THE RIDGERUNNER
VOL. 5, NO. 1
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT ASHEVILLE
SUNDAY, AUGUST 17, 1969
A-B NOW UNC-A
Wednesday's registration will be the first since this campus
became The University of North Carolina at Asheville.
The recently past summer session was a split sort of
personality by beginning the term as Asheville-Biltmore
College and winding up as UNC-A. The group of students
participating in the courses offered in the Oxford trip suffered
ifrom a multiple personality complex. They started as students
and faculty of A-B Collegestudylngat Oxford University and
returned to UNC-Asheville.
As UNC-A launches on its first official academic year, it can
look back to the past month and a half in which he^y changes
have taken place since Asheville-Biltmore College became
UNC-A.
Even before July 1, people were referring to the campus as
the western branch of UNC. On April 23 of last spring, the
North Carolina legislature approved the affiliation of A-B with
UNC. Concerning this vote of approval. Dr. William E.
Highsmith, then president of Asheville-Biltmore College
commented, "The action of the Senate today brings to a
culmination seven years of intense pursuit of an educational
dream. The Act of the General Assembly making us The
University of North Carolina at Asheville opens prospects for
the future that heretofore we could not even dream of. It will
result in benefits to all people in this area and all over the
state. We should recognize the tremendous work and support
that came to this College from so many people from so many
walks of life. Without that support, this would not have been
possible."
UNC-ASHEVILLE DAY
UNC-Asheville Day was July
1, proclaimed by the Asheville
City Council. Manly Wright, as
chairman of the A-B board of
trustees, formally transferred the
institution over to the
Consolidated University of
North Carolina.
As the fifth campus of UNC,
UNC-A has the same status as
Chapel Hill, Greensboro,
Charlotte, Wilmington or N. C.
State. All are under the same
board of trustees which consists
of 100 persons elected by the
general assembly of North
Carolina. The Chairman of the
board of trustees is the governor,
Robert E. Scott.
The president of UNC-A, as
well as the rest of the UNC
campuses, is William Friday.
President Friday and his staff are
located in the central office of
the UNC system in Chapel Hill.
His basic function concerns the
general problems and programs
of coordinating the six
campuses.
In promoting the affiliation
of A-B with UNC, Dr. Highsmith
brought about the change in his
status with the college himself.
He is now the chancellor of
UNC-A. Each of the UNC
campuses has a chancellor as its
chief administrator. The
chancellor is under the
jurisdiction of both President
Friday and the board of trustees.
BASIC CHANGE
The fundamental change in
the institution is that it is no
longer a separate and
independent entity. It has
exchanged its independence for
a position in the prestigious
University of North Carolina.
The image of the consolidated
university throughout the nation
is that of quality.
This factor will have the
greatest impact for the large
number of out-of-state students.
Although A-B was a college with
high academic standards, its
name was not circulated
nationally. Possibly the sole
exception to A-B's comparative
unknown was A-B's basketball
team last season which carried
the Bulldog banner through
parts of the midwest to Kansas
City. They even may have
engraved the image of A-B in
absentia on Grambling, La.
ADVANTAGES
One of the greatest
advantages to the new status of
UNC-A is the fact that it has a
voice in the planning of the
programs for all the campuses.
UNC-A, as well as the other five
branches, sends nine faculty
members to participate, 54
member Advisory Council of
UNC. This council gives advice
on the overall UNC program.
Another advantage is that
there will be a freer flow of
faculty between the six
campuses. The undergraduates
will be exposed to graduate
professors and vice versa. Along
with the "freer flow" concept,
there will be a tremendous
amount of communicating
between the central office and
the branches and between the
branches themselves.
This internal communications
is an important aspect of being
part of a consolidated university
system. The new ideas and the
fresh approaches will channeled
from institution to institution,
continued on page 4
1
Present at the First Convocation of the University of North Carolina at Asheville
on July 1 were, (left to right), Manly Wright, former chairman of the board of
trustees of Asheville-Biltmore College, Gov. Robert Scott, and former president of
A-B College, Dr. William E. Highsmith.
MEYERS
SGA '69
GOODWIN
BROOKSHIRE
The Student Government
Association officers for the
academic year, 1969-'70 are:
Donald H. Meyers, President,
Ron Goodwin, Vice-President
and Barbara Brookshire,
Secretary.
Meyers, senior — philosopgy,
is a native of Asheville.
Goodwin, senior —
economics, has been an active
member of the campus for three
years. As member of Sigma
Delta Upsilon fraternity, in
which Goodwin served as
treasurer, as well as having been
a member of Circle K. He has
served as chairman of the
Inter-fraternal Council and was
Freshman representative to the
Judicial Board of the SGA.
Miss Brookshire, junior —
history, has also served in many
capacities. She was secretary of
Homecoming '68 as well as being
business manager of THE
RIDGERUNNER. Miss
Brookshire has also been a
member of the Baptist Student
Union as well as a participant in
both the Homecoming and Miss
Asheville-Biltmore College
Courts.
According to Meyers, the
SGA has been hard at work all
summer to assure an active year,
and many projects are in the
offing. For example, the Special
Programs Committee of the SGA
has already set up a schedule of
movies for the year as well as a
number of other projects that
will help the UNC-A student feel
that his activity fee is being well
spent.
Other new plans include a
vending machine service for the
students which should begin by
mid-first term, as well as color
television by cable for the TV
room in the Student Union
Building and Vance Hall.
Meyers stated that the SGA
will have a more. business-like
organization with a newly-
revamped finance commission
under the guidance of Wayne
Bradburn. Included in the new
plans are new offices for the
publications, leaving office space
for the finance commission and
the secretary of the SGA.
Meyers told THE
RIDGERUNNER, "The general
idea is to get everyone doing
something,... to get all the
doing spread around." But he
also acknowledged the extreme
lack of help on the UNC-A
campus and added "we need a
lot of help with Homecoming
and we really need a lot of help
with organizational activities."
The pride of the Meyers
administration is the revised
constitution that has been
prepared. Under the hand of
continuad on pag* 4