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BH|* oa% (Ear Hrri Chancellor meets with accolades, scorn Post asks Moeser to wear many hats BY STEPHANIE JORDAN SENIOR WRITER Being the leader of the University is a job that takes a lot of hits. if the University doesn’t meet its fund-raising goal, the chancellor is blamed for not soliciting enough donors. If the University and the town don’t see eye to eye, the chancellor is blamed for pushing the school’s agenda. And if the University doesn’t stay in the nation’s top academic rankings, the chancellor is blamed for not doing his job. Chancellor James Moeser has been at UNC-Chapel Hill for five years and plans to stay for five more until he turns 70, the age at which University bylaws say a chancellor must resign. There are those who say that he has done a great job UNC-CH’s fund-raising campaign, Carolina First, is fast approaching $1.5 bil lion. The goal of the campaign, which started in 1999, is to reach $l.B billion by June 30,2007. But critics say town-gown rela tions have deteriorated during his tenure, and others say he is too focused on academic rankings. Looking to the past “When I left (the University of Nebraska-Lincoln), there was some degree of anger,” Moeser said. “I was accused of having used Nebraska as a stepping stone. I was never thinking... I should position myself to get a better job.” When UNC-system President Molly Broad brought Moeser’s name to the chancellor’s search committee, he was virtually unknown. Despite his anonymity, the selection committee extended him the offer to become the ninth chancellor of the University. “What a great loss for Nebraska, what a lovely vote of respect for him,” said Nancy Rapoport, former dean of Nebraska’s College of Law, where she worked with Moeser. She said Moeser has a special energy, getting almost everyone . AVEDA INSTITUTE CHAPFI HIM t . SALON & SPA miSM beach bound? ' / experience our / waxing specials ' for the month f of may brow $8 lip $8 bikini sls ty * . m make your appointment too ay! \ „ f . .y-TW--' s • • .... . - v t;* 11 f-anktm dnccHurcfi streets .919.960,6 ROW . wttw . aye doc b a pel hiH. com /(i WE BELIEVE THAT THE fr wmrnan IS IN PROVIDING THE > .Vi BEST PRODUCT c J Visit us at v/ - vy Warehouse \ U* wApartments J J J 316 W. Rosemary Street { t 929-8020 / Hr - ’” - ™* v m % to come to a consensus. He always called together the heads of the academic units to help him make big decisions, not just to get them to follow his lead. “Every chancellor, ifhe does a good job, makes enemies,” Rapoport said. “You have to make the right enemies. I don’t think he had many.” Moeser said the greatest distinc tion between Nebraska and UNC CH, though both are flagship insti tutions, is their academic rankings. In the 2005 U.S. News & World Report, UNC-CH ranked 29th among public and private univer sities. Nebraska ranked 98th. Building excellence Moeser has said several times that he wants UNC-CH to be the nation’s top-ranked public institution. Getting UNC-CH to that milestone requires getting University employ ees and administrators to agree. Last summer, the chancellor held a retreat with the University’s governing board to talk about what UNC-CH’s goals should be. “That session has gone a long way to make sure we all agree on what is important,” said Richard “Stick” Williams, chairman of the Board of TVustees. Williams said they decided to concentrate on several key issues: creating the richest possible under graduate learning environment, successfully completing the 50-year Master Plan and satellite campus Carolina North, and strengthening faculty recruitment and retention. “He knows the needs we have and the strengths,” said Anne Cates, chairwoman of the board when Moeser was selected as chancellor. “You’ve got to have your chancellor on board. He was able to come right in, and that was that.” And although the number of legislators in the General Assembly with an undergraduate degree from the University dropped from 43 per cent in 1939 to 13 percent in 2003, according to a study by UNC-CH professor Thad Beyle, the chancellor has been effective in the legislature. News Sen. A.B. Swindell, D-Nash, co chairman of the Senate’s education committee, said Moeser is straight forward in answering questions during face-to-face meetings. “When you talk to the people where the pavement meets the road, it’s very helpful,” he said. Tug of war The town and the University have been at odds since Moeser arrived in Chapel Hill five years ago. Town Council member Dorothy Verkerk said part of that is because of the school’s expansion. UNC CH’s plan to build Carolina North, a satellite campus on the Horace Williams Tract on Airport Road, is an issue that has upset residents. “We want the University to talk to us,” she said. “By working together, we can do a better job than the University alone.” Although Moeser said he meets with Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy once a month to discuss town gown issues, some say the chancel lor pushes the University’s agenda with little thought for the town. “I believe that Chancellors Hardin and Hooker had town gown relations higher on their list than Chancellor Moeser did and still does,” said Joe Capowski, for mer mayor pro tern of Chapel Hill. “I never want to hear him say, ‘We’re trying to be a good neighbor’ again while he’s taking a neighborhood.” Get Paid To Clean Out Your Closet for "-STOCK EXCHANGE Unique Clothing on Consignment 919.967.4035 • HOURS: M-SAT 10-6 4 The Courtyard, Chapel Hill • (across the street from Carolina Brewery) BAAAAAACK!!! Get Bombed Every Thursday This Summer iJager Bombs) IPBR Ripcords/ nm 175 E. Franklin Street - 968-3809 And even Moeser said the coun cil isn’t as University-friendly as it once was. “Some people were elected on the Town Council on a stop-the-University platform." Show me the money Moeser said he spends between 40 percent and 50 percent of his time on the Carolina First cam paign. “We really feel good about the success so far, and a good deal of that success has to be put to Chancellor Moeser,” said Matt Kupec, vice chancellor for University advance ment. “You ask people to take on the vision of their leader, and he’s done a wonderful job with it.” With tuition rising during almost every year of his tenure, critics have said he is using out-of-state students to fund the University. In 1999, tuition costs were $1,456 for in-state students; out-of-state-students paid $10,622. Now, the costs are $3,205 and $17,003, respectively. “Carolina is more affordable today than it was four years ago,” Moeser said. “In my mind, we’ve actually lowered the cost.” This thinking comes from com paring UNC-CH to its peer institu tions the University of Virginia charges in-state students $6,790 and out-of-state students $22,890. UVa. sought and gained autono my from its state government, but Moeser said UNC-CH will not. v i im -:>v: T': §f§ )%£ m ;3§| DTH FILE PHOTO Chancellor James Moeser prepares to address students at Convocation in August. In his five years at UNC, Moeser has garnered mixed reactions. To keep college affordable for stu dents, Moeser created the Carolina Covenant, which allows students accepted to UNC-CH to graduate debt-free if their parents’ combined income doesn’t exceed 200 percent of the federal poverty level. “You have to understand the potential,” he said. “That’s what gets people to open their check books and their wallets and say, ‘I want to be a part of this.’” Although Moeser has brought new ideas to the table, Broad said he’s learned to be a true Tar Heel. “He’s learned the ways and cul- Leaving Town? Don't Trash P Chapel Hill! Take these NON- To these willing TRASH items: recipients: Clothes, cds, furniture, I PTA Thriftshops household items in 942-6101 good condition Club Nova 967-6985 Unopened food and , personal care items Shelter 929-6380 Furniture, clean lumber I Habitat for Humanity and appliances *►* Call for pick up (NO mattresses) 403-8668 Mixed paper (junk mail. Dro^offSlte? cereal boxes etc.) 968 2788 Paint, cleaners. Hazardous Waste Collection batteries and other HP- Orange County Landfill toxic materials | Wed-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat 7:3OAM-noon Orange County Solid Waste Management 968-2788 .aJgk jigs recycling@co. orange, nc. us www.co.orange.nc.us/recycling wit (xymmsm I o m o&\ Courtney Barbero Erin Markillie Lauren Barrow Mae Morris Jenn Baucom Christian Neely Ashley Bonnett Kristen Novak Meghan Brawley Jane Novotny Jennifer Brewer Natalie Parvin Leigh Brown Lindsay Pate Julia Cummings Sarah Blake Pritchard Ashley Curtis Alicia Quesinberry Kate Dahl Lindsay Sauls Allison Dauer Tracy Schmidt Noelle Dean Heather Sidden Christy Duncan Anne Smith Carla Haake Stephanie Smith Elizabeth Hill Abbey Sparks Liz Howard Stephanie Stacqualursi Grace Johnson Carly Taylor Valerie Koffman Courtney Wall Adrian Lee Gretchen Weatherston Kara Lippiello Zc\a "Jaw Atal/u FRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2005 ture of not only North Carolina, but also of your campus," she said. “He’s clearly passionate about Chapel Hill and represents your campus extremely well.” Moeser said he loves Chapel Hill and UNC-CH, and he made the right decision when he came here. “People who grew up in this state ... don’t fully understand how special this place is,” he said. “The attraction, the magnetism of UNC it’s even better than I thought it was.” Contact the Features Editor atfeatures@unc.edu. 15
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