and advocate for more well-deserved support for Carolina graduate students,” Burley said. “I highly value UNC’s dedication to public service and commitment to improving the lives of people in North Carolina through research. It was great to hear from legislators about how they use research to inform policy decisions.”
Representative Smith commented on the value of Carolina graduate students’ work in shaping policy at the state level.
“We deal with so many different issues in the legislature,” Smith said. “I can’t be an expert in all of them. Often when I approach a bill, I need to hear from the experts, so the research these students are doing is very helpful for policy makers.”