Recent editorials from North Carolina newspapers:
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Nov. 11
The Greensboro News & Record on serving veterans:
What we say about those who serve in our armed forces is one thing.
What we do, all too often, is another.
That became painfully clear in the case of “patriotic” tributes to the military at National Football League games that turned out to be paid advertising. For pre-game jet flyovers and majestic unfurlings of Old Glory, tearful reunions and even some performances of the national anthem, a multibillion-dollar business, the NFL, was sending the military a bill.
As were teams in other professional sports. Since 2012, the Department of Defense spent $6.8 million for “sports marketing activities,” according to a report commissioned by Republican Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake of Arizona. Among those for whom supporting the troops paid handsomely were the Atlanta Falcons, who received $879,000; the Atlanta Braves ($450,000), the Buffalo Bills ($650,000) and, ironically, the New England Patriots ($700,000). Closer to home, the Carolina Panthers weren’t mentioned in the 145-page report, but the Charlotte Hornets were. The team contends that the $25,000 it received from the Air Force was strictly for recruitment activities, not for an on-court ceremony swearing in new recruits.
The NFL has said its teams will refund what they were paid. But these “ceremonies” point out, with embarrassing clarity, how wide the chasm can be between civilians and those who pay the cost for military service - some with their lives.
An Iraq infantry veteran questioned the prefab displays themselves and wondered whether they have become feel-good substitutes for sober discussions about war. “These manufactured displays can have the unfortunate side effect of anesthetizing the American public as our leaders again consider committing more troops to war without well-defined objectives,” Will Bardenwerper wrote in a Washington Post op-ed Monday.
When we say thank you, it should be from the heart, not packaged and sold like toothpaste or fast food. And it should come in tangible programs and services that help our veterans resume productive lives as civilians. For instance, a worthy proposal by U.S. Rep. Alma Adams of Greensboro would provide veterans with tax credits to start their own businesses. Sustained attention to the VA health system, which has been plagued by scandalous delays in medical appointments, also would make a substantive difference.
A survey released Tuesday by Disabled American Veterans found that only 18 percent believe they have received the benefits they were promised; 59 percent say civilians don’t understand what veterans have experienced. Nearly two-thirds who have fought in recent wars say their military qualifications don’t translate smoothly to civilian job opportunities.
But here’s the rub: The survey also says the majority of veterans still see the value in serving their country and would do it again.
For that we should thank you. And really mean it.
Online:
https://www.greensboro.com/
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Nov. 7
The Daily Reflector of Greenville on university chancellor pay:
On the radar of tax and tuition dollars flowing through North Carolina’s 17 public university campuses, the salary increases announced last week for 12 chancellors hardly register as a blip on the screen. Aside from the backroom-nature of the bonuses being offensive to taxpayers, their timing is an across-the-board head-scratcher.
The Board of Governors’ market-based explanation for the raises would be more palatable if other state employees, including university faculty, were not simultaneously being placated with a one-time $750 bonus in lieu of any significant pay increase since 2008.
The increase for East Carolina’s outgoing Chancellor Steve Ballard amounts to $63,000, bringing his annual pay to $385,000. Many faculty and staff members question why Ballard should receive a golden parachute while they are being left on the ground.
ECU has grown and prospered under Ballard during difficult times. No one can deny that he has earned his salary, but the increase is not a reward for a job well done. The increase is not even about Ballard. It is about the power to attract highly qualified and talented university heads and convince those in place to remain.
Pumping up chancellor salaries while rank-and-file pay remains stagnant is further reflective of the big-business mentality increasingly associated with public universities. That trend is moving the UNC system further and further from its constitutional mandate that “the benefits of the University of North Carolina and other public institutions of higher education, as far as practicable, be extended to the people of the state free of expense.”
It is true that average tuition rates among UNC schools remain a bit lower than the national average. That status, however, does not reflect sustainability when tuition rates in North Carolina have increased at a faster pace than the national average.
A backroom deal to reverse that trend would be most welcome.
According to a report released in May by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, tuition among North Carolina’s public universities has increased 35.8 percent since the onset of the Great Recession in 2008. During the same period, the national average for tuition increases at four-year public universities was 29 percent. State spending per student in North Carolina decreased during the period by 23.4 percent compared to the national average of 20 percent, the report said.
These are the national-average comparisons most troubling to students and families seeking higher education in North Carolina. They should be the most troubling to the UNC Board of Governors.
Online:
https://www.reflector.com/
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Nov. 4
The Star-News of Wilmington on the University of North Carolina Wilmington:
Fifty years ago, Wilmington College was just starting to grant bachelor’s degrees as it made the transition from a junior to senior college. Half a century later and now the University of North Carolina Wilmington, the school is adding two new doctoral degrees, which will see students graduate with the highest academic credentials in their field.
In this case, both fields are in human services — psychology and nursing. At its October meeting, the UNC Board of Governors approved programs leading to Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology and Doctor of Nursing Practice degrees.
Alongside a Ph.D in marine biology and Ed.D in educational leadership, the addition means UNCW will now offer four doctoral-level degrees, all in areas that have a particular application for our state and region.
There is a critical shortage of psychologists across the state, and UNCW’s degree will focus on “developing expertise in underserved areas such as substance abuse treatment, developmental disabilities, dementia and mental health in the correctional system,” according to a news release.
With a continually shifting landscape in the delivery of primary health care, nurse practitioners are expected to be in high demand as rural and other areas look to providers other than medical doctors. Nurse practitioners and physician assistants have become quite common in the delivery of health care, and are especially important as more medical students opt to enter specialized fields, leading to a likely shortage of primary care physicians.
While UNCW already offers a degree for nurse practitioners, the doctorate degree will offer even more advanced training for jobs such as medical-practice leadership and administration.
The doctorate in psychology will train students at the highest levels in the field and prepare them for careers that go beyond the scope of a psychology master’s degree.
Both programs are expected to be accepting students for the 2016 fall semester.
Adding the two doctoral programs is in keeping with UNCW’s mission of providing a full range of undergraduate and master’s programs and doctorate degrees in select areas.
With its roots as a post-World War II extension college of UNC Chapel Hill with 250 students, today UNCW has nearly 15,000 students. While the political wranglings of the UNC system have made headlines recently, it’s important to remember that UNCW blossomed from a very-grassroots beginning. Local folks felt so strongly about having higher education available that they voted for a tax levy to fund the school, which was under the auspices of the New Hanover County Board of Education.
Men like John T. Hoggard, William Randall and William Wagoner were instrumental in providing leadership as the school made the transition to a full-fledged university.
But the people of New Hanover County, too, should take great pride in the support they have given UNCW since its inception.
Without that support in 1946 and continuing to this very day, UNCW would not have sailed to such great heights.
Online: https://www.starnewsonline.com/
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