Eshanthi Ranasinghe

News

Task Force Proposes TA Stipend Boost

By Eshanthi Ranasinghe | January 14

The Teaching Assistant Advisory Task Force has completed the first step toward its goal of increasing TA compensation to a competitive level and is asking UNC-Chapel Hill officials to consider raising the average TA stipend by about $3,000. Task force members, led by Chairman Steve Allred, produced a report Jan. 7 to help officials decide whether to improve TA compensation. The report analyzes the state of TA stipends, recommends an appropriate level of compensation and develops a plan to achieve that level.

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Work-Study Program Improved

By Eshanthi Ranasinghe | December 3

UNC's Federal Work-Study Program is the most competitive it has ever been, and officials promise that the improvements only have just begun. In addition to the program becoming Internet-friendly, several new job opportunities were opened to students this year and wages were increased. At the beginning of the fall 2002 semester, officials at the Office of Scholarships and Student Aid implemented a new job classification system for FWS students.

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Original Union to Be Closed for Renovations

By Eshanthi Ranasinghe | November 26

The Frank Porter Graham Student Union face-lift will begin according to plan next semester as construction moves from the Union addition to the original building. Remodeling costs for the main building of the Union and the additions completed this August total more than $14 million. Last week, after a rebid of the renovations, the cost increased by $1 million. Construction also was handed to a different company than the one in charge of building the new Union.

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Congress to Vote on Student Fee Referendum

By Eshanthi Ranasinghe | October 29

Student Congress will vote today on whether to put a referendum on the ballot in next semester's general elections that, if passed in February, would increase student activity fees. If the legislation passes in Congress' full meeting, the referendum will propose an increase in student activity fees from $11.50 to $19.50 per semester for undergraduates and from $9.50 to $16.50 per semester for graduate students.

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Office Looking at Importance Of UNC to Economy of State

By Eshanthi Ranasinghe | October 24

University officials are constructing a biennial report showing UNC's role in North Carolina's economic status and development, possibly providing evidence of the University's essential contributions to the state. The University's Office of Economic Development is constructing the report, called "The Impact of Carolina on the Region's and State's Economy."

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Committee Drafts Report for Personnel System

By Eshanthi Ranasinghe | October 21

By Eshanthi Ranasinghe Staff Writer In August 2001, Chancellor James Moeser challenged the Personnel Flexibility Committee to come up with the perfect personnel system for the University, regardless of money and state legislation. After a year of meetings, surveys and mass e-mails, the committee drafted a 163-page report, which it presented to Moeser in September. "It's the beginning of opening a dialogue for the administration of the University to understand its employees," said Elmira Mangum, associate provost for finance and co-chairwoman of the committee.

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Doctoral Students Granted Own Hooding Ceremony

By Eshanthi Ranasinghe | October 16

Spring Commencement will no longer be a one-day event. For the first time at UNC, graduating doctoral students will participate in their own ceremony, accepting their diplomas the day before main Commencement. The prospect of having their own ceremony -- complete with a separate speaker -- has been on the doctoral students' wish list for years, officials said.

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Speaker Discusses Race Issues

By Eshanthi Ranasinghe | October 8

With her head tilted slightly to one side, Rebecca Walker stared at the audience in front of her from her meditative position sitting atop a desk in 111 Carroll Hall. "We are all performing our racial and cultural identities all the time," she said. "We are performing blackness, we are performing whiteness, we are performing Latino-ness - but who are we?

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Leloudi Gets Nod to Speak at Graduation

By Eshanthi Ranasinghe | September 17

Twenty-five years after receiving his UNC degree, Jim Leloudis will stand on the other side of the graduation podium when he bids farewell to the class of 2002 as the winter Commencement speaker. "It's a great honor, I think, for anyone," Leloudis said. "For me it is a very special honor because I was an undergraduate here." Leloudis graduated from UNC in 1977, earning a bachelor's in history with the highest honors.

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CAPS Strives to Help Students Cope With Sept. 11 Memories

By Eshanthi Ranasinghe | September 11

Campus counseling services have geared up to help students deal with the influx of emotions brought on by the anniversary of last year's Sept. 11 attacks. Staff members at UNC's Counseling and Psychological Services will keep their offices open all week to walk-in appointments for students needing assistance in dealing with grief and trauma. Professional staff members also will be available at all campus events, including the noon memorial service in Polk Place and tonight's candlelight vigil to offer support for grieving students, officials said.