UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp met with President Barack Obama today as part of a discussion at the White House about affordability in higher education.

From the full press release:

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chancellor Holden Thorp was among a dozen college presidents and thought leaders invited to participate today in a roundtable discussion with President Obama today at the White House on affordability and productivity in higher education. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and White House senior officials also participated.

The discussion aimed to focus on how America can best restore its leadership in higher education attainment by removing barriers to college access, affordability and success for students. Participants were selected to share perspectives and best practices on enhancing productivity, advancing access and leading change as part of an effort to ease the financial burden placed on students so that more Americans can attend and graduate from college.

Thorp was invited because of the White House’s interest in University programs including Carolina Counts, the campus-wide initiative to make campus operations more efficient; the Carolina Covenant, which provides a debt-free education to qualified low-income students; and the National College Advising Corps, which hires recent college graduates to serve as full-time college advisers in underserved high schools. The White House was aware of current discussions about proposed tuition increases.