(Ebe Doily (Ear lUrrl
Movin' On Out
The Record Exchange is set
to close its Chapel Hill store.
See Page 3
www.dailytarheel.com
2nd Tuition Meeting Zeros In on Faculty Salary Needs
rfjS ......
DTH/KARA ARNDT
Task Force on Tuition members meet Wednesday morning and discuss
the need for a possible tuition increase to boost faculty salaries.
Improved Union Stairs Scheduled to Open
Union Director Don Luse said the stairs will
improve the appearance of the Pit area and
make getting to campus more convenient.
By Karey Wutkowski
Assistant University Editor
A main artery on campus is reopening after construction
has been finished on the set of stairs connecting South Road
and the Pit area.
The previous set of stairs was a main entrance and exit area to
the heart of campus before being demolished in summer 2000 as
part of the Student Union renovation and expansion project.
But with brass-colored handrails and brick trimming, the
newly completed stairs have improved the appearance of the
area, said Union Director Don Luse. “We think it will make a
much more pleasant entrance into the Pit area,” he said.
Luse also said the stairs will make navigating the campus
more convenient, as closing the stairs diverted the thousands
of students who previously used the pathway every day.
Freshman Desiree Schutte said she never got a chance to
take advantage of the old stairs because they were closed
before she became a UNC student. But she said her trek from
her room in Hinton James Residence Hall will be a bit quick
er starting today. “I didn’t really know how they were before,
but this will help out a lot,” she said.
Besides increasing convenience, Luse also hopes to put to
good use the larger amount of space that is now available
around the Pit - space formerly occupied by construction. “We
are contemplating designating the area at the top of the steps as
a temporary public art and performance art space,” Luse said.
He said the Carolina Union could sponsor such art perfor
mances as setting up metal detectors at the top of the steps and
See STAIRS, Page 4
Speaker Selection
To Focus on Faculty
A shortening timeline to tap
a Commencement speaker
for May has refocused the
search on faculty members.
By Brook Corwin
Staff Writer
The committee to select the
Commencement speaker is considering
a UNC faculty member to give the
address at May graduation.
Senior class officials said members of
the committee are exploring the option
of selecting a faculty member in part
because no candidate outside the
University has been secured as a speaker.
“The chances of getting a big name
speaker are rapidly diminishing,” said
Student Body President Justin Young,
who serves on the committee. “Given
the time frame, selecting a faculty mem
ber is being discussed.”
Senior Class President Ben Singer
also said faculty members are being con
sidered because they could better reflect
on the impact of the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks and the senior class’ response.
I do want to get rich, but I never want to do what there is to do to get rich.
Gertrude Stein
m
**v &
■ yi ••• <-***■ ~'
j§g§ ipii ’ ‘ >r - • ■ W; v^4
R W "v> *RF R
DTH/JOSHUA GREER
Bricklayers put the finishing touches on the stairs in front of the Student Union on Wednesday afternoon. The stairs, demolished
in the summer of 2000, are scheduled to open today and will reopen a major avenue for students to get to class.
“A big part of our class has been
9/11,” Singer said. “Some people have
said that who better to talk about how
our campus pulled together than some
one within the campus community.”
Senior class officials said the list of can
didates previously considered for com
mencement speaker included former pres
ident Jimmy Carter, entertainer Bill
Cosby, author Nadine Gordimer and
actor Sam Shepard. But Singer said the
committee’s finalists were unavailable
because of prior commitments.
Senior class marshal Brittany
Whitesell said the marshals spoke with
Chancellor James Moeser about the
topic at December Commencement.
“(Moeser) said the faculty members
on the committee have recommended
an internal speaker since the committee
has been unable to secure a speaker thus
far.” Whitesell said. “But the student
marshals encouraged him to find some
one affiliated with the University but not
inside the faculty.”
Whitesell said Moeser mentioned jour
nalism Professor Chuck Stone and English
Pfofessor Doris Betts as examples of UNC
See COMMENCEMENT, Page 4
Serving the students and the University community since 1893
Safe and Sound?
Officials say the Carolinas'
nuclear power plants are secure.
See Page 9
By John Frank
Assistant University Editor
A campus-based tuition increase is
closer to reality after the Task Force on
Tuition decided Wednesday to draft a
recommendation for the UNC Board of
Trustees based on faculty retention and
recruitment needs.
Student Body President Justin Young
and Provost Robert Shelton, co-chair
men of the committee, drew up a draft
after the meeting that identified faculty
salaries as a possible need for a tuition
increase, Young said Wednesday night.
The 14-member committee debated
about issues such as retaining senior fac
ulty, decreasing class size and lowering
the faculty-student ratio.
Committee members cited what most
saw as a worrisome gap in the level of
UNC faculty salaries as compared to
BOG May Exempt Schools From Cap
Three UNC-system schools
might receive no monetary
penalties for exceeding the
out-of-state student cap.
By Jennifer Samuels
Assistant State & National Editor
The UNC-system Board of
Governors could consider a resolution
this week to exempt three state universi
ties from an out-of-state enrollment cap.
UNC-system officials are recom
mending that the BOG suspend its pol
icy requiring budget reversions from
schools whose out-of-state enrollments
exceed the cap because the campuses in
question already face fiscal cuts.
The three schools over the cap are
Elizabeth City State University, with
18.6 percent out-of-state freshman for
fall 2001, N.C. Agricultural & Technical
State University with 20 percent, and
UNC-Wilmington with 19.5 percent.
“Our recommendation is that the
schools not be penalized because all the
schools have had such severe budget
cuts,” said Jeff Davies, UNC-system vice
president of finance.
Declining state revenues forced Gov.
Mike Easley to order a 2.7 percent bud
get cut for the UNC system for 2001-02.
Out of Reach
Terps smack Tar Heels
112-79 in College Park.
See Page 11
Volume 109, Issue 134
peer institutions like the University of
Virginia. “We are not even in the second
quartile of faculty salaries, and then we
sit around and are amazed when top fac
ulty leave,” said committee member and
BOT chairman Tim Burnett.
While the need for improved faculty
salaries was accepted by the committee
with little dissent, members debated for an
hour and 15 minutes of the two-hour
meeting about the priorities the committee
should use to guide its proposal.
The priorities that the committee
agreed upon in the recommendation for
the BOT include a sense of predictabili
ty for future tuition increases, a guarantee
for financial aid support to students and
an increase in graduate student stipends.
The most contentious element of the
debate was a principle proposed by stu
dent committee member Eric Johnson
to guarantee the price of tuition.
According to state law, UNC-system
schools may not have more than 18 per
cent of freshmen from outside the state.
Elizabeth City State, N.C. A&T and
UNC-W have exceeded the enrollment
cap for the second consecutive year. BOG
policy states that any such institution will
have its state operating budget reduced.
In November, the BOG Planning
Committee proposed that N.C. A&T be
provisionally
exempted from the
restriction. Under
the plan, the cam
pus’ out-of-state
engineering stu
dents would not be
counted in calcula
tions of nonresi
dent students.
Addison Bell,
BOG Budget and
Finance Committee chairman, whose
committee will hear the proposal today,
said universities facing declining enroll
ment will benefit from admitting more
out-of-state students.
He added that though the committee
has yet to take up the issue, he expects
BOG members to favor the exemption.
Committee member Gladys
RobinsrJn said she does not think it is
inappropriate for the BOG to consider
exempting its own policy.
A
“Students should know what tuition is
going to be while they are in school here.”
But other committee members said it
is not feasible to predict or freeze tuition
because of factors like inflation.
“There is no way to legitimately tell
an entering student the predictability of
tuition,” said Rusty Carter, trustee and
member of the tuition committee.
Carter said the unpredictability results
from the University’s limited control over
tuition because both the UNC-system
Board of Governors and the N.C. General
Assembly have the power to raise tuition.
Committee members did resolve to
promote predictability for campus-based
increases as much as possible and pressure
the BOG and General Assembly to work
toward similar measures. The committee
also reached a consensus to continue
“hold harmless” grants, which set aside 35
percent of revenue generated from a
“Sometimes it is important to review
specific issues that may come up as a
result of the policy,” she said. “No matter
what’s done, you cannot foresee all the
consequences all the time.”
Bell said he does not expect a similar
exemption to be proposed for larger
schools like UNC-Chapel Hill and N.C.
State University.
UNC-CH was slightly over the 18
“Our recommendation is that
the schools not be penalized
because all the schools have had
such severe budget cuts. ”
Jeff Davies
UNC-System Vice President of Finance
the exemption will
not set a precedent. He said he is hope
ful that the system will not face similar
budget reductions in the future.
Davies added that it is sometimes dif
ficult to avoid enrolling more than 18
percent of out-of-state students.
“Enrollment planning is an art, not a
science,” he said. “It’s not bad planning
- it’s a high demand for our institutions.”
The State & National Editor can be
reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.
Weather
Today: Partly Cloudy; H 61, L 44
Friday: Showers; H 59, L 36
Saturday: Partly Cloudy; H 53, L 31
tuition increase for financial aid purposes.
In addition, the committee agreed to
use part of the tuition increase funds to
improve graduate student stipends.
Members avoided discussion about
extending the deadline for the committee
to finish its proposal. After the meeting,
student committee members said they
were concerned that there is not enough
time to consider all related issues.
Shelton has set a strict deadline of Jan.
17 for the committee to finish and release
its proposal so that there is time for cam
pus groups to weigh in on the proposal
before thejan. 24 BOT meeting, where
trustees are slated to act on tuition.
Young brought up the deadline con
cern several times during the course of
the discussion, but it was never fully
addressed by the committee.
See TUITION, Page 4
UNC Waits
For Qatari
Response
Some UNC officials worry
that the submitted proposal
was too small, arguing for
more money for security.
By Lizzie Breyer
University Editor
UNC’s negotiations with Qatar over
the creation of a satellite business school
have solidified with the submission of a
detailed budget to which officials say they
hope to receive a response this month.
Provost Robert Shelton said he expects
Chancellorjames Moeser to make a deci
sion on Qatar soon after a response from
Qatari officials. Moeser could not be
reached for comment Wednesday.
UNC sent the budget to the Qatar
Foundation for Education, Science and
Community Development in late
December proposing about S2B million
in annual costs plus a management fee of
23 to 30 percent to cover indirect costs.
The budget makes provisions for a
number of items, including faculty
salaries, technology and financial aid.
It also includes funds to hire profes
sors to replace faculty abroad and to
provide a paid leave for returning fac
ulty. “I think it’s a reasonable budget...
It’s a good point to have to start discus
sions,” said Robert Sullivan , dean of
the Kenan-Flagler Business School.
Officials representing UNC and Qatar
also discussed the amount of a one-time
gift, according to notes made by Shelton.
The notes indicate that Moeser requested
$35 million but that lawyer Dean Dilley,
who represents the foundation, countered
with a $lO million offer.
Shelton said the gift is important
because it provides the possibility for
benefits for UNC students. Although he
said he does not know where the gift
would go, he named the creation of a
scholarship as one example.
The process of developing the bud
get spurred intense debate among fac
ulty and administrators at UNC.
Nancy Suttenfield, vice chancellor for
finance and administration, suggested that
the proposed budget did not include all
necessary costs. “(Roger Patterson, associ
ate vice chancellor for finance and admin
istration,) and I are both very troubled by
... a highly conservative approach that
doesn’t allow Carolina to come away
whole if the negotiations result in less than
this request,” she wrote in an e-mail to
Moeser on Dec. 4. Suttenfield did not
return phone calls Wednesday.
The main sticking point Suttenfield
expressed in her e-mails was a lack of
compensation for safety and security.
She expressed a fear that both the main
campus and the campus abroad would
See QATAR, Page 4
percent out-of-state
freshmen enroll
ment cap in 2000-
01 but did not vio
late it this year.
“In North
Carolina, student
demand is too
high for these
schools,” Bell said.
Davies also said