Via Zoom, the UNC Board of Trustees discussed renovations to the Undergraduate Library and upgrades to parking decks, as well as the potential development of a data science on school on UNC's campus. The Board also discussed research, curriculum development and more issues regarding the History, Race, and a Way Forward Commission.
The newly formed Commission on History, Race and a Way Forward offers an opportunity for UNC to reconcile with its racialized footprint.
On Dec. 20, Carolina Performing Arts released a statement in response to the Sons of Confederate Veterans settlement. Chancellor Emeritus James Moeser said CPA is "appalled at the agreement entered into on our behalf by the UNC System Board of Governors." However, CPA is also dealing with its own place in history. Its primary venue, Memorial Hall, prominently displays plaques in remembrance of founders of the University and memorializing Confederate alumni. Now, CPA recognizes its role in addressing these difficult issues through art.
Three chancellors have served this decade. The DTH talked to each of them about their time in the position.
Nearly seven years after its investigation began, the U.S. Department of Education stated in a final program review report that UNC acted in violation of federal laws on campus safety and crime information throughout the department's review period while demonstrating a lack of administrative capability that “remains a matter of serious concern for the department.” Clery Act expert S. Daniel Carter told The Daily Tar Heel that the University is "certainly looking at six figures" in federal fines, and he called the department's description of UNC's administrative issues “one of the most blistering I’ve read in many years."
The investigation began in 2013, stemming from a federal complaint filed by four UNC students and a former administrator.
![Alexandra Smith, a senior media and journalism and Hispanic linguistics double major is photographed in her apartment on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2019. “I just wish people at UNC realized [mental health is] something that shouldn’t be stigmatized,” Smith said. “It’s something that should be normal and prioritized just as much as your physical health is.”](https://snworksceo.imgix.net/dth/ea968028-9315-489b-bf0d-54d0fdbeeb89.sized-1000x1000.JPG?w=800)
Several UNC students are speaking out about their mental health, and how they feel UNC should better accommodate students with mental illnesses. In April 2019, the Mental Health Task Force at UNC released a report showing that counseling services on campus are being used at an increasing rate. This trend also exists at colleges and universities nationwide. UNC is making a variety of changes, such as introducing a 24/7 CAPS hotline, to improve mental health care at UNC. Still, some students think the University should be doing more to provide this type of care.
Dan Gerlach, interim Chancellor of East Carolina University, has been placed on administrative leave in light of reports that he acted inappropriately in a Greenville-area bar last week.
The Chancellor Search Committee met for the first time on Thursday to kick off the search for a new chancellor. The process is not only complex, but also confidential. Chairperson Richard Stevens said committee members should not even discuss candidates with their families. The timeline is projected to take four months, though the process could take longer.
![Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Robert Blouin discusses various changes to "digitial education" at UNC-Chapel Hill. Blouin placed a moratorium on third-party OPMs "mainly because [Blouin] felt that [UNC] needed to adopt a campus philosphy and a campus strategy towards digital residential and non residential education," Blouin said.](https://snworksceo.imgix.net/dth/083489dc-b8b7-47a7-acc8-02e5efd05195.sized-1000x1000.jpg?w=800)
A new data science initiative, survey on campus free speech and programs to support public debate were on the agenda for the most recent Faculty Executive Committee meeting.
Ives oversaw several departments, including Student Stores and transportation and parking.
By LDOC of last year, a handful of UNC administrators left the University, including one of the most important figures on and off campus: the chancellor. Former Chancellor Carol Folt left in January, and since then, interim leaders have filled the positions left behind in the wake of the administrative fallout. As the school year begins, the search for a permanent replacement for chancellor will also start, and students, faculty and graduates make up the group to recommend candidates to the Board of Trustees. From there, a series of approvals through the University president and Board of Governors will culminate in a new chancellor. Kevin Guskiewicz, who has served as interim chancellor since Folt's resignation, said he is interested in being considered as a candidate for the next chancellor. Though the search process has not officially begun, Board of Trustees Chairperson Richard Stevens said he hopes Guskiewicz officially applies to be the permanent chancellor when the time comes.
On the interim chancellor's agenda are new initiatives for discussing the politics of a university, experiential education and collaboration with the town of Chapel Hill.
Marshall is a partner at a Raleigh law firm and outside general counsel to the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters.
When Winston Crisp resigned a few months after the toppling of Silent Sam, Christi Hurt was elevated in the student affairs department to fill the role of vice chancellor. Now, following her departure and amid the search for a permanent replacement, student affairs veteran Jonathan Sauls will become the vice chancellor for student affairs.
The idealistic projects are disconnected from UNC's major fundraising effort, so currently there's no money allocated for most of the proposals in the Master Plan.
Suzanne Barbour, former program director at the National Science Foundation, has been the Graduate School dean at the University of Georgia for three years. In September she's coming to UNC.
Conceived in 1908, completed in 1913, then torn down in 2018, Silent Sam was a lightning rod symbol on UNC's campus for over 100 years. Even now, as the one-year anniversary of its toppling approaches and the statue remains hidden in storage, Silent Sam continues to spark conversations on race and history.
Members of the campus safety commission say there's a "crisis of trust" at UNC between law enforcement and the community. Thomas Younce has a wide background in many realms of policing, and experience as an Air Force captain.
Carolina Performing Arts is the brain-child of Emil Kang, an influential professor in the music department who worked in the chancellor's cabinet to elevate UNC's status in the art world. He accepted a position at a N.Y art foundation and will leave the University in September.
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