October 2, 2003

Carolina Covenant/State of the University Speech

Carolina made major national news Wednesday and today with Chancellor Moeser's announcement about the Carolina Covenant, a new financial aid plan being launched to make the university more accessible to low-income students. Moeser, Shirley Ort, scholarships and student aid, and Jerry Lucido, enrollment management and admissions, have been interviewed by numerous national and state news media organizations. They held a news conference on campus yesterday; the chancellor announced the program in his annual State of the University speech.

Coverage highlights to date include major stories in today's New York Times, Washington Post and The Chronicle of Higher Education, along with additional coverage by the National Associated Press and USA Today (news brief in the Life section; not online). Moeser's interviews with National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" and ABC Radio are scheduled to air today. He also spent 20 minutes this afternoon on "The Dolan's," a nationally syndicated talk show program airing on WOR Radio in New York City.

North Carolina broadcast media covering the story include Associated Press, North Carolina News Network (90-plus radio stations statewide), WUNC-FM, WRAL-TV (Raleigh), WTVD-TV (Durham), WNCN-TV (Raleigh), WLFL-TV (Raleigh), News 14 (Time-Warner, Raleigh), WCHL-AM and additional stations in the Triad and beyond.

A sampling of coverage to date and related links follow:

Chapel Hill Campus to Cover All Costs for Needy Students
The New York Times
In what is believed to be a first for a public college, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill announced on Wednesday that it would cover the full costs of an education for students from families of the working poor without forcing the students to take on loans.

UNC to Pay Costs of Low-Income Students
The Washington Post
Children from low-income families will be able to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill without incurring debt in a groundbreaking program to reduce the burden of rising tuition costs, the university announced yesterday.

Chapel Hill Says It Will Meet Financial-Aid Needs of Low-Income Students With Grants, Not Loans
The Chronicle of Higher Education
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill announced plans on Wednesday to replace loans with grants for needy students, making it the first public university in the country to follow a strategy that several elite private institutions, including Harvard and Princeton Universities, have adopted in the last few years.
(Note: Available by subscription only.)

UNC Program to Help Low - Income Students
National Associated Press
The University of North Carolina will pay college costs for low-income students who work on-campus jobs in what is believed to be the nation's first such program.
AP's story also has appeared among the major national headlines on media Web sites including The Guardian, (United Kingdom) and Newsday (Long Island, N.Y.)

UNC program to cover costs for needy students
CNN.com
The University of North Carolina will pay college costs for low-income students who work on-campus jobs in what is believed to be the nation's first such program.

UNC Chancellor Announces Initiative to Help Low-Income Families
National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chancellor James Moeser announced Wednesday a groundbreaking initiative to give children of low-income families an opportunity to attend college without borrowing a penny.

UNC beckons low-income students
The News & Observer
Students from poor families will be able to attend UNC-Chapel Hill for free and incur no debt under a major financial aid initiative announced Wednesday.
Related link:
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/2915757p-2680202c.html

UNC unveils unique financial aid program
The Durham Herald-Sun
Children from low-income families will be able to graduate from Carolina without carrying any debt under a new financial aid program unveiled Wednesday.

UNC pumps up aid for neediest students
The Charlotte Observer
UNC Chapel Hill pledged Wednesday to provide enough financial aid for its lowest-income students to allow them to graduate from college debt-free.

Help For Low Income Students
North Carolina News Network
UNC-Chapel Hill has announced a new program to give more low income students the chance to attend college. Under the Carolina Covenant, qualified students who work 10 to 12 hours a week can earn debt- free diplomas. The university will pay for the student's tuition and expenses through a mix of federal, state, university and private grants and scholarships. The effort is expected to cost almost $1.4 million each year when fully phased in four years from now. UNC Chancellor James Moeser announced the covenant program during his State of the University address.

UNC Launches Program To Help Low-Income Students Attend College
WNCN-TV (NBC-Raleigh)
The University of North Carolina will pay college costs for low-income students who work on-campus jobs in what is believed to be the nation's first such program.

UNC door now open for poor
Greensboro News & Record
The children of low-income parents will get the chance to attend the state's flagship university without having to borrow a dime.

UNC plan to lighten debt load
Winston-Salem Journal
The University of North Carolina will begin this fall a program allowing children of low-income families to attend college without going into debt, officials said yesterday.

Moeser Says UNC Faces Tough Obstacles Ahead
WRAL-TV (CBS-Raleigh)
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's chancellor delivered his annual "State of the University" address Wednesday. James Moeser said UNC faces some tough obstacles.

Addressing change
The Daily Tar Heel
Chancellor James Moeser's third annual State of the University address presented no shortage of challenges for UNC, all the way down to finding a venue in which to deliver the speech itself.

New program to aid poor students
The Daily Tar Heel
Chancellor James Moeser announced a nationally groundbreaking initiative Wednesday that will allow low-income students to attend UNC and graduate debt-free within four years .

State of the University Address

UNC-Chapel Hill breaks new ground in college accessibility

What people are saying about the Carolina Covenant

Carolina Covenant coverage note

Time-Warner Cable TV will rebroadcast the chancellor's speech tonight on the University Access Channel, Channel 8, in Chapel Hill-Carrboro, at 7:30 p.m.

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Other National Coverage

Study: Southern identity on the decline as population changes
USA Today
Relaxing on the verandah of a refurbished Victorian home turned tea room, Dot Fleming nibbled coconut pie and extolled the virtues of life in the South....The researchers analyzed data from 19 polls conducted by the University of North Carolina from 1991-2001 that asked respondents if they considered themselves Southerners. The findings will be included in the article "Enough About the Disappearing South - What About the Disappearing Southerner?" as part of the fall edition of Southern Cultures, the journal of UNC's Center for the Study of the American South.

Students Get Early Start On Postgrad Job Search
The Washington Post
Paolo del Mundo said he had tuned out the noise and the competition as he stood in line at a recent University of Maryland job fair in College Park, hoping to catch the eye of the recruiter from a technology firm....Career counselors at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill report being unusually "swamped" with requests for student appointments, months before the usual start of job-hunting season.

School boards essential
Denver Post
While Colorado's 2003 ballot may not be receiving the attention that California's ballot is, voters will make some important choices, including who will sit on our local school boards....Phillip Boyle, an associate professor of government at the University of North Carolina, says it is the school board's role to try to balance four core public values that affect our public schools and our communities: liberty, prosperity, equality and community.

Other State and Local Coverage

Author leads spirited talk at UNC
The News & Observer
Ann Coulter, the conservative writer known for politically incorrect invective and irreverent wit, drew cheers, boos and occasional groans from a crowd of several hundred people Wednesday night at the UNC-Chapel Hill law school.

Commentator takes swings at liberal left
The Chapel Hill Herald
Sharp-tongued conservative commentator Ann Coulter took her usual roundhouse swings at the liberal left Wednesday, alternately eliciting applause and groans from an overflow crowd at UNC's School of Law.

DOT, UNC Propose Alternate Routes To Football Games In Chapel Hill
WRAL-TV (CBS-Raleigh)
Due to the North Carolina 54 ramp closures affecting westbound I-40 traffic, the North Carolina Department of Transportation and UNC-Chapel Hill are working together to ensure that people attending the football games in Chapel Hill on Saturday, Oct. 4, and Saturday, Oct. 18, arrive and leave as safely and efficiently as possible.

'People's Pharmacy' at 25
The News & Observer
Joe Graedon drummed on the table at Brixx Wood-Fired Pizza, after talking about upcoming shows about Hispanic health, sports medicine, allergies and childhoo obesity at a production meeting....In a studio at WUNC last week, they stood at microphones, ready to read their introduction and news.

Developers sue city over water rules
The Charlotte Observer
In a battle over Cabarrus County's growth, two developers are suing the city of Concord for forcing them to follow tighter subdivision rules in exchange for water....Richard Ducker, a planning expert at UNC Chapel Hill's Institute of Government, said other cities have used water service to enforce development requirements outside their city limits.

New N.C. law aims to foster governmental cooperation
The Triad Business Journal
Regional cooperation is alive and well in some parts of rural North Carolina, thanks to a bill passed by the state legislature that makes it easier for local governments to engage in joint real estate projects for economic development....While the Triad may have to wait for a joint project orchestrated by multiple counties, a study by the UNC-Chapel Hill Office of Economic Development has led to the beginnings of such a project....

Issues and Trends Affecting Carolina

Relatively Few Colleges Use Race in Admissions Decisions, Survey Finds
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Only about a third of American colleges consider race or ethnicity as a factor in admissions decisions, according to a survey by the National Association for College Admission Counseling.
(Note: Available by subscription only.)

ACC Announces New Schedule Formats
WRAL-TV (CBS-Raleigh)
The Atlantic Coast Conference came up with a football schedule Wednesday that forces four schools to play all three of the conference's powers in each of the next two seasons....Most of the athletic directors left when Swofford went to meet with reporters. But the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Dick Baddour said he was satisfied.

Note: If you have any questions about Carolina in the News, please call Russell Campbell at News Services, (919) 962-2091, russell_campbell@unc.edu, or Mike McFarland in University Communications, mike_mcfarland@unc.edu

Note: Web links on this page are time-sensitive, so stories might not be available after the day they first appeared.