Blog - Public Ed Works

April 6, 2023 by Higher Ed Works Leave a Comment

RALEIGH (April 6, 2023) – There’s no shortage of people who want to be nurses. But there is a shortage of people to turn them into nurses – and as a result, a shortage of nurses in North Carolina. The budget proposal the state House approved today tries to address that shortage by providing millions… READ MORE

March 30, 2023 by Higher Ed Works Leave a Comment

RALEIGH (March 30, 2023) – The 2023-25 state budget rolled out this week by Republicans in the state House makes steps in the right direction on a number of fronts, but chiefly teacher pay. But this state can do better. It’s only the beginning in the budget process – the state Senate still needs to… READ MORE

March 23, 2023 by Higher Ed Works 3 Comments

EDITOR’S NOTE: North Carolina faces a crisis in student mental health; there have been five student suicides at NC State University alone this academic year. System President Peter Hans delivered these remarks to the UNC Board of Governors on Feb. 23. He delivered them again Tuesday, disclosing his own struggles with depression, to almost 400 administrators,… READ MORE

March 23, 2023 by Higher Ed Works 1 Comment

RALEIGH (March 23, 2023) – Now we’ve joined some fine company. The General Assembly’s Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations asked the UNC System last week for an exhaustive inventory of employee training programs and costs across the system’s 17 campuses “which cover the subject matters of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (‘DEIA’) or other… READ MORE

March 23, 2023 by Higher Ed Works Leave a Comment

CHAPEL HILL (March 23, 2023) – The chair of UNC-Chapel Hill’s trustees isn’t backing down from a new School of Civic Life and Leadership – or a new policy that forbids university officials to ask applicants about their positions on political issues. But he doesn’t say how the university can do both at the same… READ MORE

March 16, 2023 by Higher Ed Works 1 Comment

RALEIGH (March 16, 2023) – News Item: State Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler told a state House committee last week that he needs at least $7 million to increase pay in his department. Troxler, a popular Republican, told legislators his 2,033-person agency has 278 vacancies, and those vacancies are increasingly hard to fill. Even when jobs… READ MORE

March 16, 2023 by Higher Ed Works 2 Comments

WINSTON-SALEM (March 16, 2023) – Forsyth Technical Community College President Janet Spriggs has 36 vacancies among her faculty to fill – far more than usual this time of year. And six of those positions have been vacant more than a year. Forsyth Tech has lost 58 of its 320 full-time faculty members to industry and… READ MORE

March 16, 2023 by Higher Ed Works Leave a Comment

RALEIGH (March 16, 2023) – And to further diversify the UNC Board of Governors, the NC Senate offers (drum roll, please): Two more white male Republican former legislators. A state Senate committee unveiled the chamber’s nominees for the Board of Governors this week. It includes four current members – Temple Sloan III, Michael Williford, Mark… READ MORE

March 8, 2023 by Higher Ed Works 2 Comments

WINSTON-SALEM (March 8, 2023) – While there are always differing opinions about how much teachers should be paid, I believe most North Carolinians agree that having quality teachers in every classroom is important, our students need to perform better, and teachers should be paid more. I wrote a short piece for Higher Ed Works last… READ MORE

March 8, 2023 by Higher Ed Works 1 Comment

By Paul FultonSpecial to The PilotMarch 6, 2023 In response to Connie Lovell’s column Feb. 25 (“New UNC School Will Give Students Critical Thinking Skills Needed in Life”): The notion of adding conservative faculty at UNC-Chapel Hill is a popular one, given public perceptions. However, my own grandchildren who have graduated from Chapel Hill tell… READ MORE