Due to a reporting error, the original version of this story features incorrect data about this year’s freshman class. The average grade point average for the class was 4.5, and 79.8 percent of students were in the top 10 percent of their high school class. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for the error.
Chancellor Holden Thorp and the chairman of the Board of Trustees reiterated their commitment to a winning football program at Thursday’s full meeting of the board.
Board chairman Wade Hargrove said the University can retain its academic prestige and integrity while still committing to athletic success.
“Winning and winning within the rules are not mutually exclusive,” he said.
The board’s meeting was the first since the meeting in July at which Thorp informed the trustees of his decision to fire head football coach Butch Davis. Hargrove was elected as the board’s new chairman on the same day.
Hargrove said the board fully supports the University’s athletics program, despite speculation to the contrary.
Thorp said the men’s basketball and football programs, as well as the Blue Zone, are important parts of the University’s financial model.
He added that academic problems discovered in the course of the NCAA investigation will be addressed.
“You have my pledge that we will do what it takes to correct any problems,” Thorp said.
The board also put to rest two administrative searches that had gone on longer than anticipated.
Karol Gray, vice president for finance at Stony Brook University, was approved as the new vice chancellor for finance and administration, succeeding Dick Mann. She will take office Dec. 1.
Susan King, vice president of external affairs for the Carnegie Corporation, was approved as dean of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. She will begin on Jan. 1.
Both searches continued several months longer than expected, but eventually succeeded in hiring outside candidates.
The board also approved two major steps of Carolina North’s $65 million research building. It approved the site of the building — on top of what is now Horace Williams Airport — and the building’s designer, Leers Weinzapfel Associates.
Bruce Runberg, associate vice chancellor for facilities planning and construction, said the earliest UNC might begin construction on the building is the end of 2012.
Steve Farmer, associate provost and director of undergraduate admissions, gave a presentation on the class of 2015.
One statistic in particular caught trustees’ attention: the class of 2015 is 42.2 percent male, the highest percentage for an incoming class in 31 years.
The University’s admittance rate was the lowest on record.
The average grade point average for the incoming class is 3.6, and 29.2 percent were in the top 10 percent of their high school class.
Contact the University Editor at university@dailytarheel.com.
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