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Andyc545

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  • 2 weeks later...

Another rezoning near the Tom Hunter BLE Station. Carolina States Regional Center, LLC plans on doing Mixed Use on both sides of the US 29 Bypass.  Not much details, but it seems a step in the right direction.  The station does not have a Park and Ride and both of these could bring a huge amount of residences within walking distance.

 

http://www.charmeck.org/city/charlotte/planning/Rezoning/RezoningPetitions/2015Petitions/Pages/2015-020.aspx

 

http://www.charmeck.org/city/charlotte/planning/Rezoning/RezoningPetitions/2015Petitions/Pages/2015-047.aspx

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Another rezoning near the Tom Hunter BLE Station. Carolina States Regional Center, LLC plans on doing Mixed Use on both sides of the US 29 Bypass.  Not much details, but it seems a step in the right direction.  The station does not have a Park and Ride and both of these could bring a huge amount of residences within walking distance.

 

http://www.charmeck.org/city/charlotte/planning/Rezoning/RezoningPetitions/2015Petitions/Pages/2015-020.aspx

 

http://www.charmeck.org/city/charlotte/planning/Rezoning/RezoningPetitions/2015Petitions/Pages/2015-047.aspx

Fortunately, this development will be between a light rail station and a dealership, so the residents can hop the light rail or buy a new car whenever they want to travel about the city.

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  • 2 months later...

Governor McCrory wants a vote on a $3 billion bond this Fall, which includes funding for the new UNC Charlotte science building. I think this building would be built on top of the parking lot next the Student Union building, but I'm not completely sure:

 

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article18755907.html

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Governor McCrory wants a vote on a $3 billion bond this Fall, which includes funding for the new UNC Charlotte science building. I think this building would be built on top of the parking lot next the Student Union building, but I'm not completely sure:

 

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article18755907.html

 

Yes, you're correct. It will go in the parking lot next to the Union. Original plans called for a raised pedestrian bridge from this building to the football stadium, although I'm not sure if that remains part of the plan.

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Consultant says what we've been talking about for years. A four year medical school for Charlotte:

 

A Pittsburgh health care consultant has confirmed what many in Charlotte have said for years. The largest U.S. city without a four-year medical school needs one.

 

Paul Umbach, founder and president of Tripp Umbach consulting firm, shared his conclusions Wednesday with about 50 health care and business leaders, explaining that educating students locally is critical to retaining physicians for the Charlotte region and for other parts of the state where doctors are already in short supply.

 

After evaluating five scenarios, Umbach said the fastest and best way to develop a four-year school is through “a public partnership” between the existing UNC School of Medicine-Charlotte Campus and UNC Charlotte.

 

The Charlotte campus of UNC Chapel Hill medical school was created in 2010 at Carolinas Medical Center, the flagship hospital of Carolinas HealthCare System. About 25 students arrive each year for their third year of medical school and stay through the fourth year, according to Dr. Mary Hall, associate dean of the Charlotte campus. Other medical students rotate through various hospital services, bringing the total number of students on campus to about 300 in the past year, Hall said.

 

UNCC has health science programs but no medical school. Umbach said a new medical school could initially operate under the auspices of UNC Chapel Hill but should eventually get separate accreditation through UNCC.

 

Umbach said the next step is to answer questions such as how much it will cost, where the school will be located and how it will be funded. If a business plan is completed by January, Umbach predicted the first medical school class could be admitted in fall 2018.

 

More in the link:

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/living/health-family/article22411593.html

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^^^CMC & the upper level admistration of UNCC & UNC support the expansion of the current 2 yr school once funding is put in place. Their version would have students spend the first 2 yrs on UNCC's main campus & last 2 at CMC main. The other difference us that CMC supports the branch concept of UNC school of medicine while the plan presented today has the Charlotte school eventually becoming independent . Without CMC's support a full medical school is unlikely

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So here is what I took away from the joint statement by the dissenters:

 

a)  The power structure in Chapel Hill intends to ensure that UNC Charlotte remains an institution subservient to the whims of UNC Chapel Hill.  Furthermore, not only do they want to ensure that UNC Charlotte remains subservient, they also want to squash any progress toward a medical school, public or private, that does not fit into their 2 year branch campus model. 

 

b)  Dubois is complicit in Chapel Hill's continued domination of UNC Charlotte. Rather than fighting for a future in which UNCC becomes the third flagship institution of the system and something that will be of great value to the community (as he should), he is content to guide it on a path to eternal mediocrity. IMHO, as long as Dubois sits in the Chancellor's seat UNCC will not reach its potential.

 

c)  UNC never intends to create a full four year medical school, not even a full four year branch campus.

 

d)  Charlotte is in serious need of visionary leadership in the education realm.

Edited by cltbwimob
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So here is what I took away from the joint statement by the dissenters:

 

a)  The power structure in Chapel Hill intends to ensure that UNC Charlotte remains an institution subservient to the whims of UNC Chapel Hill.  Furthermore, not only do they want to ensure that UNC Charlotte remains subservient, they also want to squash any progress toward a medical school, public or private, that does not fit into their 2 year branch campus model. 

 

b)  Dubois is complicit in Chapel Hill's continued domination of UNC Charlotte. Rather than fighting for a future in which UNCC becomes the third flagship institution of the system and something that will be of great value to the community (as he should), he is content to guide it on a path to eternal mediocrity. IMHO, as long as Dubois sits in the Chancellor's seat UNCC will not reach its potential.

 

c)  UNC never intends to create a full four year medical school, not even a full four year branch campus.

 

d)  Charlotte is in serious need of visionary leadership in the education realm.

 

My question is, why? What does UNC gain out of doing this? Helping UNC Charlotte in becoming another flagship campus for the state should be in everyone's best interest. This all seems so petty. What happens when Charlotte possibly surpasses UNC in student body?

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^ The UNC System is currently a very resource-constrained environment. This means that any expansion (a new or replacement faculty member, a new degree program or a new school) will come at the expense of another campus. If the system allocates cash for a medical school in Charlotte that will be seen as cash that is lost from the medical schools in Chapel Hill and ECU (and other, non-medical programs)

 

While you are correct that a new medical school would be a huge economic boon to Charlotte, under the current political climate it will simply be viewed (by internal decision makers) as a drain on system resources -- thus it will be internally blocked.

 

UNCC had 26,571 students last year. Chapel Hill had 29,127. Chapel Hill's enrollment is flat, Charlotte is adding around 700 additional students per year. UNCC should become the second largest campus in 3-4 years (in theory UNCC could be the biggest campus in the state within a decade -- but I suspect NCSU will expand in order to prevent that from happening). Nothing will change when UNCC has more students than UNCCH. Since Charlotte gets less funding per student than Chapel Hill or State (due to its lack of graduate and professional programs) growth at UNCC really just allows us to tread water. Chapel Hill and NCSU want to prevent UNCC from getting the same per student reimbursement thus they block the creation of as many new graduate programs in Charlotte as they can.

 

I don't think I would blame Dubois for this. He needs to get money to accommodate the rapid influx of undergraduates (most other campuses are out of room to expand so growth is being sent here). If he asks for money for a new medical school he won't see another penny to pay for expanded undergraduate education for more than a decade (that is what happened at ECU during a much friendlier political climate). The blame lies with the board of governors, they way funding is allocated within the system and the legislature who look at the UNC system as an expense that must be cut rather than as a machine for economic development.


Meanwhile, in other UNCC news, looks like the UNC system cut a couple dozen programs if I scrolled through Facebook correctly.
 

 

Honestly that was nothing unusual and this year did not see significantly more losses than past years. Programs are always being trimmed as they decline in popularity or loose supporting faculty (just as more are constantly being added). Generally the eliminated program is not the only degree offered in the department (e.g. a BA degree may be dropped as a BS program is added). However it is a reminder that a new medical school here would certainly result in program reductions somewhere else.

Edited by kermit
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^ The UNC System is currently a very resource-constrained environment. This means that any expansion (a new or replacement faculty member, a new degree program or a new school) will come at the expense of another campus. If the system allocates cash for a medical school in Charlotte that will be seen as cash that is lost from the medical schools in Chapel Hill and ECU (and other, non-medical programs)

 

While you are correct that a new medical school would be a huge economic boon to Charlotte, under the current political climate it will simply be viewed (by internal decision makers) as a drain on system resources -- thus it will be internally blocked.

 

UNCC had 26,571 students last year. Chapel Hill had 29,127. Chapel Hill's enrollment is flat, Charlotte is adding around 700 additional students per year. UNCC should become the second largest campus in 3-4 years (in theory UNCC could be the biggest campus in the state within a decade -- but I suspect NCSU will expand in order to prevent that from happening). Nothing will change when UNCC has more students than UNCC. Since Charlotte gets less funding per student than Chapel Hill or State (due to its lack of graduate and professional programs) growth does not have much of a payoff. Chapel Hill and NCSU want to prevent UNCC from getting the same per student reimbursement thus they block the creation of as many new graduate programs in Charlotte as they can.

 

I don't think I would blame Dubois for this. He needs to get money to accommodate the rapid influx of undergraduates (most other campuses are out of room to expand so growth is being sent here). If he asks for money for a new medical school he won't see another penny to pay for expanded undergraduate education for more than a decade (that is what happened at ECU during a much friendlier political climate). The blame lies with the board of governors, they way funding is allocated within the system and the legislature who look at the UNC system as an expense that must be cut rather than as a machine for economic development.

 

Honestly that was nothing unusual and this year did not see significantly more losses than past years. Programs are always being trimmed as they decline in popularity or loose supporting faculty (just as more are constantly being added). Generally the eliminated program is not the only degree offered in the department (e.g. a BA degree may be dropped as a BS program is added). However it is a reminder that a new medical school here would certainly result in program reductions somewhere else.

 

 

Thanks or all your insight!

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^ The UNC System is currently a very resource-constrained environment. This means that any expansion (a new or replacement faculty member, a new degree program or a new school) will come at the expense of another campus. If the system allocates cash for a medical school in Charlotte that will be seen as cash that is lost from the medical schools in Chapel Hill and ECU (and other, non-medical programs)

 

While you are correct that a new medical school would be a huge economic boon to Charlotte, under the current political climate it will simply be viewed (by internal decision makers) as a drain on system resources -- thus it will be internally blocked.

 

UNCC had 26,571 students last year. Chapel Hill had 29,127. Chapel Hill's enrollment is flat, Charlotte is adding around 700 additional students per year. UNCC should become the second largest campus in 3-4 years (in theory UNCC could be the biggest campus in the state within a decade -- but I suspect NCSU will expand in order to prevent that from happening). Nothing will change when UNCC has more students than UNCCH. Since Charlotte gets less funding per student than Chapel Hill or State (due to its lack of graduate and professional programs) growth at UNCC really just allows us to tread water. Chapel Hill and NCSU want to prevent UNCC from getting the same per student reimbursement thus they block the creation of as many new graduate programs in Charlotte as they can.

 

I don't think I would blame Dubois for this. He needs to get money to accommodate the rapid influx of undergraduates (most other campuses are out of room to expand so growth is being sent here). If he asks for money for a new medical school he won't see another penny to pay for expanded undergraduate education for more than a decade (that is what happened at ECU during a much friendlier political climate). The blame lies with the board of governors, they way funding is allocated within the system and the legislature who look at the UNC system as an expense that must be cut rather than as a machine for economic development.

 

Honestly that was nothing unusual and this year did not see significantly more losses than past years. Programs are always being trimmed as they decline in popularity or loose supporting faculty (just as more are constantly being added). Generally the eliminated program is not the only degree offered in the department (e.g. a BA degree may be dropped as a BS program is added). However it is a reminder that a new medical school here would certainly result in program reductions somewhere else.

I agree with everything you said.  Perhaps Dubois is not to blame in this particular instance; however he does not seem like a champion of the University.  Now is perhaps the best time for Charlotte make a name for itself  and to become a top tier institution.  A true champion of the University would embrace that cause.  Dubois, on the other hand, seems happy to play the role of yes man to the UNCCH/NCSU agenda, an agenda which consistently ensures that UNCC remains a second tier institution.  That's why I say he seems perfectly content to preside over the University's journey to the purgatory of mediocrity.

 

The students, the institution, and the city deserve much better leadership than Dubois can offer, and I will be very happy to see him retire.

Dubois will retire within 3 years.

Is there a way to like this post 100 times?

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I can't tell you how many times I've had to explain to non-Carolinians that UNC-Charlotte is not a satellite campus of UNC Chapel Hill. I know that's a stigma that a lot of people hate and can't seem to entirely overcome. As an ECU alum I can appreciate that. I hate the "Eastern Carolina University" reference that some people still spew. Usually because they know it annoys us. Since I went there, ECU has jumped by leaps and bounds in terms of it's reputation academically (it'll never be a Duke or Chapel Hill, but it's not just a party school anymore). It's baffling to me that a university in the state's largest city can't get the kinds of investments that it needs to really blossom. The city of Charlotte would benefit so much more from it than it currently does. Look at what Ohio State does for Columbus, Vanderbilt for Nashville, UNC/Duke/NCSU for the Triangle. Hopefully once Dubois is gone, that'll change. Maybe we can elect Kermit ;) Anyway, that's an outsider who's never been to the campus point of view... 

Edited by wend28
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Charlotte is still young. It is steadily growing both its size and quality of programs and education. The admissions standards have been steadily rising. When I went there in 05, something like 75% of applicants were admitted. Today that number is 60%. It'll never be 25% or so like Chapel Hill, but it also shouldn't be. Its value is in providing affordable higher education to the greater Charlotte metro area. It also has some great programs that compete nationally. Finding a balance between having top tier research programs and providing value to the local community is difficult, but the school is doing that well.

 

The Levine Scholar program has been big for the school, giving us a scholarship program on par with what other top quality institutions have. Although it doesn't have the name recognition of the Moorehead Scholarship at Chapel Hill, it is just as comprehensive and attracts a very high quality of student. Lots of great things have happened at the school over the last decade, but I would put that as the single most important thing.

 

Dubois has been a very good chancellor for the school. The one thing he does not do well is promote the school, and you can certainly make a legitimate argument that that isn't his job. I hope the next chancellor does a little more to hype and promote the university. Phil is an academic through and through and he definitely interacts well with other intellectuals and those in the business community, but he doesn't really have the personality to connect with your everyday person. The same can be said for the athletic director.

 

Both Phil Dubois and Judy Rose are in their 60's and will almost certainly be retiring within the next 3 years, so I really hope we replace them with people that are better promoters of the university. Their replacements will be coming in at a time when the university will finally be connected to Uptown with the light rail and I really hope they take advantage of that to better promote the university to people in the city.

 

I also hope the next chancellor seriously considers evolving the school to be named the University of Charlotte, even if it is just an unofficial rebrand. Run an advertising campaign about the school, call it UNC Charlotte, but have the tagline be "The University of Charlotte"

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Take this from somebody that used to talk to Dubois on a regular basis back in the 00's. He is at the mercy of funding. He fights for the school's growth as a whole, not just one program. Focusing on one particular program that the state is 100% against is a purely uphill battle while expanding the energy and engineering programs have a lot of private backing. He brought football to a school that was to never have football, the sports programs (aside from basketball) have grown immensely. The board of directors for the UNC system voted down football at Charlotte so many times that most had given up hope. Charlotte was supposed to have a medical program BEFORE Dubois ever came to power, it's not his fault that it never was implimented. That blame is 100% on CMC. I originally went to UNCC on the promise that the program would be started by 2007, when I was to graduate. Halfway through my sophmore year the BOG turned down the funding to start it up and that was that.

You have to realize what the overall impact would be on the other two medical schools in the state would be. Sure, at first, it would be more desirable to go to UNC or ECU's medical schools because of their reputations, but over time Charlotte would start stealing more and more of the cream of the crop from those two schools and could, in the end, diminish their reputations and cash flow.

As I said before, Dubois can only do as much as the coffers allow. Without an immense alumni base and private healthcare funding, UNC Charlotte will never get its own medical school. It's not because of Dubois. It's not because of the city. It's because of money. Raising the tuition for football was initially completely against his agenda as he didn't think that was the right way, but he eventually bent on the matter once the demand came to a vote and students said that they would pick up the bill themselves.

My point is, do not point the blame at the man in charge if he isn't ultimately the one calling the shots. He can only fight so much before he is forced out of office. Let the man continue to grow the campus (which is still faster than any other UNC institution despite the lack of funding, might I add) and let him do his job. He is sure to retire soon enough and the next chancellor will have his own agenda which may, or may not, include a new graduate program. Do you know how many buildings there were at CRI when Dubois took over? One. Now there are nine, all with at least one graduate level program inside. If CMC wanted there to be a medical school, they have the hospital a few thousand feet away already, it wouldn't be that hard for them. Blame CMC and the UNC BOG, not Dubois.

Edit: BOG, not BOD, thanks Niner. It's been awhile.

Edited by AuLukey
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The BoG (not BoD as that doesn't exist) never voted for or against football. Chancellor Woodward didn't want it and made that very clear. There was never anything for them to vote on as support for football never even got past the chancellor. Dubois didn't want to touch the subject either, but in an age of social media, support was able to spread far more rapidly than anything Woodward ever had to deal with.

 

The BoG is slanted towards Chapel Hill for sure, but they largely don't care what each individual school does as long as they have a funding plan in place that doesn't include state funds (which athletics cannot use in NC anyway). If the school's BoT approves something, they BoG doesn't really have a track record of going against that as long as the school has a sound funding plan.

 

Also, much of the funding for the buildings that were built during Dubois' tenure was secured during Woodward's tenure. They were a part of a $400 million bond package for construction at UNC Charlotte. Dubois has done an admirable job, but he doesn't deserve credit for much of the building on campus because that was already in place before he got the job. He deserves tons of credit for the Levine Scholarship, academic programs, and corporate partnerships on CRI, however.

Edited by Niner National
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