Academics

Future leaders in business, government, and civil society need more than just job skills. The following articles defend the value of liberal education, with a focus on academic quality and rigor, fundamental knowledge, and the ideas that have shaped Western Civilization. They also scrutinize academic programs that have departed from these ideals in the name of progressive ideology.

Show Us the Money

Mar 2, 2005 ·

RALEIGH – University, community college, and state budget office officials have spent part of the week lobbying state legislators for more funding for higher education, while arguing against proposed line-item budget cuts.

University of North Carolina President Molly Broad, UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor James Moeser, and North Carolina A&T Chancellor James Renick have been among those making presentations to members of the Joint Appropriations Subcommittee on Education. The presentations, including those made by representatives from the community college system, focused on the theme of making college more affordable while increasing funding for university and community colleges needs.

UNC faculty really did seek openness on the Edwards deal

Mar 1, 2005 ·

The letter, for which we at the Pope Center cannot vouch and which could be an expedient hoax, begins: “WE THE UNDERSIGNED FACULTY are writing to express our concerns about the ongoing secret negotiations between high-level university administrators and John Edwards regarding the ‘poverty’ center.”

Easley lays out higher education budget

Feb 25, 2005 ·

RALEIGH – Gov. Mike Easley’s proposed budget would give substantial increases in funding to the state’s public universities, as well as the community college system.

Easley’s proposed budget was released Wednesday during a presentation with members of the Joint Appropriations Committee. Funding for the University of North Carolina represents 8.7 percent of the proposed $16.9 billion general fund budget.

Fraternity close to gaining recognition

Feb 21, 2005 ·

CHAPEL HILL — Members of a Christian fraternity are one step closer to gaining official recognition from UNC-Chapel Hill after a federal court hearing Wednesday that led to a possible out-of-court settlement.

Federal Judge Frank W. Bullock Jr. set a deadline Feb. 28 for UNC-Chapel Hill and Alpha Iota Omega to reach an agreement on how to change the university’s nondiscrimination policy to include the Christian group. Bullock’s deadline is based on a lawsuit filed Aug. 25 after AIO was denied funding by the school because members refused to sign a nondiscrimination policy. It had wanted to limit membership to Christians.

Tuition at UNC-Chapel Hill

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The recent proposal to raise tuition at UNC-Chapel Hill by $250 a year has produced the predictable squeals of student outrage. Like most faculty members, I suspect, I’m less than sympathetic to students whose family incomes are higher than mine.

Patriots on the Hill

Feb 16, 2005 ·

CHAPEL HILL — While protesters can still be heard in front of the post office on Monday evenings protesting the War on Terror, some students are attempting to prove that not everyone in this college town agrees.

The Carolina Troop Supporters is a group of college students from UNC-Chapel Hill, North Carolina State, and other colleges that have formed a bond to work together to support U.S. troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is not a group concerned about the politics of intervention or the United Nations. Instead, the students want to do more to support the troops than place a yellow ribbon magnet on their car.

The group was started by club President Ashley Weeks and came through a discussion that originated in an anthropology course. Weeks said the professor discussed the sacrifices soldiers made to fight and she wanted to do something other thanb to simply say “thank you.”

Student newspaper headline goes too far

Feb 14, 2005 ·

CHAPEL HILL – The key of a newspaper headline is to serve, basically, two points. Its first objective is to inform the reader about the context of the story. The second is to grab your attention to entice you to read more than just a few randomly selected words in large font.

Sometimes headlines can be spread across the entire page when the article has major significance, such as during a national tragedy, war, or a major local, state, or national story. Other times, the headline is just a small blurb on the corner of a page.

To the headline writers goes an important responsibility and challenge. The writer is responsible to write compress what could be a 750 word article into five or six words. When dealing with a controversial topic, the headline writer faces the challenge of writing a headline that focus on the story’s importance while showing the proper respect and care for the situation.

What Do You Give to a Failed Candidate?

Feb 11, 2005 ·

Just three months after his campaign to become the Vice President of the United States ended, former Senator John Edwards has been given a new job that seems designed to keep him, at least occasionally, in the public eye.

Edwards is going to become the Director of a new organization called the Center on Poverty, Work, and Opportunity (CPWO for short) that will officially be a part of the Law School at UNC-Chapel Hill. His title will be University Professor. He will give occasional guest lectures and do whatever directing the CPWO entails. For that work, he’ll be paid $40,000 annually. That’s a lot less than a senator is paid, but money is really no object for the millionaire lawyer.

“Bake sale” stirs debate

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CHARLOTTE — A planned College Republican-sponsored “affirmative action bake sale” at UNC-Charlotte has raised the ire of at least one school official, who said the event is offensive to minorities.

Members of the UNC-Charlotte College Republicans want to set up a booth Feb. 15 to offer baked goods with different prices for various groups of students. This is the third year the group has held the sale. Similar events have been conducted at college campuses across the nation in previous years.