VOLUME 113, ISSUE 35
Bill
would
alter
BOG
Size, term lengths
to be considered
BY AMY EAGLEBURGER
STAFF WRITER
The structure of the UNC
system’s governing board could
see significant changes under a
bill filed Monday in the General
Assembly.
Rep. Phillip Haire’s proposed
changes would reduce the size of
the Board of Governors by two
members, lengthen terms from
four to six years
and eliminate
the emeritus
members who
now serve on
the BOG with
out a vote.
The Jackson
County
Democrat’s
proposal comes
as state legisla
tors look to fin
ish the process
of appointing
16 members to
BOG Chairman
Brad Wilson
was generally
supportive of
possible change.
the board. He was unavailable for
comment Tuesday.
BOG Chairman Brad Wilson said
the expansion to six-year terms will
help the board be more effective.
“(A six-year term) brings greater
stability, continuity and takes out
some of the process,” he said. “You
would only have to run two times
and not three times.”
Wilson estimated that it takes
new board members 18 months to
learn the often complex, nuanced
processes of state universities.
That leaves them only 2 1/2 years
left to operate as “old pros” before
they must run for re-election.
Under the plan, the House and
Senate still would split the duty of
electing BOG members.
Another proposed change would
eliminate the seats of the board’s
two emeritus members, who draw
on previous experiences with the
board to serve as advisors.
SEE BOG, PAGE 4
NCAA prez lauds Tar Heel teams
BY JOHN RAMSEY
STAFF WRITER
The University exemplifies lead
ership in intercollegiate athlet
ics, especially during the current
period of academic reform, NCAA
President Myles Brand said Thesday
evening in front of about 250 spec
tators in Koury Auditorium.
Brand, the keynote speaker for
the Carolina Leadership Academy’s
first anniversary celebration,
expressed his concerns about the
future of college athletics.
After his lecture, he participated
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NCAA President Myles Brand speaks Tuesday on the University campus
at a roundtable discussion on the state of intercollegiate athletics.
ONLINE
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A group of interested citizens takes a closer look at
the town's efforts to provide public artwork PAGE 3
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Budget could cut faculty posts
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BY ERIC JOHNSON
ASSISTANT STATE & NATIONAL EDITOR
State lawmakers have warned
for months that this year’s budget
situation will demand painful cut
backs in spending, even for priori
ties such as education.
But UNC-system officials were
surprised Monday to learn just
how deep those cuts might be.
A draft proposal from the
legislature’s joint appropriations
subcommittee on education would
slash almost $45 million in firnd
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Sophomore Will Leonard (left) and senior Miles Masci juggle in Polk
Place on Tuesday afternoon. The first 80-degree days of spring have
brought a blossoming of activity on campus, as many have hit the
outdoors to study, play games and sunbathe. Temperatures were expected
in a roundtable discussion with
other prominent figures, includ
ing Chancellor James Moeser, ACC
Commissioner John Swofford and
former UNC-system President Bill
Friday.
“The Carolina Leadership
Academy is quite special,” Brand
said, praising UNC-Chapel Hill’s
leadership school for student ath
letes. “If we can use it as a model,
that would be terrific.”
Brand, in his third year as presi
dent, outlined the NCAAs new tool
for gauging student athletes in the
www.dthonliite.eom
ing for faculty, forcing a system
wide elimination 0f348 filled and
407 unfilled positions.
University officials had been
told that cuts of that magnitude
were possible, but most said they
expected the committee to suggest
a more modest reduction.
“I think everybody is stunned
that this has hit the campuses so
hard,” said Kevin Fitz Gerald, leg
islative liaison for UNC-Chapel
Hill.
The draft also calls for reduc-
PLAYS A MEAN PINBALL
classroom, the Academic Progress
Rate. Beginning in the 2005-06
academic year, all teams in all
NCAA sports must meet minimum
requirements or face sanctions,
such as the loss of scholarships.
“We’re serious about academic
reform. You’re going to have to be
a student first and then an athlete,”
he said. “This is real reform, not just
lip service.”
On a scale of zero to 1,000, a score
of 925, which represents a 50 per
cent expected graduation rate, will
be the minimum necessary to avoid
punishment. Preliminary reports
were published this academic year,
and UNC-CH’s men’s basketball
team finished at the top of the rank
ings with a perfect score.
“If you want to conduct intercol
legiate athletics the right way, look
at Chapel Hill,” Friday said.
Brand also expressed his belief
that athletics departments need to
demonstrate fiscal responsibility.
To do that, he said, departments
must increase the responsibility of
schools’ presidents, slow the spiral
of spending to encourage winning
and integrate athletics into cam
puses as a whole.
But Moeser highlighted a key
problem with fiscal prudence:
Sports teams expect to win.
“I don’t really see a way to con
trol these spiraling costs because
of the need to be competitive,” he
said. “There’s an arms race.... In
every aspect of the University, we
ing or eliminating funding to a
host of other university programs,
from the distinguished professors
endowment fund to wages for pri
vate contractors.
Jeff Davies, UNC-system vice
president for finance, said the
proposal essentially would force
the university to pay for its own
enrollment growth. The draft sets
aside $72.8 million to fund enroll
ment increases for the 2005-06
academic year but pays for it by
cutting other university spending.
Overall, even after it diverts
money to enrollment funding,
the UNC system would see about
$29.4 million less than it request
ed.
to stay in the 80s today, with highs dipping into the 70s this weekend
with the chance of thunderstorms on the horizon. The warm weather also
could bring higher gasoline prices and other inconveniences, but for now,
University students seem solidly focused on their opportunities to play.
compete for the best.”
Brand said he advocates for fis
cally responsible actions because
when a university begins to be
defined by its athletics, its academ
ic mission faces a crisis. “(These
actions) must add value to the uni
versity’s mission,” he said. “It means
using the resources in ways that go
beyond the job of winning.”
The Carolina Leadership
Academy, led by Jeff Janssen, aims
to develop student athletes’ leader
ship through interactive workshops,
one-on-one coaching, peer mentor
ing and educational resources.
“Janssen and the things he
taught us really influenced our
success this season,” said senior
Carey Fetting-Smith, a member
of the women’s field hockey team
that won the ACC tournament and <
finished 21-2 last season.
The last time Brand, Moeser and
Athletics Director Dick Baddour
met, they stood on the floor of the
Edward Jones Dome to celebrate
athletic excellence. Tuesday, they
gathered to celebrate UNC’s mis
sion to instill a sense of leadership
in its student-athletes.
“Leadership and learning are
indispensable to each other,”
Brand said. “From the leadership
of Bill Friday to Dean Smith... the
University of North Carolina is the
example for leadership.”
Contact the University Editor
at udesk@unc.edu
SPORTS
AVAST!
Four baseball players hit home runs to lead Tar Heels
to an 18-6 rout of East Carolina in Greenville PAGE 9
“In essence, the university’s
budget goes down $29 million
and we get 7,000 new students,”
Davies said. “Reductions of this
magnitude would be devastating
to the university.”
It is the cuts to faculty that pose
the gravest concern, officials said.
“I’m disappointed and discour
aged,” said UNC-CH Provost
Robert Shelton. Under the terms
of the subcommittee’s proposal,
UNC-CH would lose 90 filled and
about 80 vacant positions, he said.
“What this will mean is reduc
tion in sections, reduction in
course availability, longer time to
degrees and a whole lot of frustra
tion.”
Shifts in budgets
miff UNC officials
BY DON CAMPBELL
STAFF WRITER
The continual decline in state
funding to the University has
evoked debate about the rising
emphasis on and influence of
private funding sources.
Even though UNC-system
schools have suffered less than
universities in many other states,
the rising cost of higher educa
tion has created widespread
budget cuts, Provost Robert
Shelton said.
“I think there’s been a gradual
trend really for all public uni
Cardinals elect pope
after short election
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
VATICAN CITY - Cardinal
Joseph Ratzinger of Germany,
the Roman Catholic Church’s
leading hard-liner, was elected
pope Tuesday in the first con
clave of the new millennium. He
chose the name Benedict XVI and
called himself “a simple, humble
worker.”
White smoke poured from the
chimney atop the Sistine Chapel
WEATHER
TODAY Mostly sunny, H 83, L 57
THURSDAY P.M. showers, H 79, L 53
FRIDAY T-storms, H 72, L 54
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2005
Shelton also cited the potential
loss of millions in research dol
lars, because each faculty mem
ber brings in an average of about
$190,000 per year in grants and
other outside funding.
“That will have a huge impact
on our research money,” he said.
Other system schools are brac
ing for similar consequences. Andy
Willis, assistant to the chancellor
for external affairs at N.C. State
University, said the campus could
lose more than 130 filled positions.
“There’s no way that you can’t
affect the classroom with these
reductions,” he said. “In past years,
SEE BUDGET, PAGE 4
DTH/BRANDON MAYNARD
“Were in an
era now when
taxpayers don’t
want to pay for the
common good.”
ROBERT SHELTON, PROVOST
versities in the country that the
state’s share in their budget has
gone down,” he said.
SEE FUNDING, PAGE 4
and the bells of St. Peter’s pealed
at 6:04 p.m. (12:04 p.m. EDT)
to announce the conclave had
produced a pope. Flag-waving
pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square
chanted: “Viva il Papa!” or “Long
live the pope!”
The bells rang after a confusing
smoke signal that Vatican Radio
initially suggested was black but
SEE POPE, PAGE 4
Q.