News
Cooper announces initiative to reform UNC System’s governance structure
Executive Mansion announcing the creation of a new commission tasked with reforming the University of North Carolina System's governance.
News
N.C.’s Right to Work law turns 75, experts weigh in on workers’ rights
North Carolina on Friday, March 18, will celebrate the 75th anniversary of its Right to Work law. The purpose and meaning of Right to Work are explained in a new report, “Pro-Worker, Pro-Growth Making Right-to-Work Permanent in North Carolina,” by F. Vincent Vernuccio and available on the website of the John Locke Foundation, which commissioned...
News
Lawmakers move to ban diversity litmus tests in K-12 schools, universities
Model legislation proposed by a higher-education reform group in North Carolina would prohibit political and ideological litmus tests in hiring decisions for public K-12 schools and public universities. The legislation applies to schools that require applicants for employment to sign a document affirming their support for the “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) agenda. Some applicants...
News
UNC’s conservative student paper vandalized, editor wants lawmakers’ help
A conservative student publication at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill was targeted by vandals and hackers recently — the latest example of the campus attacks on conservative political speech. Criminals defaced the publication’s new distribution boxes on campus and hacked into its website, erasing more than a decade’s worth of stories. The vandalism was...
News
Board members chosen to lead in governing UNC System
Editor’s note: This story was updated Thursday, March 18. The General Assembly this week appointed new members to the University of North Carolina System Board of Governors. The board governs the consolidated system, encompassing 16 public universities across the state and the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics. The board has 24 voting members, elected...
News
UPDATED: UNC COVID outbreaks underscore desire of parents, students for financial relief if schools close
UPDATE, Monday, 4:06 p.m. UNC Chapel Hill officials announced the university would move to full online instruction on Wednesday and “reduce residential intensity.” Four COVID-19 outbreaks reported last week at UNC Chapel Hill won’t shut down the flagship university campus. Yet. Officials are dealing with the “clusters” — defined as at least five positive coronavirus...
News
UNC board member says online learning should become higher priority
Marty Kotis, a member of the University of North Carolina System’s Board of Governors, for years has pushed for more online learning programs from UNC’s college campuses. He hasn’t gathered much support, but that may change now that the coronavirus pandemic is uprooting traditional higher education. “I hate that this is what it takes for...
News
N.C. public universities bolstering free speech, but enforcement is key
Clarification: After publication, a UNC spokesman contacted Carolina Journal to correct a portion of the Martin Center’s report. The Campus Free Speech Act doesn’t stipulate “institutional neutrality,” but rather states that a “constituent institution may not take action, as an institution, on the public policy controversies of the day in such a way as to...
Opinion
What can other universities learn from Purdue’s tuition freeze?
Tuition freezes are gaining popularity across the country. Earlier this year, university systems in Virginia and Pennsylvania announced tuition would not rise in the next academic year, saving students and parents millions. Purdue University started the tuition-freeze trend in 2013. Under the leadership of its president, Mitch Daniels, Purdue instituted a freeze on all tuition...
Opinion
Universities and the ‘coddling’ of the American mind
In 2015, Greg Lukianoff, president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, and Jonathan Haidt, professor of ethical leadership at New York University, wrote an article for The Atlantic entitled “The Coddling of the American Mind.” In that article, the authors argued that students increasingly react to words, books, images, and speakers with fear and anger...
News
Report gives N.C. public universities high marks for protecting free speech
North Carolina universities have drastically improved First Amendment protections since 2010, a new report says. Public and private institutions across the state were graded poorly on free speech rights less than a decade ago, show data collected by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education and the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal —...
