N.C. General Assembly awards $3.2 million to UMO

State Representatives Jimmy Dixon, John R. Bell IV and Larry Strickland made a very special delivery to the University of Mount Olive on Thursday, Feb. 15. They presented a $3.2 million check to the university, which will go to agriculture, nursing, and aviation programs. 

During the check presentation ceremony, university president Dr. H. Edward Croom stated that the trio of elected officials have greatly supported the university, especially over the past three or four years. “This group has really come to bat for the University of Mount Olive,” Croom said. “I believe with all my heart that these gentlemen and the areas they represent understand and believe in the University of Mount Olive is an integral player in the success of eastern North Carolina in ag, in rural development, in business, and all those pieces that play into it. I believe that this university is positioned to really do some great things moving forward in this part of the state.” 

He added that the university is growing and blossoming, and “none of that could have happened without our General Assembly, and especially these three people sitting at the table.” 

Dixon, who represents Dupiln and Wayne counties in the General Assembly, said that he, Bell and Strickland have a vested interest in the university and its success. 

“I don’t know that you can measure the interest that the three of us have in this university,” he said. 

As for the funding that was awarded to UMO on Thursday, Dixon explained that as the Majority Leader, Bell played an integral role in procuring the funding, as did Appropriations Committee Chairman Strickland. Dixon himself is chairman of the Agriculture Committee in the legislature. “It did not fall out of the sky,” Dixon said of the $3.2 million funding. “And it’s sometimes a challenge to get it.” 

Bell agreed, and reminded those in attendance that the money awarded by the General Assembly essentially comes from every taxpaying citizen of the state. “This check presentation represents your money,” Bell said. “This is your tax dollars. When the government receives your money, it’s up to us to decide how to give it back. So this is your money, and we just help to shuffle it back to an entity that means a lot to all of us.”

The University of Mount Olive is a private university rooted in the liberal arts tradition with defining Christian values, something that all three of the representatives appreciate. 

“We look at the UMO as a beacon in eastern North Carolina for the ag community, and eastern North Carolina needs that,” Strickland said. “We are a rural population. I’m just delighted to have worked with these two gentlemen to procure this money. I do hope we can do other appropriations for the University of Mount Olive. It’s a great day for the University of Mount Olive and for eastern North Carolina.”