Here are the top five state colleges for earmark requests:

N.C. State University: 23 requests, seven Congressmen, $58.9 million, to study nanotechnology, pig waste, sweet potatoes, aquaculture, biotechnology and textiles, among other things.

N.C. A&T State University: 10 requests, four Congressmen, $23.8 million, to study using cattails for biofuel, retrain workers, research microelectronics and run a math literacy program, among other things.

East Carolina University: Nine requests, two Congressmen, $18.5 million, to study obesity and diabetes, help returning military personnel, research biofuels, pig waste and coastal development, among other things.

UNC-Chapel Hill: Eight requests, five Congressmen, $18 million, to study solar power, research public health trends, develop a technology curriculum, run a cancer center and start a virtual warfare center.

Wake Forest University: Two requests, one Congressman, $15 million, to study regenerative medicine.

In all, 31 colleges requested $184.5 million worth of earmarks through the Congressional delegation this year.

Other requestors included Shaw University, Bennett College for Women, the UNC School of the Arts, Winston-Salem State University, Rockingham Community College and Central Piedmont Community College.

The state legisalture agreed to change the name of the N.C. School of the Arts to the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

Without debate, the Senate took a final, unamimous vote Thursday, sending the name-change bill to Gov. Mike Easley for his signature, Lynn Bonner reports. The school would get its new name Aug. 1.

The UNC Board of Governors asiked for the change, saying it would make clear the professional training school in Winston-Salem is part of the UNC system.

Alumni fought the change.