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Pence walks political line in UNC-Chapel Hill speech
A little over a half-hour into former Vice President Mike Pence’s talk at UNC-Chapel Hill Wednesday evening, the only real interruption came. “Trump trusted you!” a man heckled from the crowd of just over 500 in the Great Hall of the campus student union. “You betrayed Trump!” As security ejected the man and the crowd […]
“A war on higher education in our state” NC faculty group pens open letter opposing slate of higher ed-related bills
The North Carolina chapter of the American Association of University Professors released an open letter Wednesday opposing a slate of higher education-related bills the group says will threaten academic freedom, diversity efforts and non-partisan university governance. Taken together, the letter says, the proposed changes “effectively constitute a war on higher education in our state.” The […]
More than 670 UNC-Chapel Hill faculty oppose “overreach” by legislature, political appointees
More than 670 faculty at UNC-Chapel Hill have signed an open letter opposing what they call overreach by the General Assembly and its political appointees on the UNC System’s Board of Governors and the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees. The letter, published Tuesday in The Daily Tar Heel and reproduced below in its entirety, makes […]
N.C. Community College Board chooses new president as GOP looks to change process
The State Board of Community Colleges chose a new president for the 58-campus community college system Friday, making the decision ahead of a looming bill that would require the General Assembly to approve the system’s top leader. Jeff Cox, president of Wilkes Community College, will be the system’s new president. Cox, who also serves as […]
Transgender sports ban passes N.C. Senate
The North Carolina Senate passed its version of a bill that would exclude transgender female athletes from middle and high school sports Thursday. The bill is less expansive than the similar House version passed Wednesday, which includes college sports. The Senate version also does not prohibit female athletes from playing on teams designated male, while […]
N.C. House passes transgender sports ban
A bill barring transgender female athletes from female sports teams passed the state House by a 73-39 vote Wednesday. The bill, which expands the originally proposed ban from middle and high school teams to include college athletes, moved swiftly through two committees Tuesday and Wednesday to a floor vote in the afternoon. All Republicans who […]
New bill targets tenure, calls for scrutiny of research at UNC System campuses, community colleges
Faculty tenure at UNC System universities and community colleges would end under a new bill filed Tuesday. House Bill 715 would “prospectively eliminate academic tenure and establish uniform contracting procedure for faculty at constituent institutions and community colleges.” The bill, filed by Rep. David Willis (R-Union), would make all faculty members at UNC System universities […]
New bill would criminalize public drag performances
Public drag performances could become illegal under a bill filed Tuesday in the N.C. House. H673 would classify as “adult live entertainment” any “male or female impersonators who provide entertainment that appeals to a prurient interest,” making it illegal for drag performances to take place on public property in the presence of anyone under age […]
“They assume we don’t exist”
A bill that would prohibit transgender girls from playing girls’ sports in middle and high schools in North Carolina cleared its first hurdle Tuesday, passing the state Senate Education/Higher Education Committee. Out of the approximately 180,000 active student athletes in the state, the North Carolina High School Athletic Association says, only about 15 are transgender. […]
SPLC Report: Seven Confederate monuments removed in NC last year, 173 remaining
North Carolina was among the states that removed the most Confederate monuments and symbols last year, according to new data from the Southern Poverty Law Center. But just seven such symbols were removed, according to the SPLC; 173 remain across the state. This week, as the North Carolina Commission on Racial and Ethnic Disparities held […]
UNC-Chapel Hill students plan protest over banning of law student from campus
Students at UNC-Chapel Hill are planning a walk-out Thursday in protest of the university’s banning a law student from campus after their arrest related to a protest last month in Atlanta, Georgia. Jamie Marsicano, a second-year student at UNC-Chapel Hill’s School of Law, was one of 23 people arrested and charged with domestic terrorism after […]
“We are losing members of the faculty and staff,” say UNC System employees
The question of faculty and staff voices in university governance took center stage as the Governor’s Commission on the Governance of Public Universities in North Carolina held its final public listening session in Durham on Tuesday. The session, which was held at Durham Technical Community College, drew current and former faculty members and staff from […]