Officials recently announced that Jenni Harris will head up a new UNC-system group.

Harris, assistant to the chancellor for community partnerships at University of North Carolina Wilmington, was named the founding chairwoman of the Engagement Council, which will meet biannually to help increase university engagement across the state.

“Being named the founding chair is a great honor and speaks to the success of the community engagement efforts taking place at UNCW,” Harris said in a statement. “The creation of this council is a true indicator of the work our students, faculty and staff are doing beyond the classroom system-wide, and I am eager to share our story and learn more about the achievements of our partner institutions.”

The council met for the first time in late April in Chapel Hill. Its focus will be to help “UNC schools work more effectively with their communities and communicate the importance of doing so,” the release stated.