Dean’s List: GOP leaders differ on potential fate of proposed UNC engineering school
Republican House Speaker Tim Moore says a proposed School of Applied Science and Technology at UNC-Chapel Hill could play a major role in meeting growing demands for technology jobs in North Carolina, he told reporters last week.
“We are a growing state. STEM is the fastest-growing profession and is where we have been unable to meet the job needs, and so we believe that UNC-Chapel Hill can be a key part of that,” Moore said the morning after House Republicans released their budget proposal, which included the plan to establish the new school.
UNC officials welcomed the proposal, with a spokesperson saying that the school would help the university “produce graduates in high-demand fields and meet critical needs for the state of North Carolina, while complementing the existing strengths of other UNC System institutions.”
But it takes two chambers for a state budget to be finalized, and the House and Senate remain at an impasse in their negotiations of the spending plan.
Does the new school have a chance? Republican Senate leader Phil Berger offered his thoughts to reporters last week.
Welcome to Dean’s List, a roundup of higher education news in the Triangle and across North Carolina from The News & Observer and myself, Korie Dean.
This week’s edition includes more about what the General Assembly’s top leaders are saying about the proposed school at UNC, a big donation to NC A&T State University, a new dean at East Carolina University and more.
Moore, Berger differ on proposed UNC engineering school
The state House’s budget proposal would direct the UNC chancellor — currently Lee Roberts, who is serving in the role in an interim capacity — and the UNC System Board of Governors to establish the applied science school and provide the university $8 million in the upcoming fiscal year to “to develop, operate, and offer degrees and related programs at the college.”
Per the House’s proposal, the school would offer degree programs in engineering, computer science, biomedical sciences, natural resources, physical sciences and other areas.
The university already operates a Department of Applied Physical Sciences and offers a handful of degrees in engineering-related areas, such as biomedical engineering and environmental engineering. But the university has not operated an entire school dedicated to engineering since 1935, when the programs at UNC and NC State University consolidated and merged.
Moore said the new, proposed school at UNC would not be a competitor with NC State’s College of Engineering, but instead the two academic units would be “complementary” to one another.
But there are at least two signs that the Senate feels differently than the House about the proposed school — at least at this point.
First, the Senate’s budget proposal does not include a corresponding proposal to the House’s plan to establish the school. Compared to the House’s budget proposal, the Senate’s plan, approved Monday, contains fewer proposals for new spending in the upcoming fiscal year.
Second, Berger told reporters last Thursday that the proposal likely needs more time to be fleshed out.
“I think it’s something that needs to have a lot more conversation and a lot more buy-in, which I don’t think has taken place thus far,” he said.
If the House and Senate don’t reach an agreement on a new budget for the upcoming fiscal year, the spending plan the chambers approved last fall would go into effect as it passed. That means the applied science school, among other proposals, wouldn’t be funded through the budget.
Still, it appears applied science remains a priority for Roberts — a former state budget director under Republican Gov. Pat McCrory. The interim chancellor identified the subject as an area “deserving of focused attention,” and established a committee to consider “how the University can produce graduates in high demand fields while complementing existing programs and meeting critical state needs.”
A UNC spokesperson said last week that the university appreciated the school being included in the House budget “and looks forward to working with members of the General Assembly as a budget is finalized.”
Senate names replacement for BOG vacancy
Five months after Roberts left the UNC System Board of Governors to become interim chancellor at UNC, the state Senate has named its pick to replace him on the board.
Sen. Bill Rabon, the Republican chair of the Senate rules committee, filed a resolution Monday naming Kathryn Greeley to the seat. Each chamber is responsible for approving its own nominees to the board, meaning only the Senate will need to approve Greeley’s selection.
Greeley, an interior designer, is currently in her second term as a member of the Western Carolina University Board of Trustees. She holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree from the university and has also served as an adjunct professor in the school’s interior design program.
Greeley is a registered Republican. Campaign finance records show she has donated $5,500 to Berger since 2019, and $5,000 to Moore since 2018.
Greeley’s addition to the board will add more gender diversity to the 24-member group, with the total number of women members rising from five to six. Following board-officer elections last month, the board will be led entirely by women for the next two years — marking a first in the board’s more than 50-year history.
NC A&T gets $20 million donation
North Carolina A&T State University announced Monday it has received an anonymous $20 million donation, the bulk of which will support student scholarships.
Here’s how the university says the funds will be allocated, in accordance with its strategic plan:
$15 million to scholarships, which will “serve as a significant step toward creating a more equitable and inclusive higher education environment.”
$2 million to establish endowed professorships in artificial intelligence.
$2 million to “international opportunities.”
$1 million to support the Chancellor’s Speaker Series, which brings “nationally distinguished guests to Greensboro for campus dialogue on matters of current and abiding importance to the university community and the world.”
“We are deeply honored and grateful for this extraordinary gift,” Kenneth Sigmon Jr., vice chancellor of university advancement, said in a news release. “This generous support will provide crucial resources to our students, faculty and programs, ensuring that N.C. A&T continues to thrive as a leading institution for higher learning and innovation.”
Also in NC A&T news: UNC System President Peter Hans last week named James Martin to be the university’s 13th chancellor, effective Aug. 15.
UNC School of the Arts is world’s No. 3 drama school
For the second year in a row, The Hollywood Reporter ranked the UNC School of the Arts as the No. 3 school of drama in the world.
For its annual rankings of the best schools for acting degrees, THR “consulted with members of the industry and educators” and considered “factors including overall training, cost, alumni success and more.”
THR highlighted UNCSA’s “strong undergraduate program,” which has added new training for students in recent years “and expanded its performance repertoire to include more underrepresented voices.”
“The school has placed an emphasis on diversity, and the student body has been majority BIPOC-identifying for several years,” THR wrote. “This past year, the school added more opportunities for voiceover work, along with courses on entrepreneurship, and it worked to develop pedagogy for trans and nonbinary performers.”
THR also highlighted UNCSA’s low tuition costs ($24,231 for out-of-state residents, $6,497 for in-state) and notable alumni, including Stephen McKinley Henderson, Mary-Louise Parker, Anna Camp and Jake Lacy.
UNC-Chapel Hill was also included in THR’s rankings, with the university’s master of fine arts in acting coming in at No. 16. The Professional Actor Training Program accepts between six and eight students every other year, and offers “advanced acting training to early-career professionals.”
ECU names new dean for College of Business
Michael Harris will be the new dean of the East Carolina University College of Business, following a vote by the university’s Board of Trustees last week.
Harris had been serving as interim dean for nearly two years. A graduate of ECU’s master of business administration program with a doctorate from NC State, Harris joined ECU’s faculty in 2004. He was previously director of the Miller School of Entrepreneurship and the Small Business Institute, both in the College of Business.
“The opportunity to lead the College of Business, an institution that’s given me and others so much, is both humbling and exciting at the same time,” Harris said in a news release. “I’m excited to continue working with colleagues who share the same vision and drive to be the best. It’s our duty to build leaders who will impact eastern North Carolina and beyond, and students who look to us must know they have 30,000-plus alumni who are lifting them up and supporting them. We’re raising the bar at the College of Business. I’m thankful to be a part of it.”
Higher ed news I’m reading
Federal judges in Missouri and Kansas on Monday dealt separate blows to the Biden administration’s income-driven repayment plans for student-loan borrowers. Inside Higher Ed breaks down the rulings and what they could mean for borrowers.
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