UNC
I was a bit of a doubter
when Holden Thorp was first appointed to be the UNC Chancellor, but he
has turned out to be the best thing to happen to South Building in
decades. I’ve been surprised to see some of my friends blaming Thorp for
UNC’s athletics scandal and acting as if staff abuse of med air flights
was a capital crime.
Thorp clearly seems guilty of trusting Matt Kupec too much, and
allowing him to waste taxpayer dollars. But Thorp is also a tremendously
thoughtful and effective leader of this hugely complex academic
institution. One stupid screw-up wasting money does not outweigh the
great job he has done for many thousands of students, for Orange County,
and for the state of North Carolina. In fact, I think he’s due a lot of
credit for the badly-needed daylight that’s been shed on UNC athletics.
The Chancellor’s position has become untenable now because of athletic boosters and anti-intellectuals like Art Pope
pounding the drums of “scandal.” These people are not concerned with
the quality of education available to North Carolinians. Of course the
Kupec/Hansbrough thing was a big mistake, but it doesn’t make Thorp
unfit to do all the many things required of a good university
chancellor. Let’s don’t blame Thorp for having to clean up the mess left
by decades of athletic corruption and mismanagement.
From the Chair of the UNC Employee Forum
Dear Staff Member:
The
Employee Forum, in conjunction with the Faculty Council and Student
Government, encourages you to attend a peaceful assembly in support of
Chancellor Holden Thorp
on Friday, September 21st from
11:30-12:30 pm in front of South Building. We would like to get as
huge a crowd as possible during this hour, so please take your lunch
period and join us.
The
Forum’s Executive Committee has drafted a statement in support of our
Chancellor (attached). The faculty and students are doing the same.
Petitions are being
drafted that you will be able to sign on Friday, with room for you to
also leave a message to the Chancellor and our University system
leaders. The petitions will be available from 10 until 5 and will be
located in the Pit, in front of Wilson Library, and
in front of South Building.
This meeting does not count as work time, so please use your lunch time or personal leave to attend.
Thanks,
Jackie Overton, Chair
Employee Forum
Date:
Friday, September 21, 2012 - 12:00pm to 1:00pm
Location:
UNC South Building (outside the front entrance)
Today 70 Orange County residents traveled to Bloomington, Indiana for a Inter-City Visit to learn how their community deals with challenges related to public policy, student housing, economic development, and other questions. These trips are only as valuable as the information we bring back to Orange County, and I hope that through my tweets, posts on Orange Politics, and work when I return to Chapel Hill, I can provide insights into our trip and improve our community.
Most of the first day was travel from Chapel Hill to Bloomington. I started the morning by boarding a shuttle bus from University Mall at 7:00 AM, and didn’t arrive in Bloomington until 2:30 PM. That being said, I already have ideas and thoughts about how we can improve Chapel Hill based on experiences in Bloomington.
A public information meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 10,
to receive comments and feedback on the UNC-Chapel Hill Carolina North
Annual Report to the Town of Chapel Hill. The meeting will be held in
the Council Chamber of Town Hall, 405 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Carolina North is envisioned as a mixed-use academic campus on
university-owned property along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, two
miles north of the main campus. University and Town representatives
signed a development agreement in 2009 that covers the first 20 years of
development on the site. The agreement contains guidelines and
standards for the development of the first 3 million square feet of a
mixed-use research and
academic campus on 133 acres.
The annual report lets the Town and public know what development
activities have occurred on the Carolina North site in the past year and
the ways in which the University is complying with the terms of the
development agreement. The report is part of the structure established
by the agreement for providing continued town-gown communication. The
report will be posted online at http://www.townofchapelhill.org/carolinanorth
Town Manager Roger Stancil will review the report and the public
input before reporting on Sept. 24 to the Town Council on his review of
the development agreement and its requirements.
Public input is welcome. Send comments about the annual report or other issues related to Carolina North at any time to
carolinanorth@townofchapelhill.org or write Town of Chapel Hill Planning Department, Carolina North, 405 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Chapel Hill, NC 27514.
Detailed information is available online at http://www.townofchapelhill.org/index.aspx?page=900 and http://carolinanorth.unc.edu/. To be added to a mailing list to receive regular updates about the Carolina North development agreement, please contact info@townofchapelhill.org.
Town of Chapel Hill
contact: Catherine Lazorko, 919-969-5055 or clazorko@townofchapelhill.org or UNC-Chapel Hill contact: Susan Hudson, 919-962-8415, susan_hudson@unc.edu
Date:
Monday, September 10, 2012 - 5:30pm to 7:00pm
Location:
Council Chamber, Chapel Hill Town Hall
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