Oct. 7 - Less than a year after rejecting a $4.8 million funding proposal to the University, the John William Pope Foundation is considering a reworked grant proposal to expand programs in the College of Arts and Sciences.
The new proposal, presented by UNC administrators in early August, asks for $3.9 million to further fund studies in Western culture.
Foundation head Art Pope, a UNC alumnus, said there was no timetable for the completion of the review.
As foundation leaders consider the proposal, faculty members who publicly opposed last year's bid largely have remained silent.
The new proposal would fund the expansion of Western cultures programs already in existence - such as first-year seminars, study abroad programs and undergraduate research fellowships.
This stands in contrast to provisions in last year's bid, which called for the creation of completely new curricula, such as a Western Civilizations minor.
The philanthropic foundation rejected the University's proposal for a Studies in Western Cultures program after judging it too incomplete for backing.
The Pope Foundation's veto was the culmination of a process marked by controversy - many faculty members voiced concern about the group's involvement in campus affairs.
Seventy-one faculty members signed an open letter last year against the Pope Foundation's funding, arguing that the process was too opaque and that the foundation's involvement could compromise the University's autonomy.
