The Office of Research and Extension interacts through extension and research with thousands of North Carolinians each year. Since forging a partnership with the NC Cooperative Extension Service in 1999, research funding now stands at $5 million. But dollar amounts tell only part of the story. Efforts include unfunded outreach such as summer design workshops for children and training programs for professionals.

This research, extension and engagement team is called upon for expertise in land use planning, watershed planning, environmental design, design of public spaces, universal design, children's play environments and computer modeling technology, as well as the tremendous resource at its disposal: the energetic network of design faculty and students (about 80 percent of its projects involve students).