Members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Center are focusing on the facts behind Amendment One, and they want the University to do the same.

University administrators are beginning to plan for the near future, when the pressure of budget cuts will have subsided.

UNC-system President Thomas Ross might recommend lower-than-expected tuition increases today, following weeks of protest from students and former administrators.

Tuition increases approved Nov. 17 by the Board of Trustees will represent just a portion of cost hikes for some graduate students.

For administrators and trustees, the decision to propose increasing tuition by 15.6 percent for in-state students came down to the financial needs of faculty, whose salaries have been frozen for three years.

Despite vehement student opposition, UNC administrators approved Thursday a 15.6 percent tuition hike proposal for in-state students.

“Poverty is not an excuse from but a reason for education.” Former UNC President Edward Kidder Graham wrote this in 1916, reminding us of the bedrock principles of accessibility and affordability upon which our “University of the people” is built.

The University’s proposal to raise in-state tuition by 15.6 percent next year will likely pass through the budget, finance and audit committee of the Board of Trustees today.

Student Body President Mary Cooper will present a tuition proposal to the tuition and fee advisory task force today she says spares current students from more intense hikes proposed by UNC administrators.

A report released Monday identifies recommendations for action regarding University policies on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression to create an inclusive environment. The Campus Climate Report, compiled by Terri Phoenix, director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Center, responds to a survey of 416 members of the University community.

University officials said Tuesday that a 6.5 percent increase in tuition wouldn’t come close to covering a $20 million gap in UNC’s budget.

One year after the University announced a $125 million commitment to innovation, administrators are preparing to take the next step — a multi-million dollar expansion of the applied sciences.

The Board of Trustees will mark its first meeting of the academic year today with an organizational change. In order to promote more focused conversation within its committees, members have split the University affairs committee into two parts — establishing a branch for student affairs and another for academic affairs.

A formal offer has not been made for the position of dean of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, but Bruce Carney, executive vice chancellor and provost, said he is in talks with a candidate, whose name he would not release, about the position.

Susan King, a candidate for dean of UNC’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication, is visiting the University for the second time today. King was the fourth and final candidate to be interviewed by the search committee charged with replacing Jean Folkerts, who stepped down today.

Dulcie Straughan, senior associate dean of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, was named interim dean for the school last week.

As the state budget showdown draws to a close in Raleigh, UNC-system administrators are bracing for tough decisions in the months ahead.

As an inexperienced legislature tackles state budget cuts, UNC officials say it will be even more important to explain how the University’s budget works.

After almost a year of searching, Chancellor Holden Thorp found the person he wanted to be his right-hand man already had the job.

Thorp considered reopening the search when he couldn’t find a match, but administrators are not prepared to call it a failure, primarily because of their confidence in Bruce Carney — a well-respected figure who has worked at the University since 1980.

There’s nothing new about UNC’s new executive vice chancellor and provost.

Chancellor Holden Thorp announced Wednesday that Bruce Carney, who serves as interim provost this year, will assume the job permanently pending approval by the Board of Trustees next week.