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(03/23/07 4:00am)
Student Body President-elect Eve Carson is trying to fill her Cabinet with students ranging from insiders to those who never have worked for student government.
Carson picked five Cabinet members from a list submitted by a selection committee. Three of those members must be approved by Student Congress.
Juniors Mike Tarrant and Jordan Myers were selected to be student body vice president and treasurer, respectively. Sophomore Mac Mollison was tapped to be student body secretary.
Those three students must be approved by a two-thirds majority of Congress on Tuesday. They were recommended for approval at Thursday's rules and judiciary committee meeting.
Sophomore Katie Sue Zellner and junior Christie Cunningham have been appointed as chief of staff and senior adviser, respectively.
"The applicants really stood out because of the combination of their skill sets, their personal qualities, their dedication to hard work and commitment to solving problems," Carson said.
The Cabinet is a mix of leaders - Myers served as vice chairman of Congress' finance committee, Mollison was a senior writer at The Daily Tar Heel and Cunningham is Student Body President James Allred's chief of staff.
Zellner is the only officer to come from within Carson's campaign staff - an uncommon move, as many student body presidents have selected several workers for top positions. Three of Allred's officers worked on his campaign.
"As a team, we very much complement each other," Carson said, adding that the mix reflects larger plans. "That was a goal of my campaign, and that will continue to be a goal throughout the year - bringing people together from different backgrounds."
The Student Code states that a selection committee of three student government officials and a representative of the student body president-elect review the applications. The Student Supreme Court chief justice serves as chairman.
The student body president-elect does not serve on the committee to ensure all applicants are considered fairly.
There were 23 applicants, with at least two per position, which shows an increase from last year, said Allred, who was on the selection committee.
In previous years, student government has been criticized as a spoils system, and one of Carson's goals, she said, was to form a Cabinet to reach more of the student body.
Tarrant said he is in line with that philosophy. "We share a lot of the same values," he said. "We want to be a supportive resource for students."
Allred said that some student government experience is necessary to ensure understanding of the system but that outsiders provide an alternative avenue of ideas.
Despite the emphasis on widening involvement, Carson's Cabinet is not devoid of student government experience. Cunningham, Myers and Tarrant have held leadership positions in the executive or legislative branch, and Zellner has worked on an executive committee.
Carson said that Cunningham's student government experience will give her a role that goes beyond her title.
"She'll be a great mentor and a leader for us all," Carson said.
Though Cunningham's experience has been mainly with the Allred administration, she said she doesn't anticipate problems with the shift in leadership.
But she said each administration makes specific priorities.
"If those aren't priorities for Eve, those aren't priorities for me."
Staff writer Amanda Younger contributed to this report.
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(02/16/07 5:00am)
The Morehead Foundation received a $100 million donation, almost doubling the foundation's endowment, officials announced Tuesday.
The gift, given by the Texas-based Cain Foundation, will enable at least 25 more UNC students to receive the prestigious scholarship each year. The foundation and scholarship also have been renamed the Morehead-Cain Foundation and the Morehead-Cain Scholars Program.
"It is the most generous and heartfelt gift," said Lucy Chatham, chairwoman of the combined foundation.
(02/13/07 5:00am)
The four candidates in this year's race for student body president are playing on different sides of the playground.
With some stressing their experience in student government, others noting their network of constituents and another taking an unconventional approach to the race, each is offering individual ideas.
The varying campaign tactics that hopefuls Eve Carson, Jon Kite, Nick Neptune and Caroline Spencer have used reflect their personalities and goals for the office.
(01/25/07 5:00am)
Every semester students and parents shell out thousands of dollars to UNC. But after checking accounts have been emptied and credit card bills racked up, some find themselves wondering where all that money went.
This year tuition dollars will be divided into three main groups - faculty salaries, student aid and teaching assistant stipends - priorities recommended by the tuition and fee advisory task force.
Task force members spent the past semester researching recommendations for tuition increases and campus needs. The Board of Trustees will meet today to vote on the hikes.
Provost Bernadette Gray-Little, who led the task force with Student Body President James Allred, presented its findings Wednesday to the board's audit and finance committee.
If the proposal goes through, 64 percent will be set aside for faculty salaries, 35 percent for student aid and the remainder to increase the minimum TA stipend by $400.
The amount dedicated to salaries is an increase from the 43 percent for the 2006-07 academic year, reflecting a priority to put UNC at a competitive level. "Our faculty salaries need to be brought up to the average of their peers," Gray-Little said earlier this week.
Though previous tuition dollars have been used to garner new faculty, the proposed amount will go only to current faculty members. That portion of tuition money is divided among academic departments based on enrollment, Gray-Little said.
"A larger amount of money tends to follow the larger amount of students," she said, noting that most money goes toward the College of Arts and Sciences, where many undergraduates are enrolled.
While the increase in faculty salaries might improve UNC's reputation as a faculty-focused university, Joe Templeton, chairman of the faculty, said there's a larger picture.
He said the faculty is more concerned with the actual state of the University, in terms of resources, scholarship and quality of life.
"What matters to faculty is the reality of the environment," he said.
The other big chunk of tuition goes toward need-based student aid, as mandated by the state.
Tabatha Turner, associate director of the Office of Scholarships and Student Aid, said financial aid, which totaled about $5 million in the 2006-07 school year, is assigned to needy students based on their year in school and their residency.
Out-of-state students and upperclassmen receive more funding because they pay more either from the start or because they've been at the University longer.
"It's specifically set up so that needy students aren't hurt by tuition increases," Turner said.
UNC consistently has set aside at least 35 percent of tuition dollars since the 2000-01 academic year.
Templeton said increases are inevitable to provide students with a quality experience.
"Education's expensive."
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(01/24/07 5:00am)
About 60 years ago, UNC students formed a committee to write the first title of the Student Code - the Constitution.
And today, with seven other titles, the Code is a 168-page document full of terms, definitions and ambiguity.
The Code was created to give structure to the governing student bodies, with groups such as the Board of Elections turning to it to divvy out administrative decisions.
During this year's elections, the board already has been forced to evaluate the definitions of campaign materials and public forums, resulting in a disqualification hearing.
The interpretation comes in response to an allegation that student body president candidate Jon Kite used campaign materials before they were allowed.
Jim Brewer, chairman of the elections board, said the Code is not all-encompassing to ensure that various campaign violations can be taken into account. He said the board interprets the Code through its wording and by citing former cases.
"Everybody has a different opinion," he said. "It relies to a certain extent on precedents."
Student Congress is responsible for updating the Code by passing bills. Dustin Ingalls, speaker pro tem of Congress, said most of the 80 to 100 alterations per year are clerical.
The Code's meaning, Ingalls said, is subject to the change of faces in the board's membership.
"The Board of Elections' interpretations change year-to-year," he said.
In the past, several student body president hopefuls have faced allegations that they violated the Code, and they've based their defenses on challenging the Code's semantics.
In 2004 student body president candidates Matt Calabria and Lily West both were charged with illegal political solicitations.
"We challenged the interpretation of a lot of the rules," said Calabria, who was cleared of charges and later elected. "Up until then it was very ambiguous what the rules meant."
Although a second runoff was called for the 2004 race in response to the violations, most elections rack up a number of fines and punitive board decisions.
"Almost without fail, a campaign will be brought up on some violation because a campaign manager and a campaign candidate can't control every flier that is put up," Calabria said.
It's up to the constituents, he said, to determine which violations are most important to the campaigns and to determining the vote they cast.
Bernard Holloway, last year's student body president hopeful who was fined more than $30 in campaign violations, said the numbers don't always tell all.
"People like to break election violations into very simple black and white issues," he said.
"And it's not always that simple, and there's usually a lot of gray area."
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(01/23/07 5:00am)
Jon Kite, a student body president candidate, will face a hearing of disqualification Wednesday, in response to an allegation that his campaign worker violated election laws.
Two accusations have been made against Kite - one of a campaign worker handing out campaign materials with his petition, and the other of a campaign worker announcing in a classroom, "Go vote for Jon Kite. He's for lowering tuition," which qualifies as public campaigning.
According to the Student Code, candidates cannot publicly campaign until today, and they cannot use campaign materials until Jan. 30. Until today, candidates only could talk to constituents one-on-one.
Kite is being fined $5 for the campaign worker's outburst, and the allegation of Kite's campaign worker distributing the platform is cause for the hearing.
The Board of Elections has been investigating the two incidents since last week, and members called an emergency meeting Monday to discuss what actions to take.
"We have not, as a board, decided whether it's a platform or not," said Jim Brewer, board chairman.
Brewer also said defining a platform is not the most pertinent issue. "It's really a question of what is a campaign material."
During the meeting, Kite said that he thinks the document is not a platform and that it was not intended to be construed as such. "It seems sort of ridiculous for that to be considered a form of campaigning," he said.
A hearing for disqualification has not been called since the 2004 election, when Student Body President candidates Matt Calabria and Lily West were accused of illegal political solicitations. West also was accused of employing an illegal campaign worker.
Calabria said both he and West challenged the convoluted terminology of the Code in the hearings.
"Our question was, 'Under what law are we prohibited from doing that?' And the answer was there wasn't any," he said.
At Monday's board meeting, Kite also said he was upset with the way the board handled the investigation, saying that Brewer was coercive and leading in his questioning of Kite's campaign worker. "It certainly seemed like you were trying to put words in his mouth, according to him," Kite said to Brewer.
The two are considering meeting to discuss the investigation procedure, but Wednesday's hearing will focus on the violations only.
At the hearing - set for 9 p.m. in Wilson Library - Kite will be able to provide an opening statement and present evidence. Witnesses also will be called to testify.
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(01/22/07 5:00am)
Two students have entered the race for president of the Graduate and Professional Student Federation, pitting a familiar face against a new challenger.
Doug Whitfield, a first-year master's student in the School of Information and Library Science will run as a write-in candidate, and Lauren Anderson, the current GPSF president, will run for a second term.
Both stepped into the race after learning that no one else had declared candidacy at Tuesday's mandatory candidates' meeting. "Maybe it took them a little bit more time to consider what they're getting into, but if anything, I think that's a strength," Student Body President James Allred said.
Anderson plans to be an official candidate and must get 100 signatures on her petition by 5 p.m. Tuesday - the same as other candidates.
Jim Brewer, chairman of the Board of Elections, said Anderson still is eligible to run as an official candidate because she contacted the board within a day of the meeting, citing extenuating circumstances as reason for her absence.
Brewer said he learned of Whitfield's intent Friday.
As a write-in candidate, Whitfield will not have to get a petition signed, but he still can campaign.
"He's under the same rules and regulations as all of the other candidates," Brewer said.
Whitfield said he considered the post in the fall because he wants to be more involved in graduate affairs. "It's kind of been something on the outskirts of my thoughts," he said. "I just thought now was a good opportunity for me to seize it."
For her part, Anderson said that she decided to run to keep her issues on the radar, and that she hopes to see them completed.
"I think it's always good for students to have a choice, an option," said Anderson, who ran last year on a platform to improve communication and child care. "It gets more ideas out there, and it makes people more aware of different things that students are thinking about."
Her bid for a second term would make for an unconventional year in student government, as few candidates hold office longer than a year.
Senior Luke Farley, who is in his second term as speaker of Student Congress, said student government doesn't have enough continuity of office, causing less accountability.
"I don't think it's something we can fix," he said. "I think it's inherent in our being students."
Farley said most student leaders spend much of their first term learning the ropes, only to move on once they get the hang of it. "I think there's a lot to be said for the experience you gain over the years."
For campaigning, Farley said most candidates focus on plans, but Anderson can cite the past year.
Although there were two official candidates in last year's election, it was not the norm. Since 1990, only one other GPSF race - in 1999 - has been contested. All other years have involved either one official candidate or write-in candidates.
"I think it's impressive that there's two people who stepped up to run," Allred said.
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(01/11/07 5:00am)
Campus was aflutter with students getting from building to building on the first day of classes Wednesday. For some, though, the trek was only as far as a laptop computer.
Since 1997 UNC has offered students the option of taking a course online through the Carolina Courses Online program. The program has grown from offering four courses its first year to 73 last fall, but more recently enrollment has decreased.
From fall 2005 to fall 2006, degree-seeking student enrollment dropped to 375 - a 45-person decline.
"We're just kind of baffled as to why because the enrollment has generally gone up," said Tim Sanford, associate director for credit programs for the Friday Center for Continuing Education.
Although degree-seeking students are not showing as much interest, nontraditional student enrollment has increased. During the same period, 69 more nontraditional students signed up - holding the total number enrolled in online classes at about 1,000.
Online courses, administered through the Friday Center, are available for nontraditional and degree-seeking students and University employees. Undergraduate students may enroll in just one online course per semester, and they can fill only 10 of the 25 available spots.
Officials said online classes do not offer the same benefits as a normal classroom setting.
"I think the biggest drawback is the lack of interaction," Sanford said. "That's what we hear from people."
The courses do not require outside meeting times, and using discussion forums on Blackboard.com is up to each professor. But officials said the freedom of the courses isn't suited for every student.
"You've got to be disciplined, structured," said Ed Blocher, an accounting professor, who teaches two online courses this semester. "You're on your own."
Freshman Leah Duong took Math 130 online last semester. "It was relatively easy, but it was pretty hard to keep up with the work."
Like Duong, most students take general requirements, but major requirements also are offered.
For students with financial or medical problems, online offerings take away the hassle of getting to class. "It can be very appropriate and important for students who are away from campus," said Bobbi Owen, senior associate dean for undergraduate education.
The UNC-system Board of Governors also has been pushing online education. Third on the board's 2007-09 Budget Priorities official request is the University of North Carolina Online, a compilation of all online courses offered through UNC-system schools.
"This is something that people are beginning to think about almost as second nature," Sanford said.
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(01/10/07 5:00am)
The year's barely started, and already UNC has pulled in two No. 1 national rankings - best men's basketball team and best value among public universities.
Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine ranked UNC at the top of its list of best-value public universities, making this year the sixth consecutive year UNC has topped the charts.
The list was released in the magazine's February issue, which hit stands Tuesday.
The magazine ranked 500 schools based on academic quality, then cost and financial aid.
"There are lots of factors that they look at," said Shirley Ort, director of UNC's Office of Scholarships and Student Aid. "It has a lot to do with the quality of education that students receive at Carolina, as well as affordability."
In measuring academic quality, the magazine looked at the percentage of freshmen who scored 600 or higher on the verbal and math sections of the SAT, admission rates and freshman retention rates.
Beyond that, student-faculty ratios and four- and six-year graduation rates were part of the consideration.
At a November meeting, the Board of Trustees heard a presentation on how to improve graduation rates at UNC. The subject has been on the board's agenda since it came up during a retreat last summer.
And in the eyes of the faculty, a high ranking in academic quality is important, said Joe Templeton, chairman of the faculty.
"Faculty are delighted Carolina is the best value," he said. "That reflects academic excellence, which is important to faculty."
The University also has been in the spotlight for its innovative financial aid package, called the Carolina Covenant, that allows low-income students to graduate debt-free.
The Covenant, implemented in 2004, provides students who fall at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level with a combination of grants and scholarships to meet their need. Ort said 80 percent of the package comes from grants.
The Covenant has received national praise, and other institutions have started to model new programs after it.
UNC also increased other need-based financial aid packages when tuition went up this year, Ort said.
"We use a verb: package," she said. "We package financial aid."
Other schools on the list include the University of Florida at second place and the College of William and Mary at third. From the UNC system, N.C. State University was 12th and Appalachian State University was 31st.
But while the ranking bodes well for UNC's name, officials said there's more to the University than good statistics.
"It's wonderful publicity for the University," Templeton said. "It's nice, but it's not the goal of the faculty or the students. . It kind of reminds us that we're in a good place."
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(01/10/07 5:00am)
As former U.S. Sen. John Edwards leaves UNC to compete in the 2008 presidential race, his second-in-command is stepping in to fill his shoes.
Marion Crain was appointed the new director of the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity after Edwards announced his intent to run for the Democratic presidential candidacy on Dec. 28.
Crain, who has been with the center since its inception in February 2005, previously served as deputy director.
She said that though her title has changed, her work will not.
"It's pretty much the same as what I was doing before," Crain said.
The center, which is a division of UNC's School of Law, brings in various scholars and other speakers from across the country to discuss the state of poverty. The results from those discussions are published in journals and books.
Much of the center's success booking high-profile speakers, including former vice presidential candidate Jack Kemp, has been attributed to its association with Edwards.
Although he will not stay on as director, Crain said his influence as founder will maintain the center's prestige. "He was certainly a huge positive influence for us in terms of being able to get publicity for the center," she said. "We will miss him, but that doesn't mean that he hasn't left us a pretty good legacy."
Crain said she is prepared to pick up the reins where Edwards left off.
During his two years with the center, Edwards secured funding and fostered bonds with various contacts around the country, Crain said.
"We have a more personal relationship with them, so we feel more comfortable working with them."
And when Edwards started the center, there already were plans being made for an eventual changing of the guard.
Jack Boger, the law school dean who appointed Crain, said she stood out early on as the next in line.
"She was a self-evidently qualified candidate," he said. "She has done a brilliant job as the deputy."
Crain also has strong ties to the law school as a professor. She has served as the Paul Eaton Professor of Law since 1998, and visits other law schools such as Duke University and George Washington University.
Boger said Crain's role as deputy director will help keep the center moving smoothly in its mission. He said both administrative excellence and continuity are essential to the advancement of the center.
"I think that Sen. Edwards helped us put the center on the map," Boger said. "We hope that it will now have momentum to move forward under its own steam."
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(11/29/06 5:00am)
On Friday night Adrian Johnston was at a reception for Canadian Rhodes Scholar finalists. Saturday morning he had his last interview for the prestigious award and just a few hours later, he got the call that he won.
"It was quite a shock," Johnston said. "They just said congratulations, and I couldn't believe it. I'm very, very happy."
Johnston, a 2006 UNC graduate and former student body vice president, is the second Rhodes Scholar from UNC this year. He's also the third UNC Canadian Rhodes Scholar for the past five years.
The scholarship funds all expenses at Oxford University in England for two years, with an optional third. The application process began in August, and Canadian recipients were notified about a week after U.S. recipients.
Johnston, also a Morehead Scholar, said he plans to study international relations while abroad. He said eventually he wants to return to Canada for law school and embark on a career in foreign affairs.
The other UNC Rhodes Scholar, senior Ben Lundin, also is considering international relations for the two-year Oxford program.
Lundin was one of 32 U.S. recipients. As one of 11 Canadian recipients, Johnston is the 41st UNC student to receive the award.
This year is only the third time UNC has had two Rhodes Scholars at the same time.
Recipients are chosen based on academics, integrity and leadership, among other characteristics.
Margaret Jablonski, vice chancellor for student affairs, said the two represent UNC's missions.
"I think the combination of excellent academic service and a commitment to public service is something the Rhodes committee looks for, and that typifies a Carolina student," she said.
Johnston recently returned from Burundi, Africa, where he spent a few months interviewing army officers about their participation in a conflict management leadership-training program.
"That's just an incredible experience, and now I hope that I can go to Oxford and learn more about international relations," he said.
The Toronto native plans to give a presentation about his trip to an international conflict management class Friday at UNC.
Johnston took the class a year ago as the only undergraduate on a roster of 25 students. And visiting scholar Terry Barnett, who taught the class, said Johnston received the highest grade. "He was outstanding," Barnett said. "He was an impressive individual."
Johnston also served as chairman of the student advisory committee to the chancellor, which reports student concerns to University administration.
"I think he was both an intellectual and a diplomat," Jablonski said. "He was very open and neutral and tried to get people to reach a kind of a middle ground."
Jablonski, who sat on the chancellor's committee with Johnston, also met with Johnston and former Student Body President Seth Dearmin biweekly to discuss student issues.
Dearmin got a call from Johnston on Monday about the award.
"He's on cloud nine," Dearmin said. "I don't think they could have made a better choice."
Johnston attributes his success to his family, friends and good luck.
"Really, I'm just overwhelmed by it," he said. "It's one of those things that isn't something you can deserve."
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(11/27/06 5:00am)
It's work as usual today in UNC's dental lab, with technicians making molds of crowns and dentures for their patients.
But while the work might be routine, the day is far from it.
It is the last workday for 15 dental technicians whose jobs are being outsourced to commercial laboratories to save money for the School of Dentistry.
Employees were notified Oct. 4 that they would lose their jobs. With some close to retirement and others just starting their UNC careers, few have figured out what to do next.
"I'm trying to make up my mind what I'll do," said Barry Lee, who will leave UNC after 29 years. "I can't make a clear decision."
Lee said that he wasn't sure he'd retire when he hit the 30-year mark needed for benefits, and that he still wants to work in education.
And Lee said that Tuesday, the day he officially becomes unemployed, will be a big change for him.
"I've spent more time here than I have with my wife and family."
Jackie Maynard, a dental technician of 26 years, said she also hasn't decided what to do. "I have nowhere to transfer to," she said. "I have 26 years here. I'm out in the cold."
But the technicians have not dealt with the news alone. UNC's Employee Forum also opposed the administrative decision.
"I think that a lot of people are sad that the University has allowed the decision to be made with so little input and participation by the interested party," forum Chairman Ernie Patterson said.
A 1996 forum resolution requires outsourcing discussions to be open and involve the UNC community.
And much opposition is in response to the decision-making process - which didn't include employees and was two pages long.
"We feel the policies of the University are pretty much useless," Maynard said.
"If the University is not going to abide by the policies, then why have any policies?"
John Williams, dean of the dental school, has said the resolution does not apply to this situation because it was written for one incident.
And despite a rally, a petition and a march, administrators have stuck to the outsourcing decision.
Patterson also wrote a letter to Chancellor James Moeser, asking for a 12-month moratorium on the layoffs so more assessments could be made, but his request was denied.
"Decisions need to be made with fair, honest data in an open process," Patterson said. "The administration needs to take a hard look at the way they make decisions."
To improve communication between administrators and employees, Patterson said forum members plan to meet with Richard Mann, the University's new vice chancellor for finance and administration, who is set to take office today.
Patterson said that though the dental technicians will leave their office today for the final time, their plight should be a catalyst to better connect staff to South Building.
"All of us ought to try to do better, not just pick one little group or another," he said. "Everyone needs to work harder."
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
Previously on . the dental technician layoffs
Spring 2006 An ad hoc
committee - assembled in late 2005 to evaluate the School of Dentistry's efficiency - submits to Dean John Williams its
recommendations to outsource 15 dental technician positions.
Oct. 4 At the monthly Employee Forum meeting, the technicians are notified that their jobs will be outsourced.
Oct. 11 Employee Forum Chairman Ernie Patterson asks Chancellor James Moeser for a 12-month moratorium on UNC administrators' decision, but his request is denied.
Oct. 18 The forum holds a rally with almost 200 participants to
protest the decision.
Nov. 15 About 50 protesters march from the Old Dental Building to South Building to deliver to administrators a petition with 1,000 signatures against their decision to outsource the jobs.
(11/14/06 5:00am)
There's a difference between being in debt when you're an undergraduate and when you're a medical student.
At about $150,000 in the hole, Gary Visser, a fourth-year graduate student in UNC's School of Medicine, still can afford to travel during the weekend. He said he knows he can pay off the debt in a matter of years.
"While you're young it's better to enjoy yourself," Visser said. "So any money I have left over from loans, instead of pay off my loans, I'm going to travel."
But other graduate students at UNC don't necessarily have the same sense of security.
With tuition continuing to climb, especially for out-of-state students, paying for further schooling and still affording living expenses after graduation is an increasing concern.
"It's a choice," Graduate and Professional Student Federation President Lauren Anderson said. "And a lot goes into it."
The first step in the process is researching schools' tuition and filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. After that, students search for financial support.
Most schools within the University do not have financial aid advisers. They direct students to the Office of Scholarships and Student Aid.
For FAFSA purposes graduate students are considered independent from their parents. Kelly Podger, director for student activities in the School of Law's Office of Student Affairs, said the forms accurately portray a student's financial situation.
"Most of the students that I talk to that are coming here are coming without parental contribution."
Graduate students can take out unsubsidized or subsidized loans from the federal government.
Some borrow from private lenders, but that depends on their respective fields, said Tony Patterson, assistant director in the student aid office. "Sometimes they know it, and they don't care because of the profession they go into," he said.
Private loans usually have a higher interest rate than the six percent rate of federal loans, but they're easier to obtain.
At most, the federal government offers graduate students $18,500 in loans per year. No more than $8,500 of that can be subsidized.
Average debt for graduate students ranges from about $20,000 to about $80,000, according to the student aid office.
But some students said they borrow more than that.
Jordan Kirby, a third-year law student, estimated that he will graduate with about $130,000 in debt, despite receiving scholarships for his undergraduate career.
Kirby said he sought financial aid help at the law school. He said he was especially worried about cost as an out-of-state student.
"I just felt lost when I was coming here because I didn't know what to do," he said. "That was one of the questions they were ready and willing to help with."
Graduate students also can participate in University-affiliated jobs such as teaching assistants or admissions officers.
Teaching assistants can get part or all of their tuition paid for and receive a stipend for their service.
Students also can change their lifestyles so that they spend less and save more money, Podger said.
"I do a lot of advising students not to have a double latte from Starbucks everyday," she said.
While students can change their lifestyles now, some aspects are ever-present. Total debt amount sometimes even changes career plans.
UNC's law school especially has a commitment to public service.
But the school's tuition is the same whether a student enters a career in public interest or a corporate law firm - though the salary after graduation is much different.
"It makes me nervous what to do after law school," said Mark Golden, a third-year law student, who said he wants to pursue public interest work. "I just don't think I'd be able to afford that.
"It's kind of a trade-off of what I want to do and what I'm confined to do."
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(10/30/06 5:00am)
Communication among employees and administrators in the School of Dentistry has proved to be an issue with the recent decision to outsource 15 employees.
Dean John Williams, who took office in May 2005, said he came with a plan to make the dental school one of the best in the country.
"I have made statements, when I interviewed for the position, I feel very strongly that a state-supported institution needs to be continually looking at the resources it has," he said.
A few months after taking office, he assembled an ad hoc committee to evaluate those resources in the Dental Service Laboratories.
After four meetings in late 2005 and early 2006, Ken May, committee chairman, submitted a report to Williams in the spring on how to run the school more efficiently.
Among those suggestions was outsourcing 15 dental technicians, which Williams said he decided to implement. He made the decision public this month, and the employees will be out of their jobs Nov. 27.
"This is certainly not a decision I took lightly at all because it has very specific ramifications for the individuals involved," he said. "That was why it took as long as it did."
The outsourcing led to protesting from members of all sectors of North Carolina's dental community.
Members of the Employee Forum, a large advocate for the dental technicians, assembled a rally to protest. They also are encouraged to e-mail Chancellor James Moeser and Williams to convince them to change their minds.
Forum chairman Ernie Patterson wrote a letter to Moeser on Oct. 11 asking for a 12-month moratorium on the decision. Moeser has since denied the request.
But Williams said the decision isn't as bad as it might sound. He said the committee compared UNC's dental school to others and discovered that most had only three or four employees with those jobs, while UNC has 17.
"As we looked at the dental service laboratory, it made a great deal of sense to make a restructuring," he said.
The employees also have complained that the committee meetings were conducted in a secretive manner that goes against University guidelines for dealing with privatization.
An Employee Forum resolution on the matter, which was approved by then-Chancellor Michael Hooker in 1996, explicitly states matters of privatization should be dealt with in an open manner with the University community's involvement.
Williams said that this resolution was meant for a singular incident in 1996, and that this case is different. "It's not a University policy," he said.
Williams and May also said the committee included employees in the decision, through their supervisor, Collins Clarkson.
"The employees were aware that a review was going on," Williams said.
May said he communicated with Clarkson regularly.
"I don't see this as secretive," May said. "The supervisor knew about this since last fall. We've got communications that show that he was concerned about the committee decisions."
But Clarkson said he was not involved with the committee or its decisions.
"There was no input on my part in the committee meeting. . If they would have asked me to be in that committee, I would have given them some information on the technical side - because this is what we do."
Clarkson said he was told only that a committee was evaluating the dental labs. He didn't find out about the outsourcing until earlier this month in a meeting with May, he said.
Despite employees' complaints of short notification, Williams and May said they gave more than enough notice to follow a policy, which requires a 30-day notification. They gave them more than 50 days.
While the committee followed procedure, employees complained about the lack of humane actions.
Some employees were weeks from retirement, and while they said they asked for an extension - which May said he would have liked to give - a cutoff day had to be set.
"I don't think there's ever a good time," May said. "If you wait until two or three of the folks were going to retire in a few months, then you've got a few more who could retire a few months later. It's never a good time for everybody at all, so where do you stop?"
While Williams said he welcomes the employee voice, the decision pretty much is set in stone.
"We have a plan going forward that we feel will be an efficient use of resources," he said.
"I certainly support people voicing their opinions. I'm a First Amendment kind of guy."
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(10/26/06 4:00am)
Almost all North Campus dorms lost the hot water they use for energy during a two-hour period Wednesday afternoon because of a malfunctioning relief valve, UNC Facility Services officials said.
The energy water heats dorm rooms but is not used for domestic purposes such as shower water.
The problem began when a relief valve in Joyner Residence Hall malfunctioned, causing 10,000 gallons of hot water to spill out onto Raleigh Street and down to Country Club Road.
Facility Services employees first replaced the broken valve to stop the spill. They fixed the hot water problem about an hour later by putting the hydronics system - which provides energy water for North Campus dorms - back online. The system is centered in Joyner, where the spill occurred.
The malfunction's cause isn't clear, and the Department of Housing and Residential Education declined to comment on the situation.
Some said the spill stemmed from faulty equipment.
"I think they cut on (power) too fast, and the pop-off valve was too weak," said Ricardo Mangum, a plumber with facility services who was at the site of the spill.
Others said the problem was an increased demand for heat, as many dorms' heating systems were turned on this week.
"There was a greater demand of hot water today, which built up the pressure," said Connor Community Gov. Tyler Duckworth. He said housing officials told him the demand could have come from Wednesday's use alone or from a strain during a few days' time.
Duckworth also said housing officials are working to adjust the heat that will be allowed in the dorms.
Mangum said he doesn't expect to see a similar malfunction at any other dorms.
"This is just a one-shot deal."
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(10/23/06 4:00am)
The room in the Old Dental Building overflowed with students who have been there only a few years, faculty with decades of teaching experience and staff who soon will be out of a job.
Almost 200 of them came together Wednesday to voice opposition to the recent outsourcing of 15 dental technicians.
"My issue that I wanted to point out with this outsourcing is the timing," said Sharon House, a dental technician for 26 years.
House is among the 15 technicians in the School of Dentistry who received notification earlier this month that they will be out of a job Nov. 27.
The Employee Forum has spearheaded efforts to change the minds of UNC administrators. Forum Chairman Ernie Patterson wrote a letter to Chancellor James Moeser, asking for a 12-month moratorium.
Many at the Wednesday meeting said the extension would give the employees a chance to secure another job or plan for the future.
"If they're going to definitely go to outsourcing, well, it gives them at least a year," said Glenn Minsley, a professor in the school.
The 15 dental technicians said they hope administrators will consider their voices and then will overturn the decision, saving their jobs.
They said the terminations would cost the school as much as the technicians - decreasing the quality of patient care, student education and products.
Brad Adams, a fourth-year dental student who attended the meeting, said faculty members aren't the only ones worried because of the outsourcing.
"I think the students as a whole are having real concerns, not only for how this was handled, but .what does this mean for students in the future?" he said.
Although unhappy with the decision, technicians said much of their opposition is in response to the way the outsourcing was handled - not the outsourcing itself.
In 1996 then-Chancellor Michael Hooker signed a resolution of the Employee Forum that cited the methods for handling privatization.
The resolution states that the decision-making process must be open and involve the University community.
"That has not happened in this situation," Forum Vice Chairman David Brannigan said. "The Employee Forum thinks that's unacceptable."
A committee was formed to evaluate the school's options, but the dental technicians were not invited to take part.
Brannigan called the process secretive and exclusive, and he told the audience members to e-mail and call Moeser and School of Dentistry Dean John Williams to express their disapproval.
"The dean has not been very communicative," he said.
Williams was not available for comment.
With about 35 days until the terminations are implemented, Brannigan said communication among administrators and employees is key to seeing any sort of action.
"Time is of the essence."
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(10/23/06 4:00am)
In about a month, the University will be just one step away from filling all of the vacant seats in South Building.
Officials announced Friday that Richard Mann, vice president for administration at the State University of New York-Stony Brook, will serve as vice chancellor for finance and administration.
"It's a wonderful place," Mann said of UNC. "It's a fine university."
The last open administrative position is the vice provost for enrollment policy and management, which has been vacant since Jerry Lucido left this summer to take the same post at the University of Southern California.
Mann will assume his post Nov. 27 to oversee UNC's $2.2 billion operating budget.
"I have a pretty good understanding of what the nature of the job is," Mann said. "It's not dissimilar from what I'm doing at my university."
He was one of about five candidates - both internal and external - that the search committee interviewed, said Student Body Vice President Brian Phelps, a member of the committee.
"When the committee members met with him, it was clear that he would be a very good fit for the University of North Carolina - particularly to public higher education," Phelps said.
The search committee has been looking for a candidate since May, and the position has been vacant since Nancy Suttenfield left this summer to take a similar position at Wake Forest University.
The committee recommended Mann to Chancellor James Moeser, and the Board of Trustees approved the appointment last week with a mail-in ballot.
While the position was vacant, David Perry served as the interim vice chancellor. He will assist Mann with his transition until May.
"It's an opportunity to have someone who has been involved there to help ease in the new guy," Mann said.
But he has a full resume.
Bill Roper, dean of the School of Medicine and chairman of the search committee, said the committee recommended Mann because of his experience with information technology.
UNC is working to change the computer system that includes student affairs and financing.
Perry has been reviewing vendors to make a funding recommendation for next year's budget.
Mann has held similar positions at SUNY-Stony Brook, the University of Kansas and with the University of Illinois system.
"He has, as the expression goes, been there, done that," Roper said.
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(10/18/06 4:00am)
The Board of Elections' new voting system saw its first day in action with a nearly perfect debut during Tuesday's special elections.
The board held special elections to award Student Congress seats in districts ranging from South Campus to professional schools.
Student Congress will welcome 12 new representatives to office, with two runoff elections for three seats in Districts 7 and 9.
Students also voted on the senior class gift, which this year will be a donation to the Carolina Covenant, a need-based scholarship program for UNC students.
"I'd kind of gathered that there was more of a buzz in the air about the covenant," said Senior Class President Meg Petersen, who voted for the choice.
"I think it's doing a lot more for the University than a sign would do. It's making the University a better place," she said.
This year's class gift is a donation to an area of campus rather than a physical gift. They chose the Carolina Covenant with 341 votes ahead of the Carolina Center for Public Service with 204 votes and the Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs with 129 votes.
More than double the number of students who voted in last year's elections voted this year, said Jim Brewer, chairman of the Board of Elections.
In last year's elections, about 1,100 students cast a vote, and this year, 2,479 participated in the election, with 77 paper ballots.
"That's the most I've ever seen," he said. "It's the highest voter turnout ever."
The board made some changes to the voting system in response to the technical difficulties faced last year.
But despite those changes, some students said they were unable to select the appropriate district.
Brewer said the problem occurred because students were registered with their home addresses instead of their local ones.
"That is more of a student responsibility," he said, noting that six students contacted the board with that issue, and he delivered paper ballots to them. "If they contacted us, we definitely got them ballots."
"Had he not come, our votes would not have been counted," said Erica Powell, a junior in Hinton James Residence Hall.
Brewer attributed the success of this year's voting process to its revamping.
Last year, students were able to cast multiple votes for more than one candidate, a violation that caused some groups to protest.
To counter those technical difficulties, the board created a system which tallied each student's votes.
"We've given it a face-lift," Brewer said of the system, which was updated in August. The board has run about 10 successful test elections since then.
To ensure efficiency at the physical polling sites, members of the Board of Elections outreach committee ran all the sites. "It's an organized entity this time," Brewer said.
He said better publicity - which came from an array of groups - also increased turnout.
Faculty members were asked to remind their students to vote with announcements and e-mails, and the Resident Hall Association helped by posting candidate profiles on its Web site.
Each polling station had a computer available for students to cast a ballot. Students said the stations helped increase awareness when many didn't know where to go.
"You always walk by the library, and it's right there," sophomore Katelyn Bryant-Comstock said. "It's quick and easy."
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(10/13/06 4:00am)
Generations of UNC students have walked by the Old Well and drank its water. Thursday the historic landmark saw some returning faces.
Alumni and faculty gathered around the well to begin the procession to Memorial Hall for the start of University Day - a celebration of UNC's 213th birthday.
The juxtaposition of senior marshals adorned with Carolina-blue sashes and UNC leaders dressed in their academic regalia helped demonstrate the day's message - remembering the past and looking to the future.
"I love what this University stands for," said keynote speaker Erskine Bowles, president of the UNC system. "It is proudly a public university.
"This campus is a university of the people."
More than 500 people filled the hall - including familiar faces such as former UNC Chancellor Paul Hardin and former UNC-system Presidents Molly Broad and Bill Friday.
The audience heard from Chancellor James Moeser, who emphasized the University's new virtual museum Web site during his speech. The site details all aspects of the oldest public university in the nation.
"This virtual museum tells our entire history, with the blunt, historical truth of slavery," he said.
"This is this University at its very best - being truthful, honest about our past."
The site, which can be accessed at museum.unc.edu, tells the UNC story with documents, photographs, videos and biographies.
Officials unveiled the site Thursday afternoon in Wilson Library, with a navigational explanation of the pages.
As for looking to the future, Bowles said one of his goals as president is to enable all eligible students to attend the University.
"I love that Carolina stands up for all people of the state," he said.
Bowles outlined six points for UNC to become the best public university: accessibility, faculty investment, graduate student financial aid, research investment, a liberal-arts focus and accountability.
"I don't want to hear excuses about why Berkeley or Michigan or, for God's sake, Virginia ranked above us," he said.
"The University must never be content with the status quo - good enough is never good enough," he said, reiterating the theme of Moeser's State of the University address last month.
Although he didn't give a speech in Memorial Hall, Student Body President James Allred said after the event that Bowles is on track.
"I really appreciated his recognizing graduate students," Allred said. "I think that shows an understanding of the value graduate students add to the University."
Six alumni also received the Distinguished Alumna and Alumnus Awards during the ceremony.
Later in the day, a crowd of students stood where the crowd of alumni and faculty had gathered in the morning.
They assembled near the Old Well to celebrate Old East as the first campus building, with an event sponsored by the Residence Hall Association.
They listened to Allred read the end of Samuel McCorkle's speech from when the cornerstone was laid at Old East in 1793 and watched him blow out the birthday cake candles.
Sophomore Eric Carlberg, who attended the Old East celebration, said that although he didn't go to the morning's events, he feels connected to UNC's past.
"I'm happy to be a part of a University with this history."
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(09/27/06 4:00am)
UNC Board of Trustees members will assemble today for their first meeting of the academic year.
Trustees will start to examine the topics that are expected to have the greatest impact on the campus this year, including graduate student aid, diversity and construction.
Three board committees will meet today before the full board gathers later tonight and Thursday.
Trustees said they expect the two days to be business as usual.
"It's sort of an in-between meeting," said Student Body President James Allred, who is an ex-officio member of the board. Allred said the board's July retreat helped set the tone for the rest of the year.
He said that during the three-day retreat, trustees discussed student graduation retention rates, enrollment, aid and faculty retention.
Those topics will help determine agendas for the remainder of the board meetings, Allred said.
"That's when we had the chance to set out the specific academic targets for the coming year," he said.
Their agenda includes a tour of the new Science Complex, a lunch with student leaders, reports from various committees and general remarks from UNC officials.
Trustees said they don't expect to vote on anything controversial today, but they anticipate tuition talks to come up.
Trustee Tim Burnett said athletics and tuition always are on the unofficial agenda. Ultimately, the board will approve any increases to tuition or student fees. "I don't think this year will be any different."
The building and grounds committee will meet today, but no major projects need the board's approval.
"This year the trustees are only going to be looking at interim sketches," Burnett said. "It gets more intense discussion when it comes to the final sketches."
The university affairs committee and the audit and finance committee will present reports in a closed session at Thursday's full-board meeting. The rest of the meetings are open to the general public.
The board also will hear a report from Madeline Levine, interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, about ways to improve four- and six-year graduation rates.
Other items slated for discussion include reports about assisting graduate students financially and the implementation of the campus' five-point diversity plan.
Not planned for the meeting but likely to come up are faculty recruitment and retention, which Joe Templeton, chairman of the faculty, said is a critical need.
Trustees said much of the their plans will focus on growth across the board. Templeton also said expansion shouldn't be limited to faculty.
"Growth is a particularly important issue for everyone," he said.
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.