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The Quad is still in soft-launch mode, but we wanted to make sure you got our latest higher ed story, published this week in collaboration with The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Earlier this year, leaders at UNC-Greensboro approved a recommendation to cut 20 programs, mostly in the College of Arts and Sciences. As many as 42 faculty members across those departments could be affected, and a number of degrees and departments are being eliminated entirely.
The cuts came after a so-called academic-portfolio review, through which schools essentially ask: What parts of a college make money, and which parts don’t?
In UNCG’s case, they called in the consulting firm rpk GROUP for an outside perspective and data expertise. Rpk and firms like it have built a lucrative business atop colleges’ inability—or unwillingness—to answer that question for themselves.
Reporters Erin Gretzinger and David Jesse dug deep on the cuts at UNCG, the consulting firms called in to help, and what they could mean for other schools.
‘Nobody Knows Where the Line Is’
When cost-cutting universities hire consultants, who’s really making the decisions? UNC-Greensboro offers a case study.
“We know your campuses will not be the only campuses we have this conversation with,” said Sonja Phillips Nichols, a member of UNC’s Board of Governors, after a July meeting where the cuts were officially approved. “Moving forward, we’re gonna have to do this on every single campus. I’m hoping everybody else is getting ready for this very hard, but very necessary, road that we need to travel.”
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Coming Next Week
By now you’ve probably heard about Flagstock—the concert and “rager” planned to “celebrate UNC’s patriots.” Slated for Labor Day, the event is the result of a $515,000 GoFundMe that conservative operatives organized last spring after fraternity brothers in Chapel Hill who guarded the U.S. flag amid protests over the war in Gaza.
“Commie losers across the country have invaded college campuses to make dumb demands of weak University Administrators,” organizers proclaimed on the GoFundMe page. “But amidst the chaos, the screaming, the anti-semitism, the hatred of faith and flag, stood a platoon of American heroes. Armored in Vineyard Vines and Patagonia, fueled by Zyn and White Claws, these triumphant Brohemians protected Old Glory from the unwashed Marxist horde—laughing at their shrieks and wails and shielding the Stars & Stripes from Soviet missiles.”
Well, party time is almost here, but there are still a lot of questions, including: How are they spending the half a million dollars? What’s up with group behind the effort, Pints for Patriots? Do college students actually want to see Lee Greenwood perform?
And most importantly, perhaps: Where is this party even going to be held?
The press release says “registered media will receive embargoed directions to the site on the day of the event,” and that the location “is within a reasonable radius of Chapel Hill.”
UNC officials have told The Quad that it’s not going to be held on campus. Chapel Hill town officials told us they have no information about the party happening within town limits. And a representative from the American Legion, which was rumored to be the location, told us they know nothing about the party and that “Labor Day is a relaxing family day for our members. Good luck in your search.”
A press conference on Wednesday revealed why the location is being kept under wraps. John Rich, of the duo Big & Rich, said it was to mitigate the possibility of a “massive protest” and avoid “possible dramatic situations that put people in harm’s way.”
A Flagstock spokesperson said they’ve distributed 6,000 to 7,000 invites, including to all UNC-CH Greek life organizations and ROTC members. The 10 fraternities that GoFundMe organizers determined were at the flag event will receive “VIP” passes and an additional “block” of invites to bring whoever they’d like. The organizers said they expect 3,000 to 4,000 people to attend.
“Honestly, we’ve kind of been enamored by the whole mystique of everything that’s going to be happening,” said Jason Calderon, a Zeta Beta Tau member. “Everyone has expectations for it, but we’re all kind of trying to keep that level of surprise a little bit.”
We’re planning to be there, but if you have any hot tips email Erin at erin@theassemblync.com.
What We’re Reading
Out of the Shadows: The N&O looks at how UNC School of the Arts alumni pushed the school’s sex abuse history into the spotlight.
Up in Smoke: It’s been years since UNC-Chapel Hill promised to phase out coal at its campus power plant, but Triangle Blog Blog reports that they are now looking to test burning pellets made of cellulose and plastic.
Farmer’s Almanac of the Future: WUNC checks out how artificial intelligence is changing agriculture programs at N.C. A&T and helping farmers: It’s “going to save their time, save their money and then it’s going to help them grow crops sustainably.”
Recent Higher Ed Stories
The Closure of ‘PCB Hall’ Reflects Problems Across UNC System
NCSU’s shuttering of Poe Hall has raised concerns about exposure to hazardous substances in aging buildings across the 16-campus system.
What Lee Roberts’ Interim Months Tell Us About How He’ll Lead UNC-Chapel Hill
The well-connected finance executive has been named the next chancellor. Here’s what people have made of his eight-month tenure as interim.
NCSU’s Randy Woodson Announces Retirement
Woodson stayed nearly three times longer than most college leaders. Now the UNC System must undertake yet another chancellor search.
North Carolina A&T Names Its Next Leader
The UNC System Board of Governors has selected James R. Martin II as the new leader of the country’s largest HBCU.
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