Author Profile

Martin Center Staff

Articles by Martin Center Staff

Mar 12, 2007 ·

Duke Brings Coherence to Curriculum, Says Policy Report from Pope Center

Two academic programs at Duke University are helping
undergraduates experience a well-rounded education and could be copied by other universities.

This is the message of a new report from the Pope Center for Higher Education Policy, “The Decline and Revival of Liberal Learning at Duke: The Focus and Gerst Programs,” by Russell K. Nieli.

Duke is responding to a problem that afflicts many universities: There is no longer a “core curriculum. “
Students round out their education by selecting courses that meet loose “distribution requirements,”
but the resulting education can be fragmented, limited, and incoherent.

·

Executive Summary: The Decline and Revival of Liberal Learning at Duke: The Focus and Gerst Programs

Duke University grew from a small liberal arts college founded before the Civil War into a major national university by the 1960s. Throughout those years, the school (named Trinity College until 1924) was known for its solid, traditional curriculum and its opposition to the racism that was prevalent across most of the South. Unfortunately, Duke was badly affected by the student upheavals of the 1960s and 70s. Catering to students’ demands for greater control over their education, the university abandoned its old core curriculum in favor of a loose “distribution requirements” system, thereby discarding the idea that certain subjects are vital to a well-rounded education.

Feb 23, 2007 ·

Pope Conference Scheduled

The Pope Center will hold its annual conference on higher education, “Building Excellence into American Higher Education, on Saturday, October 27, 2007, at the Hilton Raleigh-Durham Airport at Research Triangle Park.

The keynote speaker will be Harry Lewis, former dean of Harvard College and author of “Excellence Without a Soul: How a Great University Forgot Education.”

·

Legislature Should View “EARN” Scholarship with Caution

Responding to Governor Mike Easley’s plan to provide tuition-free college for two years, Shannon Blosser of the Pope Center for Higher Education Policy said, “The legislature should view this program very cautiously. It could create an expensive entitlement for students that will put heavy burdens on taxpayers.”

“It seems to be more of an effort by the governor to leave an education legacy than a sound program for students and taxpayers,” said Blosser. “Most of the students who will benefit will be students who have already been planning to go to college – and preparing for it academically and financially.”

Governor Easley’s “EARN” initiative (Education Access Rewards North Carolina) would allocate $150 million over the next two fiscal years to cover scholarships in the University of North Carolina system. The scholarships, at $4,000 per year, would cover two years of college. They would dovetail into the existing Learn and Earn program, which allows high school students to attend a community college while still in high school and complete an associate’s degree in one year after high school at no charge.

Feb 16, 2007 ·

Walter Williams to speak in Chapel Hill

Syndicated columnist and George Mason University Professor of Economics Walter Williams will deliver a speech on the campus of UNC-Chapel Hill on February 26.

Williams’ talk is entitled “The Legitimate Role of Government in Society.” He will deliver the speech at UNC-Chapel Hill’s School of Law, at 100 Ridge Road in Chapel Hill inRoom 5042, on Monday, Feb. 26, at 7 p.m. The UNC-Chapel Hill College Republicans and the UNC-Chapel Hill Federalist Society are jointly sponsoring the event.

Williams is also a member of the Academic Advisory Committee of the Pope Center for Higher Education Policy.

Dec 15, 2006 ·

Bi-Weekly Notebook

RALEIGH – The North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities is pushing to extend the state’s Legislative Tuition Grant program to part-time students. Hope Williams, president of the association of non-profit private colleges in the state, made the appeal at a meeting of the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee in December.

The legislative tuition grant (called NCLTG) is a popular state program that has been in effect since 1975. In the 2006 short legislative session, the General Assembly raised the maximum grant per student from $1,800 to $1,900 per year.

The NCLTG program was created primarily to bolster private schools rather than provide financial aid. Even before the NCLTG program was created, the General Assembly adopted a need-based financial grant program for private education, the State Contractual Scholarship Fund program. That program continues today, but pays out less — $33. 7 million to colleges, compared with $48.1 million through the NCLTG program.

Dec 14, 2006 ·

Report on Women’s Studies Shows Weaknesses of Five UNC Campuses

RALEIGH- In recent days several professors have disparaged the Pope Center for Higher Education Policy and its research. One paper in particular came under fire from Catherine Warren, head of the Women’s and Gender Studies and North Carolina State University. According to a press report, Dr. Warren called it “inane crap” and said it was riddled with inaccuracies.

The Pope Center stands by its study, “A Room of One’s Own,” by Melana Zyla Vickers. “The paper is a careful analysis of the women’s studies programs at the five campuses offering these programs,” says Jane S. Shaw, executive vice president of the Pope Center. The paper, originally issued March 30, 2005, is available here.

Dec 1, 2006 ·

Bi-Weekly Notebook

RALEIGH – North Carolina Community College System leaders could be paving the way for a future bond referendum with their current budget request.

Leaders discussed the possibility of a bond referendum when approving, in November, a $1.11 billion budget request for the 2007-09 biennium. That budget request also seeks an additional $1.35 billion for capital needs. Vice President for Business and Finance Kennon Briggs admitted that the budget is large and may be unrealistic. Briggs did not say how much a possible bond would be or when the system would attempt a bond package.

“We have to state our case now and continue to pound the message,” Briggs said.

Nov 17, 2006 ·

Bi-Weekly Notebook

RALEIGH – University of North Carolina President Erskine Bowles maintained his image of business-like efficiency when he spoke before the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee on Nov. 15. Although his chief purpose was to describe the details of the 6.5 percent tuition cap, he made other points about the university administration’s commitment to efficiency, transparency, and accountability. For one, he said that the university has clarified its priorities. Budget requests for the upcoming year take up 32 pages, compared with 347 or 348 last year. Financial aid and faculty salaries top the priorities list.

Nov 3, 2006 ·

Higher Education Notebook

Increasing faculty salaries was the second-highest budget priority out of 11 presented to the Board of Governors’ Committee on Budget and Finance October 12. The administration plans to seek funds from the 2007 legislature to boost faculty salaries, on average, to the 80th percentile of their peers. This would mean adding $43.9 million in 2007-08 and the same amount for 2008-09. The $87.8 total would be in addition to 4 per cent merit-based increases, which will add up to $136 million for the two-year period, plus a proposed $2 million for distinguished professorships.

These numbers come from a “draft for discussion purposes only” list of priorities presented at the meeting and could change. The top priority is need-based financial aid, with a total proposed request for such aid $53.6 million. Other high priorities include $1.75 million for the “Academic Summer Bridge” program for students not ready to enter as freshmen, funds for University of North Carolina Online ($10 million over two years), and a variety of research projects totaling $59 million for 2007-8 and $29.6 million for 2008-09.