Higher Education - The Daily Tar Heel

Judge Allen Baddour looks on as SCV lawyer Boyd Sturges speaks during the hearing on Wednesday. Feb. 12, 2020. Judge Baddour ruled to vacate the consent order and dismiss the lawsuit regarding Silent Sam.

UNC's $2.5 million Confederate payout won't be fully repaid despite backdoor deal reversal

By Charlie McGee | Mar. 26, 2020

The UNC System's now-infamous settlement with the North Carolina Division Sons of Confederate Veterans Inc. was struck down last month after a swarm of public scrutiny and legal challenges. The reversal by Orange County Superior Court Judge Allen Baddour returned possession of Silent Sam to the state's higher-education authority, but a $2.5 million trust of UNC's money that the System forfeited in that deal may not be coming back in full. More than $80,000 of those funds in total are set to pay the Confederate group's lawyer and the attorneys involved in operating the trust after its creation. However, a new legal challenge by UNC students and faculty seeks to change that.

UNC-System Interim President Bill Roper introduces UNC-Chapel Hill Interim Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz and discusses their mission for UNC's future direction at the Carolina Inn on Thursday, Feb. 7, 2019.

'A very unusual time': Board of Governors discussed system response to COVID-19

By Praveena Somasundaram | Mar. 22, 2020

The Board of Governors met by conference call in a special session Friday to discuss the UNC System's response to COVID-19.

Silent Sam will not return to campus, UNC System leaders say

By Anna Pogarcic | Feb. 21, 2020

UNC System Board of Governors Chairperson Randy Ramsey said Silent Sam will be secured away from UNC's campus at a meeting Friday.

Walter Jackson, '67, pictured in front of UNC's worldwide landmark, the Old Well. Walter Jackson is a member of the UNC Black Pioneers, UNC alumni who marched on Franklin Street during the Civil Rights Movement. Photo courtesy of Walter Jackson.

UNC graduates who were active in Civil Rights Movement lend voices to Silent Sam case

By Allie Kelly | Jan. 28, 2020

A group of alumni plans to submit an amicus brief to the Orange County court system by Wednesday. Some of those involved would like to see the money from the settlement returned to the University in full, and the monument destroyed as a public safety hazard.

Board of Governors urges General Assembly to end state budget impasse

By Stephanie Mayer | Jan. 20, 2020

The UNC-System Board of Governors met Friday and passed a resolution addressing the General Assembly's budget impasse.

UNC-system Board of Governors member David Powers listens to president-elect Margaret Spellings’ speech.

DTH lawsuit discussed in closed session by BOG Governance committee

By Allie Kelly | Jan. 16, 2020

During a UNC Board of Governors' meeting on Thursday, committee members grappled with two pending legal cases against the University.

Captain Lindsey Jefferies poses for a portrait on Sunday, Jan. 12, 2020. She is the first Black female Black Hawk pilot in the N.C. National Guard. Photo courtesy of Lindsey Jefferies.

UNC grad becomes first Black female pilot for N.C. National Guard

By Brittany McGee | Jan. 16, 2020

"It was like an out-of-body experience," Lindsey Jefferies said when she first helped fly a plane during her time in her high school's JROTC.

Protesters hold a sign during a demonstration in downtown Raleigh on Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. About 250 people participated in the protest in support of DACA after President Donald Trump announced that he would phase out the program.

Universities are preparing for the future of dreamers amid DACA's potential rollback

By Sofia Lesnewski | Jan. 12, 2020

Students who have benefitted from DACA are now facing uncertainty as a decision on the program's future rests in the hands of the Supreme Court. At the same time, colleges and universities across North Carolina are teetering the line between protecting students and complying with the law in a state that allows local law enforcement to collaborate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and prohibits sanctuary cities. While several schools have declared themselves sanctuary campuses, others are relying on student activism. No matter what the method is, they say they're trying to help DACA recipients carry the weight.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Allen Baddour gives the sentence to Laurence Alvin Lovette Jr., who was found guilty of kidnapping, robbing and murdering Eve Carson, the 2008 University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill student body president. Baddour handed down the sentence on Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2011, in Hillsborough. Lovette will serve a life-prison sentence without the possibility of parole. (Takaaki Iwabu/Raleigh News & Observer/MCT)

Judge who approved Silent Sam deal previously had UNC-favorable decisions reversed

By Preston Lennon | Dec. 19, 2019

In a flurry of signatures and stamps, the Silent Sam deal was pushed through the system, going from a lawsuit to a signed judgement in under 10 minutes. The judge that signed off on it has been overruled at least twice in the past on decisions he made in favor of the University.

The Silent Sam statue looks towards Franklin Street from its location in the Upper Quad on UNC's campus.

BOG chairperson calls legal action on Silent Sam from civil rights group "irresponsible"

By Maeve Sheehey | Dec. 16, 2019

The North Carolina Attorney General's office said the Silent Sam settlement's $2.5 million trust gives "excessive" funds to the Sons of Confederate Veterans, and that the Department of Justice was sidelined in the agreement. The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law also wrote a letter questioning various aspects of the settlement.

The Orange County Courthouse in 2010. DTH/Mary Lide Parker

Layers of connection exist between the parties involved in Silent Sam settlement

By Preston Lennon | Dec. 15, 2019

Details are still scarce on the Silent Sam deal. Kevin Guskiewicz is assuming the chancellor's office in a moment where system leaders and attorneys are getting on the same page about the settlement that's caused an uproar on campus. The DTH looked into the deal.

Kevin Stone, commander of the Sons of Confederate Veterans' North Carolina chapter, poses next to Silent Sam after suing and immediately settling with the UNC System and Board of Governors, a deal that gave the group possession of the Confederate monument and $2.5 million in UNC System money for its "preservation and benefit." Photo courtesy of SCV members.

Sons of Confederate Veterans members oppose $2.5 million Silent Sam reward

By Charlie McGee | Dec. 14, 2019

Multiple current member of the North Carolina Division Sons of Confederate Veterans Inc. spoke to The Daily Tar Heel in the aftermath of the Confederate group's secretive settlement with the UNC System, which accrued it ownership of Silent Sam and $2.5 million in UNC System money. The members expressed desires to squash the deal and give the money back. They alleged financial impropriety and extortion among SCV leadership, referenced intermingling with gangs and hate groups, and described threats and slurs that have been issued toward members who raise questions.

How the Republican takeover of the General Assembly changed the UNC System

By Anna Pogarcic and Maeve Sheehey | Dec. 4, 2019

The General Assembly turned majority-Republican in 2010, and with it the Board of Governors experienced a significant turnover in membership.

A digital sign on campus boasts North Carolina Central University's rank as the 11th best HBCU according to US News and World Report 2020 Rankings in Durham on Sunday, Dec. 1, 2019. There are currently five major capital projects underway at NCCU, including a new student center and three new residence halls.

Senate blocks FUTURE Act, which provides funding efforts to HBCUs

By Sonia Rao | Dec. 2, 2019

The FUTURE Act, a bill that gives $255 million to historically Black colleges and universities, expired in September. Now, the Senate has blocked efforts to renew it.

Silent Sam blindfolded by a Confederate flag in 2015. The statue was recently given to Sons of Confederate Veterans.

Questions surround UNC's surprise Silent Sam settlement with Confederate group

By Preston Lennon | Dec. 1, 2019

UNC has given the Silent Sam statue to the Sons of Confederate Veterans and established a $2.5 million trust fund for it, but many questions surrounding the secretive decision remain unanswered. When the UNC System announced the settlement agreement on Wednesday, many wondered how the decision came to be and where the money for the trust would come from.

Now, a coalition of anonymous students, faculty, staff and community members has called for the immediate removal of John Bogdan, the associate vice chancellor of safety and security at UNC-Charlotte. Photo courtesy of Coalition to Remove John Bogdan

UNC-Charlotte coalition wants to oust head of safety

By Sofia Lesnewski | Nov. 19, 2019

After UNC-Charlotte's associate vice chancellor for safety and security, John Bogdan, was accused of overlooking human rights violations during his tenure at Guantanamo Bay Detention Center, activists are listing their demands for future hirings.

Some fear the UNC System is going corporate as administrative searches continue

By Maeve Sheehey | Nov. 11, 2019

As the UNC System searches for a president and UNC searches for a chancellor, the prospect of a having a leader from the corporate world adds to the existing conversation among some faculty about the corporatization of higher education. Corporatization at colleges refers to the infusion of corporate values into higher education, and many faculty members see it as an issue because of its effects on shared governance between faculty and administrators. Here is why some think corporate values in higher education is a positive thing, and some fear their influence.

North Carolina Speaker of the House Tim Moore, left, confers with President Pro Tempore Phil Berger in the Senate chambers during a special session of the North Carolina General Assembly on Friday, Dec. 16, 2016 at the Legislative Building in Raleigh, N.C. (Ethan Hyman/Raleigh News & Observer/TNS)

Here's how students feel about Tim Moore potentially serving as UNC-system president

By Allie Kelly | Nov. 4, 2019

There are mixed responses throughout the UNC community about the possibility of N.C. House Speaker Tim Moore running for UNC-system president.

We looked into rumors that N.C. Speaker Tim Moore is going for UNC-System President

By Michael Taffe | Oct. 19, 2019

After interim UNC-System President Bill Roper said he will not seek to serve in his role in a permanent capacity, the search for a new system president became even more uncertain. Though the names of candidates have not been released, one controversial public figure has been the topic of recent rumors: Tim Moore. Moore, the speaker of the N.C. House of Representatives, has made his name by supporting fiscal prudence and controversial moves such as HB2. Some say Moore would be a poor leader for the UNC System given his history in the General Assembly, while others argue that he could be a viable candidate.

Aisha Jitan, a junior global studies major and Islamic & Middle East studies minor, addresses a crowd at a protest on the steps of South Building on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2019. Demonstrators gathered against the Department of Education's demands to recast the tone of Duke University's and UNC-Chapel Hill's Middle East Studies program. Regarding the Department's rhetoric as Islamophobic, Jitan remarked: "We were really angry about what we read, especially given that we lost three Muslim people in our community not too long ago due to Islamophobia, and then after reading and hearing this, we were just angry and said we want better for our community."

DOE defends investigation amid interest group responses

By Abbey Thompson | Oct. 2, 2019

Controversy surrounding the Duke-UNC Consortium for Middle East Studies continues as the ACLU, FIRE and other groups oppose the Department of Education investigation. Asked about the status of the funds, which were to be obligated by Sept. 30, Press Secretary Angela Morabito from the DOE did not mention funding but said the investigation is unbiased.