UNC Asheville fuses engineering and the arts

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ASHEVILLE – Engineering at a liberal arts school?  You bet. If North Carolina voters approve on March 15, $21 million from the Connect NC bond proposal will go to renovate two buildings at UNC Asheville and create collaborative space where engineering, art and management students will pursue interdisciplinary solutions to problems.1 Owen Hall is a… READ MORE

NC universities lag peers in faculty pay

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FAYETTEVILLE (March 4, 2016) – With North Carolina’s public universities lagging their peers in faculty compensation, the UNC Board of Governors has decided to make competitive pay a top priority in the upcoming legislative session. “Our chancellors have to be able to recruit and retain the very best in the country,” said Harry Smith, chairman… READ MORE

ECU Life Sciences: The intersection of education and jobs

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GREENVILLE – The technology involved in East Carolina University’s proposed Life Sciences and Biotechnology Building is far from simple.  But the goal isn’t. “We can make a major difference on Eastern North Carolina,” ECU Chancellor Steve Ballard says in the accompanying video. The Connect NC bonds on the ballot March 15 include $90 million for… READ MORE

$110M in bonds would help WCU science escape the ‘70s

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CULLOWHEE – When Western Carolina University’s Natural Science Building was built in the 1970s, Western had 6,100 students – 15 studied nursing, and none studied engineering.1 But as students increasingly gravitate to high-demand, high-tech fields, WCU has 10,400 students today, more than 600 of them nursing or pre-nursing majors, 1,700 more in health and human… READ MORE

Welcome, President Spellings

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By Paul Fulton and Brad Wilson Co-Chairs Higher Education Works  The Higher Education Works family of organizations extends a warm North Carolina welcome to Margaret Spellings, who assumes office today as President of the University of North Carolina System. We hope President Spellings will nourish and protect what former President Erskine Bowles refers to as… READ MORE

Connect NC and NC Community Colleges

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If voters approve on March 15, North Carolina’s community colleges plan to use proceeds from the Connect NC bond package to help students fill jobs in each community they serve. The $2 billion bond proposal includes $350 million for construction, repairs and renovations at the state’s 58 community colleges.1  State officials stress that no tax… READ MORE

RALLS: Welding students to profitable careers

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^ After a year of unemployment, Brandi Hilliard of Concord participated three days a week in the Back-to-Work program at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College to learn welding and pipefitting. She soon found herself a journeyman welder making $34 an hour.  (Photo courtesy NC Community College System.) EDITOR’S NOTE:  Welding is a profitable, high-demand trade for students… READ MORE

UNC Charlotte Chancellor: ‘A sense of urgency’ to March 15 bond vote

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By Philip L. Dubois Chancellor, UNC Charlotte UNC Charlotte’s interest in the bond issue is a proposed $90 million science facility that is crucial to ensuring our continuing ability to respond to ever-increasing demand for enrollment among well-qualified freshmen and transfer students. For UNC Charlotte, there is definitely a sense of urgency concerning this bond… READ MORE

JIM WOODWARD: Public universities exist to serve the public good

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By Jim Woodward Chancellor Emeritus, UNC Charlotte The mission of the 17-campus University of North Carolina can be summarized with the following statement: Public universities exist to serve the public good. This goal is pursued through the teaching, research, and service programs conducted by their faculty, staff, and administration.  Many of these programs and, hence, those… READ MORE