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TOWN-GOWN
FROM PAGE 1
on the hinge of plan approvals and
core promises.
Building a relationship
When Roger Perry took over as
chairman of the Board of Trustees
in July, the University was setting
itself up with an experienced devel
oper at the helm of the research
satellite campus project.
Perry, president of Chapel
Hill development firm East West
Partners, has successfully moved
two large projects through the
towns approval process during the
past decade.
His experience, which includes
the years he spent turning plans
for Meadowmont —a mixed-use
development off N.C. 54 into
physical buildings, could prove
valuable to the University.
The Meadowmont project
encountered obstacles that turned
into lawsuits. But Perry helped
steer them through.
“The University- has an advocate
for their interests who understands
Chapel Hill’s process,' council
member Mark Kleinschmidt said.
“Even if there are points of dis
agreement, 1 think Roger has an
understanding and appreciation
for our process.’
Last year was used for commu
nity- meetings, and from these talks,
Moeser said two things are set in
stone: only develop on 250 acres and
make the project sustainable.
Kleinschmidt said he hopes that
at each step in the town approval
process, evidence of the University's
prior conversations with commu
nity members will surface.
And with Jack Evans now serv
ing as executive director of the
Carolina North project for more
than a year, he said he's gaining the
trust of council members.
That trust was built upon at
last week's meeting of town and
University leaders.
“I felt really good after meeting
with the trustees," Easthom said.
“We discussed mutual concerns in
a cordial manner. Hopefully it will
proceed in the way we discussed.’
RESEARCH
FROM PAGE 1
opment have been declining since
2003 and are projected to keep
declining.
“Those budgets have flattened
out, and it’s become increasingly
competitive to get the dollars,’
Carolina North Executive Director
Jack Evans said.
To fill in the gap, UNC has to
turn to private partnerships to fund
its research endeavors. But there
are obstacles, University officials
in charge of research said.
Less than 2.5 percent of the
University’s research is corpo
rate-supported, ranking it 118th
among universities for 2005,
according to the annual survey
by the Association of University-
Technology Managers.
'We’re lagging behind some of
our peers," said Neil Caudle, asso
ciate vice chancellor for research.
UNC has “strict limits" to
the amount of industry-funded
research it can conduct on campus
because of the tax-exempt bonds
used to build parts of main cam
pus, Evans said.
Those limitations will not apply
to many buildings in Carolina
North because they are expected
to be built by corporations.
‘We’ll be creating space that
will specifically enable that kind of
research,’ said Cathy Innes, direc
tor of the Office of Technology
Development. “It will be very benefi
cial because of the types of collabora
tion our faculty are interested in.’
UNC also is at a disadvantage
because it does not have engineer
ing or textile schools, which lend
themselves toward industry part
nerships, Caudle said.
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“Were on our third mulligan for
Carolina North. I don’t think its typical
to go through four cycles ”
JACK EVANS, CAROLINA NORTH EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
'A long, long time' Open communication
It was nearly impossible to for
mulate concrete plans because there
were so many uncertainties about
land use such as whether an air
port on the land would stay open.
Officials had to first determine if
they would be building around an
existing structure or on top of it
‘lt’s taken a long, long time,’
Perry said. “But a lot of that’s been
the University’s starts and stops
along the way."
In fact, leaders scrapped con
ceptual plans three times, and the
version that trustees approved in
September was the fourth draft
“We’re on our third mulligan
for Carolina North,’ Evans said. “I
don’t think it’s typical to go through
four cycles.’
Tensions escalated when
University officials submitted an
application for a special-use permit
to build the Innovation Center on
Carolina North land.
The University wants to get plans
approved for the center, which will
aim to grow young businesses,
before the rest of the Carolina
North project is submitted. The
council wanted to see the campus
plan submitted as a whole.
‘lt was kind of uncomfortable for
us the way the (Innovation Center)
process started." Kleinschmidt said.
“That was a source of conflict.’
But at last week's meeting,
Moeser told council members that
it's unlikely the University will sub
mit any more individual applications
for Carolina North projects. Moeser
wants the University- to submit one
50-vear master plan for the site.
His unofficial agreement soothed
council members for now.
“There’s always going to be fric
tion, and there should be,’ said
Linda Convissor, UNC's director
of local relations. “We just need to
be able to sit down and talk them
through."
“Traditionally at UNC, we’ve
been stronger in the basic sciences,’
he said. “And that’s a great thing.
We re proud of that.
“But increasingly, even in the
basic sciences, it’s become impor
tant to work with industry because
of the need for very high-tech tools
and the power to test lots of different
compounds or the kinds of labs that
would require industrial partners."
A 'necessary thing'
Chancellor James Moeser set
last year a goal to have $1 billion
in externally funded research in the
year 2015 —a goal he called “hairy”
and “ambitious" at the time.
UNC probably will not reach
that goal without adding faculty
and researchers, said Jim Peterson,
associate vice chancellor for the
Office of Sponsored Research.
Such additions could be difficult
to attract with UNC’s lack of cor
porate sponsorships.
Carolina North is not expected
to start construction until 2010
and the project has no concrete
plan for completion.
“If you don’t have something
like this, people will take impor
tant research projects to other
research universities," Innes said.
“You’re going to start losing great
researchers.’
Faculty- and researchers also said
the lack of corporate partnerships
makes UNC lose out to peers.
“You can see at the other uni
versities, those partnerships have
been beneficial to them,’ said Joan
Taylor, an associate professor and
cardiovascular researcher.
“Money ends up flowing in. You
also tend to get more researchers
with a lot of energy and enthusi-
News
With such a loaded history,
the town-gown relationship still
requires nurturing.
A task at hand is defining the
process of how- Carolina North
plans will adjust if need be— as
talks continue with town officials.
‘lf the town wants to change the
plans too mudi, I would feel honor
bound to go back to the trustees,’
Evans said.
The exact process for this com
munication chain has yet to be
established.
Kleinschmidt said a major
point of frustration for the coun
cil is University staff who present
plans but don’t have the authority
to approve changes.
“They have a boss they have to
report to the Board ofThistees and
the chancellor," Kleinschmidt said.
Council members are encour
aging that a mechanism be put in
place to ensure trustees and the
chancellor receive council feedback
in real time something University
officials still need to work out.
As the relationship grows, it might
not equate to future collaboration.
Moeser will step down this
summer, and the town council is a
board that evolves every two years
as elections come and go.
But as the major players change
during the planning process of
Carolina North, officials from both
sides say they want to w-ork to cre
ate a vision around which everyone
can rally.
Town Manager Roger Standi said
maintaining the relationship depends
on connections at all levels.
“Our responsibility- is to develop
a working relationship through
out the University staff so those
relationships continue throughout
terms of office."
Contact the University Editor
at udesk@unc.edu.
asm that want to start up their own
biotech."
N.C. State University's 1,334-
acre Centennial Campus Research
Park, which began development in
1985, lets the school engage in cor
porate partnerships.
Other schools with top-ranked
corporate research, such as the
University of Wisconsin-Madison,
also have their own research
parks.
‘lt's becoming a common and
necessary thing," Evans said.
Getting money back
After Carolina North gets up and
running, the satellite campus could
rope in money for the University
and jobs for the state.
“Carolina North will help the
University grow and expand its
resources, which will always help
funding for the University,' Caudle
said.
He said the longer it takes
Carolina North to be built, the
more the University- will fall behind
in research.
“We will be mostly losing oppor
tunities," he said.
“We’ll lose the opportunity- to
expand in new areas. We’ll lose the
opportunity to attract some stu
dents and faculty- members who
would bring a lot of intellectual
strength to the University."
Contact the Investigatiie
Editor at iteam@unc.edu.
f SCOTLAND 2008 ES
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National and World News
FROM THE
CAMPAIGN TRAIL
Fred Thompson
drops out of race
NAPLES, Fla. (AP) -
Republican Fred Thompson, the
actor-politician who attracted
more attention as a potential
presidential candidate than as
a real one, quit the race for the
White House on Tuesday after a
string of poor finishes.
Thompson’s fate was sealed
last Saturday in the South
Carolina primary, when he
finished third in a state that
he had said he needed to win.
Thompson did not say whether
he would endorse any of his
former rivals.
Money tight for
Mike Huckabee
GAINESVILLE. Fla. (AP)
Republican presidential
candidate Mike Huckabee
acknowledged Tuesday that
money is tight, as some staffers
are working without pay and
others have left, but he pledged
to remain in the race through
next week's Florida primary.
Speaking to about 50 people,
mostly University of Florida
fraternity members, at a rally
at the Gainesville airport, the
former Arkansas governor said
his campaign had cut back and
was being frugal.
ATHLETIC PERKS
FROM PAGE 1
class, May said. Student athletes
also can remove themselves from
their lottery to join the regular stu
dent lottery.
Athletic apparel
During a normal season, student
athletes receive only practice apparel
that must be returned, unless it is too
worn for reuse.
“Most of the time when you see
a student athlete on campus wear
ing their apparel, it’s because they
are either going to or coming from
practice," Gallo said.
The NCAA gives student athletes
apparel if they win a post-season
tournament or exhibition —but
that has limits, too. "The price limit
is around $325 per individual on the
team," Gallo said.
Students can be given additional
apparel at the discretion of their
coaching staff, May said.
“It is up to the coaches on how
they want to spend the budget" May
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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2008
‘Dirty bomb’ charges discredited;
Padilla sentenced for conspiracy
MIAMI (AP) - Jose Padilla,
once accused of plotting with
al-Qaida to blow up a radioac
tive “dirty bomb," was sentenced
Tuesday to 17 years and four
months on terrorism conspiracy
charges that don’t mention those
initial allegations.
The sentence imposed by U.S.
District Judge Marcia Cooke
marks another step in the extraor
dinary personal and legal odyssey
for the 37-vear-old Muslim con
vert, a U.S. citizen who was held
for 3)4 years as an enemy combat
ant after his 2002 arrest.
Prosecutors had sought a
Heath Ledger
found dead Tues.
NEW YORK (AP) - Actor
Heath Ledger was found
dead Tuesday at a downtown
Manhattan residence in a pos
sible drug-related death, police
said. He was 28.
NYPD spokesman Paul
Browne said Ledger had an
appointment for a massage at the
Manhattan apartment believed
to be his home. The housekeeper
who went to let Ledger know the
masseuse was there found him
dead at 3:26 p.m.
The Australian-bom actor was
an Oscar nominee for his role in
"Brokeback Mountain" and has
numerous other screen credits.
said. “Every athletic team has a dif
ferent budget so that is a factor."
Additional benefits
Starting next semester, prior
ity registration will affect several
groups of students who need to
register early, and student athletes
are one of the main groups.
“We need to make certain pro
gresses toward our degree to make
sure we keep our eligibility: oth
erwise, we will not be allowed to
play," May said.
Students with priority registra
tion still register with their class
but in an early time slot, said Steve
Keznick. chairman of the priority
registration task force.
And athletes’ training and con
ditioning also require a separate
dining facility, Gallo said.
“We have a nutritionist-dietitian
that sets the dinner meals to ensure
they eat a balanced diet," he said.
May said many student athletes
only have a few- minutes to eat and
don't have time to wait in lines. The
dining hall, located in the Kenan
life sentence, but Cook said she
arrived at the 17-year sentence
after considering the “harsh con
ditions’ during Padilla's lengthy
military detention at a Navy
brig in South Carolina. Padilla’s
lawyers claimed his treatment
amounted to torture, w hich U.S.
officials have repeatedly denied.
Padilla and two other men
were part of a North American
support cell for al-Qaida. pros
ecutors said. Cooke said that as
serious as the conspiracy was.
there was no evidence linking the
men to specific acts of terrorism
an.vwhere.
Suicide bombers
hit Iraqi schools
BAGHDAD (AP) A suicide
bomber pushing an electric heat
er atop a cart packed with hidden
explosives attacked a high school
north of Baghdad on Tuesday,
leaving students and teachers
bloodied and bewildered as insur
gents appeared to be expanding
their list of targets.
The bombing —one of two
attacks near Iraqi schools on the
same day follows a wave of
recent blasts blamed on ai-Qaida
in Iraq against funerals and social
gatherings. The trend points to
the possibility that al-Qaida has
shifted tactics to focus increas
ingly on so-called soft targets.
Football Center, opens for breakfast
to students with One Cards.
"Generally speaking, these ath
letes work hard on and off the field
and are very deserving of the ben
efits they receive." Gallo said.
Contact the University Editor
at udesk@unc.edu.
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