By Stephanie Mahin, PhD and James H. Johnson, Jr., PhD “I need workers who can groove on ambiguity and keep the alligators off my back!” — sanitized quote from a major firm CEO. CHAPEL HILL (November 13, 2025) – In today’s polarized, uncertain, and resource-constrained environment, colleges and universities face a convergence of challenges: declining… READ MORE
Goldstein: Tenure keeps universities afloat and makes them great
By Buck Goldstein The need to explain academic tenure, often characterized as lifelong employment, never seems to go away. But recently, as American higher education comes under unprecedented attack, friends and colleagues repeatedly ask me to explain why tenure is a cost-efficient mechanism for recruiting, compensating and retaining the university’s most important asset. For a… READ MORE
Vouchers: The privatization of NC public schools
By Don Martin and David Rice RALEIGH (May 5, 2023) – News Item: Average teacher pay in North Carolina public schools ranks 34th in the nation this school year, up from 36th last year. And North Carolina ranks 46th in starting teacher pay.1 How’s that for North Carolina pride? Let’s hear it for 34th! And… READ MORE
Cooper’s proposed budget: Long-overdue investments
RALEIGH (March 31, 2021) – Gov. Roy Cooper’s proposed state budget for 2021-23 would award long-overdue raises to educators and put a $4.7 billion bond issue on the ballot to pay for capital projects across North Carolina’s education systems. As State Budget Director Charles Perusse noted, the governor’s proposal is just the first inning in… READ MORE
Budget stokes “engine of opportunity for every North Carolinian”
RALEIGH – Raises for public school teachers and state employees are welcome, as is money to accommodate growing numbers of university students. So higher education leaders praised the 2018-19 state budget adopted last week by the NC General Assembly. The budget “builds on the UNC System’s strongest budget in a decade and provides an additional… READ MORE
Rural broadband can help close the “homework gap”
RALEIGH (May 29, 2018) – The NC Rural Center hears regularly from rural parents who park outside a local library or fast-food joint until 9 or 10 p.m. on weeknights – just so their children can get a WiFi signal and do their homework. “They’ve got a laptop…. They just don’t have that Internet,” declared… READ MORE
Show us your budget
RALEIGH – With the opening today of the NC General Assembly’s 2018 session, the focus will be on thousands of teachers from across the state rallying for better pay, supplies and working conditions – in short, for respect for public education.1 But more important will be the budget state legislators leave behind the day they adjourn… READ MORE
People without jobs, jobs without people
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – At a recent education conference sponsored by the NC Chamber, several speakers repeated a catchy statement to describe North Carolina’s skills gap: We have people without jobs and jobs without people. There’s little doubt education is the answer to both. Yet University of North Carolina President Margaret Spellings cited a poll… READ MORE
North Carolina’s professional pipeline
Even if you never enroll as a student, higher education touches your life. Think about it: Physicians, pharmacists, nurses, dentists, law enforcement, firefighters, EMTs – and of course, teachers – all make a difference in our lives. And they all need varying degrees of training. In many cases, that training comes from our public colleges… READ MORE
A budget that treads water
RALEIGH – At best, we’re treading water. An analysis of the budget state legislators approved in June reveals that when broken down per student, university spending is still nowhere near pre-recession levels and will essentially remain flat for the next two years. Yes, it’s true legislators provided more money than ever for our public universities… READ MORE
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