Category — 1 of Many

According to the data, NC State has 180,630 living alumni.  We are in contact with (or can be in contact with) 95.4% of the group either by mail, email, or phone.

1 of Many

Passion Rules!

The University of North Carolina Board of Governors has approved a package of tuition and fees that will raise costs by an average of $401 for in-state, undergraduate students next fall. While all 16 campuses sought to increase tuition by the 6.5 percent maximum set by the governing board, the impact differs based on the size of fee increases and whether administrators elected to spread out an increase approved last year.

The largest jump next fall will come for undergraduates at Fayetteville State University, where the combination of higher tuition and fees will raise costs by about 18 percent to $4,084 next fall. Tuition and fees will go up $606 at UNC Asheville, $481 at N.C. State University, and $189 at Elizabeth City State University. [Read more →]

Jackson Pollock (1912 – 1956), the pioneer of Abstract Expressionism, challenged the artistic tradition of using an easel and brush by pouring and dripping paint onto canvases. His groundbreaking works had a childlike quality which belied their stunning complexity and sophistication. Driven by inner torment which compelled him to paint, Pollock attached large canvases to the floor, densely pouring, dripping and flinging paint embedded with sand or glass onto them with intense physical movement. Influenced by Picasso, Miró, and the Surrealists, Pollock also revolutionized a style of painting in which the work has no identifiable parts or point of emphasis, and is painted with a stream-of-consciousness technique called psychic automatism.

As reported by Inside Higher Education, “The chair of the Iowa House Appropriations Committee has introduced a bill to force the University of Iowa to sell Jackson Pollock’s “Mural” and to use the $140 million that the painting is worth to set up a trust for scholarships, The Cedar Rapids Gazette reported.

The bill states that the terms of the sale would have to allow “Mural” to be back on campus for three months every four years, so students could continue to learn from it.

In the past, when the idea of selling the famous painting has come up, university officials have noted that art museum ethics bar such sales, and that auctioning off the painting could endanger the reputation of the university and its art museum, while depriving students and faculty of an important work of modern art.”

I was surprised when I read the report, but it got me thinking.  Let’s play a little Devil’s Advocate.  Why would the Iowa Legislature even consider something like this.

The $140 million scholarship endowment would generate $4.2 million annually if the fund returned 3 percent.  It could generate $7 million annually if it generated a return of 5 percent.  Think of how many students could benefit from that kind of investment in scholarships. [Read more →]

Krispy Kreme Challenge Co-Chairs Sudeep Sunthankar ‘12, Rachel Turner ‘12, and John Yanik ’12 along with Chancellor Randy Woodson present a check to Chief of Pediatric Surgery Dr. William Adamson of the North Carolina Children’s Hospital.

The Krispy Kreme Challenge hosted a record 7,500 participants this year and raised $100,000 for the North Carolina Children’s Hospital.

Participants departed from the NC State University Belltower and had one hour to run two miles to the Krispy Kreme store on Peace Street, consume a dozen doughnuts, and return to the finish line at the Belltower. In order to supply the event, doughnuts were shipped to the Peace Street location from over ten Krispy Kreme stores across the state. [Read more →]

During Wednesday night’s men’s basketball game between NC State and Virginia Tech, a record 260 Wolfpack student-athletes were recognized for their academic work last fall.

Among the athletes  honored in the Caterpillar-NC State Scholar Athlete Program, 137 made the dean’s list and three have been nominated for ACC post-graduate scholarships. NC State has produced more post-graduate scholars than any school in the ACC, a total of 54 over the last 30 years.

In addition, the 10 athletes with the highest grade point averages were spotlighted. They have each been at NC State for a minimum of five semesters and have some of the highest GPA at the university.

•Whitney Barnette, cheerleading,  biomedical engineering with a 3.945 GPA.
•Amy Depasquale, gymnastics, English education with a 4.0 GPA.
•Kimberlee Durham, women’s basketball, double major in business management and arts applications with a 3.996 GPA. [Read more →]

As part of the “We’re not alone in this” series of posts, here’s the latest in higher ed budget challenges.

Louisiana’s Board of Regents has identified more than 450 academic programs at the state’s public universities that will have to defend themselves against potential elimination because of low enrollments, The Advocate of Baton Rouge reported.

The regents said the larger number of programs targeted — the board has cut a total of 245 programs the last two years — was necessary if Louisiana’s public universities are to remain efficient and focused as the state faces continuing budget cuts.

Programs will have until February to argue that they should be consolidated or continued instead of cut, the Advocate reported; a final report is due in April.

1 of Many

Passion Rules!

As lawmakers take steps to cut state spending this year, their budget axes are expected to hit universities in ways that could eliminate jobs and some degree programs. Republicans taking charge of the state’s budget for the first time since 1898 are promising deep cuts to close a projected $3.7 billion gap. And the $2.7 billion total the state budgeted last year to run the University of North Carolina’s 16 campuses isn’t off limits, said expected Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham.

“For anyone to suggest that any part of the state budget is going to be immune from consideration for reductions, they’re not looking at the situation in a realistic fashion,” Berger said this week.

Some $620 million in state funds were cut in the past four years and mostly took a toll on administration, so further trims will be felt by students, said Jeff Davies, the UNC system’s top operating officer. [Read more →]

‘Apocalyptic’ Budget Sends Waves of Fear Across Texas Higher Education

By Katherine Mangan

Texas higher-education officials were reeling on Wednesday after lawmakers released a preliminary budget proposal that would slash financial aid, close four two-year colleges, and eliminate programs aimed at meeting the needs of the state’s growing Hispanic population.

Republican lawmakers in the House, who have gained a stronger majority since November’s elections, have vowed to plug a state deficit estimated at up to $27-billion over the coming biennium without raising taxes or tapping into the state’s $9.4-billion rainy-day fund. [Read more →]

I’ve been kind of harsh on Starbucks Coffee lately as the company works to roll out a new logo and possibly, a new brand image.  I think the approach they are taking is a bad move as evidenced from earlier posts, but now I’m convinced the Starbucks we have grown to love and patronize is rapidly disappearing.

Witness the Trenta, a 31 ounce behemoth of coffee.  Think of the Double Whopper or Wendy’s triple-stack.  It’s just ridiculous. [Read more →]