Increasing faculty salaries was the second-highest budget priority out of 11 presented to the Board of Governors’ Committee on Budget and Finance October 12. The administration plans to seek funds from the 2007 legislature to boost faculty salaries, on average, to the 80th percentile of their peers. This would mean adding $43.9 million in 2007-08 and the same amount for 2008-09. The $87.8 total would be in addition to 4 per cent merit-based increases, which will add up to $136 million for the two-year period, plus a proposed $2 million for distinguished professorships.
These numbers come from a “draft for discussion purposes only” list of priorities presented at the meeting and could change. The top priority is need-based financial aid, with a total proposed request for such aid $53.6 million. Other high priorities include $1.75 million for the “Academic Summer Bridge” program for students not ready to enter as freshmen, funds for University of North Carolina Online ($10 million over two years), and a variety of research projects totaling $59 million for 2007-8 and $29.6 million for 2008-09.
Easley lobbyist to work for NCSU
Kevin Howell, who currently works for Gov. Mike Easley, will be moving to North Carolina State University in December to serve as assistant to the chancellor for external affairs, according to NCSU Chancellor James Oblinger. Howell has served as Easley’s lobbyist in the state legislature for the past six years. According to a press release, Howell will serve “as an executive officer of North Carolina State and represent university-wide interests and priorities to various entities within in North Carolina.”
Before working for Easley, Howell served as Gov. Jim Hunt’s deputy legislative counsel and has also served as the director of government affairs for the North Carolina Bar Association.
Only one community college audits its own books
In a new report, state auditor Leslie W. Merritt Jr. praises the University of North Carolina system for its internal auditing function but reports that only one of the 58 North Carolina community colleges even has an internal auditor. The report, “Internal Auditing in North Carolina Agencies and Institutions,” stresses the importance of internal auditing to prevent fraud, protect an organization’s assets, and to make sure that the organization is achieving its intended goals.
The report alludes to “corporate accounting improprieties at organizations such as Enron, WorldCom and Tyco” and concludes that the state of North Carolina “has not sufficiently reacted to the corporate scandals in an effort to prevent similar situations from arising within our state government.” Among the community colleges only Central Piedmont has an auditor (it actually has two). The report points out that the operating expenses of the 57 community colleges without internal auditing total $1.3 billion.
UNC-Chapel Hill to discuss health care reform in China
Officials from UNC-Chapel Hill and Peking University in Beijing will hold a joint conference in December in Beijing to discuss ways to improve health care in China. The conference will examine whether China’s health care can be improved through market forces alone or if some form of central control is needed.
The conference, slated for Dec. 11 and 12, is entitled “Harmonious Development and Reaching Health for All.” UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor James Moeser will serve as a co-chair for the conference along with Dr. Min Weifang, chairman of the University Council of Peking University. It will be Moeser’s first trip to China.