Our Future with AI

If you’re like most people, you probably find the future of Artificial Intelligence (AI) a bit scary, exciting and confusing all at the same time. Chancellor Lee Roberts has made AI a central pillar to Carolina’s future, and we are fortunate to have many on faculty and staff at Carolina who are experts in this […]
Europe Is Recruiting Our Researchers

Well, that didn’t take long. After the past several weeks of upheaval at research institutions across our country, Europeans are taking note – and taking advantage. The New York Times reported this week that European universities are recruiting “scientific asylum seekers” from U.S. research institutions. As countless research grants have been canceled by the federal […]
A Future Without Research

The headlines are becoming more frequent. We’re starting to see the direct impact of funding cuts at universities across the country. Every day, another university is announcing a hiring freeze, rescinding graduate student acceptances, pausing new construction or taking other devastating steps due to NIH and USAID cuts. A hiring freeze struck our neighbors at […]
Belichick scored big. Where’s faculty’s payday?

We’ve kept mum so far, but surely, you’ve gotten an earful from your Carolina friends: here comes Bill Belichick. And as we all know, it didn’t come cheap. Belichick scored a five-year, $50 million contract – double that of his predecessor Mack Brown. Still, there had been speculation that Belichick might swap his Carolina blue […]
SCiLL Looks Like What We Feared: Origins May be Destiny

We vowed to keep an open mind about the new School of Civic Life and Leadership that was mandated at UNC by trustees and the legislature. But the school looks more and more like what we were told it wouldn’t be: a center for right-wing views and something removed or exempt from normal university hiring […]
Hark the Sound? Will Tar Heel Voices be Heard?

By Mimi Chapman Over the holiday weekend, I was interested to see this article from the Associated Press in which three faculty members express concern about what our commitment to diversity actually means in light of the Students for Fair Admissions decision and, perhaps even more importantly, the Board of Governors’ decision to do away […]
Chancellor Search Focuses on Fundraising; UNC Campuses Get DEI Orders

During the summer lull, we are watching two important developments at UNC: the search for a new chancellor and the dismantling of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs. Chancellor Search The next chancellor will need to raise $1 billion a year, UNC Board of Trustees member Jennifer Lloyd said. “We have to be sober about that […]
UNC-CH Drops Out of the Top 10 in Faculty Salaries

UNC is falling behind its peers, including Duke University, in faculty salaries. The chart below from the American Association of University Professors shows that: In 2010-11, the average faculty salary at UNC was $109,200, compared to $138,100 at Duke. This year, the gap has more exploded by more than double: $138,200 at UNC compared to […]
Faculty Chair Letter to Kevin Guskiewicz
Little wonder why Kevin Guskiewicz might leave

We have been granted permission by Higher Ed Works to republish the following post in its entirety. By Paul Fulton WINSTON-SALEM (November 21, 2023) – There’s little wonder why UNC Chapel Hill Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz is entertaining a new job. Guskiewicz is reportedly a finalist for the presidency at Michigan State University.1 Though he is a […]