UNCC "snubbed" in state bond proposal

[49er]

So I'm trying to read between the lines in the Observer article this morning. UNCC will receive no money this year in a half billion dollar bond referendum. Supposedly, the school received money last year...but so did UNC and NCSU, both of which are slated to receive millions. Is private funding and fundraising really so subpar for UNCC that the state will not give additional money?

Without knowing much other than whats in the article, this seems to be typical UNCC getting screwed and the traditional schools in the triangle getting millions.

Article: http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/16764027.htm

Of the $500 mil proposed $119 mil would go to UNC.....WOW...over 1/5 to one school.

[DigitalSky]

So I'm trying to read between the lines in the Observer article this morning. UNCC will receive no money this year in a half billion dollar bond referendum. Supposedly, the school received money last year...but so did UNC and NCSU, both of which are slated to receive millions. Is private funding and fundraising really so subpar for UNCC that the state will not give additional money?

Without knowing much other than whats in the article, this seems to be typical UNCC getting screwed and the traditional schools in the triangle getting millions.

Article: http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/16764027.htm

Of the $500 mil proposed $119 mil would go to UNC.....WOW...over 1/5 to one school.

[voyager12]

Their only reply did seem to be "UNCC got theirs last year so tough". Maybe that really is how the state bureacracy works but it only feeds the perception that UNCC and Charlotte Mecklenburg in general are afterthoughts to Raleigh.

[AuLukey]

Welcome to all that is wrong with North Carolina. With the exception of ECU, every public university in our state that isn't in the Triangle gets the cold shoulder when it comes to anything at all. UNCC is going to have to fend for itself on anything it wants to accomplish. Look at the athletics fees at the different campuses (see UNCC Football thread,) the amount students pay at the schools in the entire UNC system are not surprisingly skewed in favor of schools in the Triangle. Students are paying for new facilities on campus too directly through increases in tuition for this reason only, something that UNC and NCSU rarely do. For example, the LEED certified Student Union and accompanying six level parking deck are 100% being paid for by the student body. If you look at the breakdown of tuition, a good chunk of the new tuition increase is directly going towards this project and nothing else. If UNCC is going to grow to the 35,000 student level as it is forecast to in the next decade (according to the newest study,) it's going to have to gain more support and respect from the Triangle (not to mention UNCC's own alumni.) Otherwise, the UCity area is just going to continue to sprout car friendly apartment complexes on every street corner further sealing its fate.

[monsoon]

I have to wonder if this would have been different if all of the effort, that has been put into getting football at UNCC, had instead been put into lobbying Raleigh for more capital funds for UNCC. The people who make these decisions, who don't live here, must be wondering what is happening at that school when the loudest noise is coming from the very misplaced effort to add sports when the school desperately needs more academic facilities. This is another hidden cost to sports venues that don't show up on spreadsheets.

[dubone]

It is mostly about private money and return. Most of the money going to the research universities are matching funds for overall projects that have big returns on investment for the entire state. If you want to make the case for more money, that is the basic task.

Fair or not, the state views UNC Chapel Hill and NC State as its flagship research universities, with proven records of return on investment. Saying 'no fair, they got a project done last year, too' just sounds a bit petty and whiny. Instead saying, 'look, we have a $76m research institute that we've raised $30m for privately, it should be funded' seems more reasonable. UNCC seems to look to the state for everything, so it doesn't seem like much of a shocker that they'd get skipped sometimes.

I must admit, though, that research classrooms and labs seem more important than offices and a student center and some of the others. But if they are weighing it in with what UNCC got last year but the other schools didn't, then maybe that makes sense.

[Justadude]

Personally I believe that UNCC needs a major culture and leadership change if it wants to be taken seriously in Raleigh and elsewhere.

[AuLukey]

Personally I believe that UNCC needs a major culture and leadership change if it wants to be taken seriously in Raleigh and elsewhere.

[dubone]

I agree that Dubois might really make a difference. He already made a massive change in policy by supporting light rail on campus, which will turn out having a major impact on both the school and the city. He also pushed through the new uptown building to increase connections to the city.

I still believe that whole subject can be changed if Dubois starts a major, and I mean major, private fundraising campaign. UNCC is trying to make a significant change from a regional teaching university to a national research university. There is absolutely no way that the state will spend all of the money needed to do that, period. It would be nice, but it just isn't going to happen. I believe that they should embark on a ten year $1 billion dollar private fundraising campaign. Not only would it provide for many needs outright, but it will provide seed money for many of these other major projects. Then when you tack on that these can provide scholarships and professorships to elevate the academic culture, it is really a fundamental necessity to become what UNCC wants to become.

You don't get money unless you ask, you don't get money from lots of people without a campaign, and you don't get big money unless you have a plan for how to spend it.

Face it, just assume you're only going to get $50m for pet projects every few years from the state, and the typical per student subsidy (or however the heck that works).

[BobbyRobert]

and the typical per student subsidy (or however the heck that works).

[Miesian Corners]

Dubone, such a typical response from someone who graduated from Chapel Hill

But seriously, I agree that a major capital campaign is a very good idea, but (get this) the University doesn't have enough funding to hire additional staff to do a big campaign unless it makes cuts somewhere else. If only the State would spend what it is supposed to on a per student basis, some of these issues might not be so dire.

Once again, the Triangle wins, we get screwed. And if that's whining, count me as a big baby.

[dubone]

Don't take away from my point simply because I have an allegiance (one that they charged me $80,000 for) .

I watch the capital improvements and the private fundraising campaign websites of UNC Chapel Hill on a regular basis. I see how the projects there have goals for private money that they work on for a while as they also pursue public funding. They have been successful at multiplying public dollars, which makes it much more easy to lobby the politicians for the remainder. Of course, there are also other factors, like being major research facilities that have grant prospects and other merits that help with lobbying for the money. And I'll admit there is also just the fact that it will always be the original campus, the flagship of the system, and campus on which the General Administration and the UNC system president lives. Those become intangeable factors that bring major projects to the campus.

I don't believe being in the same metro area as the seat of government is key. I believe that the collaboration between UNC Chapel Hill, NC State, and Duke (ie. the research triangle) adds significant value to the research programs. That helps to create some of these highly acclaimed programs that are worthy of significant public investment, but also pricey.

Each project is reviewed on its own merit. The money going to Chapel Hill is to replace a science building called Venable that was built in the 1920s, and is severly obsolete. Just as an example, it has 3 foot wide hallways, where you basically get to make out with a random person if they are passing the opposite direction. You can imagine the state of the labs. I'd argue that UNCC does not have these expensive rebuilding of obsolete facilities, as the campus is built within the lifetimes of many posting on this thread.

Anyway, there is no equity formula at play here, but what is the egalitarian slogan? 'From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.' So true equity is not an exact equation, but rather a fair number according to needs and ability.

[49er]

Perhaps the state needs to use a funding formula the way it does for roads to ensure that each school gets its fair share per taxpayer/student. i believe the 2 million or so people in this metro might be happy to see more money spent at a local institution.

[Justadude]

We did just go through a leadership change. Chancellor Dubois is only in his second year and he is dramatically changing the school from what it was when i started four years ago. He has gotten his name out as well as the school's name out in the papers lately. That doesn't exactly put us in table conversation territory, but it gets us started.