UNC's Thorp stands by Bain hiring

UNC Chapel Hill Chancellor Holden Thorp is standing by his recent hiring of an outside consultant that will look for ways for the university to cut its budget.

The consultant is being paid for by an anonymous private donor, and the university has not said how much the firm is being paid. At a community meeting Monday, Thorp fielded several questions about the Bain contract, eventually pointing out that because of the anonymous nature of the gift funding the study, he can't say as much as people want him to about it.

He said in part: 

"It was offered to us under the terms we accepted, which I understand not everybody is wild about. I felt, and I still feel it gives us the opportunity to come up with some ideas...it might provide additional insight that we might not otherwise get. And it doesn't cost the university a thing."

Thorp has made public some of the documentation laying out the work Bain will do for the university. Two of those documents are attached to this blog post.

 You can read a full accounting of today's community meeting in Wednesday's Chapel Hill News. For now, a couple tidbits:

• A $445,000 employee assistance fund for workers who may be laid off has been funded in this way: $100,000 from the athletic department; $70,000 from the cancellation of the annual Tar Heel Bus Tour; $250,000 from a private gift; and $25,000 from a private gift from Thorp and his wife.

Also - During his comments, Thorp mentioned commencement when discussing events that may be nixed in order to save money. What he meant, according to a university spokesman, was that a Polk Place reception that traditionally follows the May commencement has been cut, but not commencement itself.

Documents: