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(04/06/10 4:23am)
Correction (April 7 12:57 a.m.): Due to a reporting error, an earlier version of this story misquoted Ron Bilbao, chairman of the Coalition for College Access at UNC. Bilbao said, “Four students walking to D.C. is not the point. It’s the 2.4 million students that live in the shadows.” The story has beenc changed to reflect the correction. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for the errors.
(03/29/10 3:21am)
With budgets still tight, both public and private universities are reining in their faculty salaries.But faculty at those schools have mostly been understanding about salary freezes and similar ways that universities have cut corners in their budgets.This month, Duke University announced that for the second year in a row, its faculty and staff would not be getting raises.“If we would give salary increases, we would find ourselves in a worse situation,” said Kyle Cavanaugh, vice president for human resources at Duke.Any staff or faculty making less than $80,000 per year will receive a one-time payment of $1,000 beginning July 1. UNC also didn’t offer raises last year and likely won’t this year, Cavanaugh said.“The state revenue picture is such that increases are questionable,” said Dick Mann, vice chancellor of finance and administration for UNC.“Keep in mind, the economy is bad everywhere.”Since the amount of money allotted for UNC system salaries is determined by the N.C. General Assembly, the school administration does not have much control in determining yearly raises.Salary funding is also supported by auxiliary funds, contracts and grants, which are not decided by the legislature.Duke, which has about 300,000 employees throughout its hospitals and college, has been working to trim its budget by $100 million over three years, said Craig Henriquez, chairman for Duke’s Academic Council.After a year, Duke is already halfway there, Henriquez said.“Duke is going to work hard to rein in the budget,” Henriquez said.Those efforts to tighten the budget have included workforce management initiatives and retirement incentives, among others.But the university hasn’t yet received many complaints about the lack of raises.“Surprisingly, the community has been well aware of the financial situation,” Cavanaugh said.“We’ve been successful in avoiding layoffs.”Officials are not sure how long the staff and faculty will remain understanding about the lack of salary increases.“Most people are wondering what is going to happen in the next years,” Henriquez said.“The faculty is patient, but it will be tested over the next year or so.”Despite the salary freeze and a decrease in new job offerings at Duke, there have been a record number of applications, Cavanaugh said.At UNC, problems might arise from inequity of pay between current employees and new employees — who wouldn’t be limited by the salary freezes — if the salary increases remain static, Mann said.“People realize times are tough. How much longer this will last, who knows?” Mann said. “There is only so long we can go without additional salary demands.”Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(03/22/10 4:26am)
Correction (March 23 12:59 a.m.): Due to an editing error, and earlier version of this story misquoted William Gheen, president of Americans for Legal Immigration PAC. He said, “This is part of a broader national agenda to incorporate illegal immigrants into American society.” The story has been changed to reflect the correction. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for the error.
(03/18/10 4:42am)
North Carolina is already facing shortages of medical doctors, dentists and pharmacists, and medical professionals say the shortage is predicted to become more severe in coming years.The UNC system has several plans to expand existing medical programs and add new ones to try to curb the shortage. But the recent recession has put many of those plans on hold because of a lack of funds.“We are very concerned,” said Edward Salsberg, director of the Center for Workforce Studies for the Association of American Medical Colleges. “One out of three doctors in the U.S. is over 55 and expected to retire in the next 10 to 15 years.”Medical schools expand
(03/03/10 3:55am)
The UNC-system health insurance plan that will become available to UNC-system students beginning in fall 2010 is finalized.Pearce & Pearce will provide the plan, which students must buy unless they can prove that they already have health insurance.The base plan has a $610 premium and is uniform for the system. Schools chose which enhancements to add, said Bruce Mallette, UNC-system senior associate vice president of academic and student affairs.
(03/01/10 5:28am)
RALEIGH — Hundreds of people gathered at Shaw University on Saturday, chanting and singing hymns to promote education reform for the state.
The Historic Thousands on Jones Street event, also known as HK on J, is an annual march to the state legislature led by the N.C. NAACP to present its 14-point agenda.
This year, the crowd focused on education reform and protested against the resegregation of public schools.
“This movement is not just based on a moment; this movement is not just based on emotion,” said Rev. William Barber, president of the state NAACP. “We know what we’re talking about, and we know what needs to happen.”
The 14-point agenda includes issues such as fighting discrimination, reforming health care, immigrant rights, sentencing and prison reform, environmental justice and livable wages for workers.
The diverse, energetic crowd was made up of people ranging from elderly to infant, from retirees to students and included people of different races.
“We’re trying to show that diversity is not just a small thing. It’s as important as math and science,” said Jocelyn Wilson, a junior at William G. Enloe High School in Raleigh, who was one of the speakers on Jones Street.
Wilson spoke against recent discussions by the Wake County school board that might lead to resegregation of public schools.
About 60 students from UNC made the trip to Raleigh for the event, said Brian Allison, president of the UNC NAACP branch.
“I’m just glad students came to do it,” Allison said. “It’s great we were able to have solidarity with people from across the state who are affected by these issues.”
Participants lifted posters with slogans like “Health insurance reform now,” “Fix the banks” and “Stop resegregation of public schools.”
“Large groups of people getting together is one of the only ways to affect our legislature,” said Jim Gulledge, a sophomore philosophy and political science double major.
Students who participated in the march said it was important to stay involved in state-related issues.
“It’s an important day to stand for social justice with thousands of people from across the state,” said bull horn-toting Ben Carroll, a senior sociology major. “We have strength in our unity.”
“We try to support social causes and stay abreast of social injustices,” said Daniele Dickerson, a junior English major. “We heard about this and wanted to show our support.”
The event was supposed to be held on Feb. 13 but was rescheduled due to the weather.
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(02/23/10 3:49am)
UNC-system schools are getting ready for the switch to the system’s new health insurance plan.
(02/16/10 4:09am)
Correction (Feb. 17 12:20): Due to a reporting error, an earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the state sent out fewer than 300,000 individual income tax refund checks totaling about $364 million by this time last year. They actually totalled about $264 million. The story has been changed to reflect the correction. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for the error.
(02/11/10 4:46am)
With the release of Apple’s iPad, software companies and textbook publishers are lining up to take advantage of the new technology. But students might not be so ready to adapt.ScrollMotion, a company that designs software for Apple Inc. devices, is the most recent to announce its intent to work with textbook publishers to format textbooks for use on the iPad. “This is the first time you have the device, content and retail elements all at the same time,” said John Lema, CEO of New York-based ScrollMotion. “I don’t think you could keep this from happening if you tried.” McGraw-Hill, one of the country’s largest textbook publishers, has already made 1,300 digital textbooks available through CourseSmart, which UNC has a contract with.Ninety-five percent of all its textbooks are available in some digital format, said Mary Skafidas, spokeswoman for McGraw-Hill.Despite the optimism of software developers and textbook publishers, UNC students have yet to buy into the digital format.Only 150 digital textbooks were sold by UNC Student Stores this semester, said Kelly Hanner, course materials manager.“The technology is not completely developed yet,” Hanner said. “It’s a very new product for faculty and students. We are happy to offer it to those who are ready for it.”Digital textbooks do offer some advantages. Typically, e-textbooks are about half of the price of a new print edition, Hanner said.CourseSmart books also enable students to highlight, use tag notes and e-mail parts of the text to friends.But e-textbooks have no resale value and students only have access to the books for a limited time.“Essentially, students are renting the book for a period of time,” Skifidas said. “We get paid for each usage.”This is a big plus for publishers, since they don’t profit when a traditional textbook is resold.Hanner also said that not all students are comfortable with using computers. “I don’t like reading off a screen,” said Angela Dixon, a junior psychology and political science major. “I like to highlight and take notes on the sides.”And some students just don’t like carrying a computer around.“I don’t always have my laptop,” said Erin Sanderson, a sophomore peace, war and defense and political science major.“It’s more about the convenience of a book and the concreteness of a book.”Skafidas acknowledged that the market for digital textbooks is small right now, but said it is fast growing and changing.“E-textbooks are just the beginning for us.”Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(02/09/10 6:15am)
UNC and Duke University fans don’t really hate each other, according to a Public Policy Polling press release distributed Monday.In fact, they even respect each other’s coaches.In Wednesday’s Duke vs. UNC matchup, 35 percent of North Carolinians are rooting for UNC. Twenty-one percent will be pulling for Duke. The other 44 percent polled said they don’t care who wins.“I think the hatred is just played up because it gives you a reason to cheer louder at the basketball games,” said Brian Wielicki, a UNC junior communications major. Only 20 percent of Duke fans said they would use the word “hate” in reference to their rivals. UNC fans were slightly more hospitable, with 17 percent willing to use “hate.” “I feel like we love to hate each other because of mutual respect,” said Laura Hartley, a junior music major.The poll implies that North Carolinians even seem to hold the coaches of the opposing schools in high regard.Thirty-nine percent of residents view UNC basketball head coach Roy Williams favorably. Only 10 percent view him unfavorably.Among Tar Heel fans, Williams has a 72 percent favorable and 3 percent unfavorable rating. Among Duke fans, 27 percent view him favorably while 24 percent view him unfavorably.Duke basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski is viewed favorably by 44 percent of the state, with 13 percent viewing him unfavorably. Duke fans have the same appreciation of their coach as UNC fans — 72 percent view him favorably and 4 percent unfavorably.Forty-six percent of UNC fans like Krzyzewski, versus 26 percent who view him negatively.“I strongly dislike Duke,” said Caitlin Zoghby, a junior psychology major. “The people at Duke aren’t as nice as the people here.”The survey of 678 people was conducted between Jan. 15 and Jan. 18.Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.