Fresh off receiving his doctorate, chemist Joe DeSimone had plenty of offers to ply his trade in private industry. But he wanted to get into academia. But there was little interest, particularly since DeSimone hadn't done any postdoctoral research, a customary piece of the resume for young professors in the sciences.

At UNC Chapel Hill, chemist Ed Samulski saw something in DeSimone. But it took some doing. Samulski had to convince others on the chemistry faculty that DeSimone was worth the risk.

Phew.

That was back in 1990. DeSimone was hired in Chapel Hill and hasn't looked back. Now a lauded researcher and entrepreneur, DeSimone, now just 44, has established himself as a leader in his field and raised the profile of UNC-CH's already well-respected chemistry department.

And this past weekend, DeSimone became the News & Observer's Tar Heel of the Year.

Have a read.

The UNC system's governing board signed off Friday on a budget request that will ask the General Assembly for $168 million in new funding for next year.

That's about half the new money the university would have requested had the state economy been strong, officials said this week.

In explaining the budget request this week, UNC President Erskine Bowles pointed out several times how seriously he takes the state's economic situation. He called in the chancellors of all 17 public university campuses in recent weeks to spend an hour each justifying every dollar they'd asked for. None got everything they wanted.

Here's what Bowles told board members this morning:

"Some people have told me that putting forward a budget request of any size is foolhardy. But I think it's my job...to lay out this university's needs."

he continued:

"Every single item in this budget has been vetted with our chancellors. It has been pressure-tested. Every single dollar we receive, we will use as efficiently and effectively as possible."

The requested $168 million would be new money above and beyond the $3 billion that is part of the university's operating budget and funded each year.

Yesterday, I blogged here about a discussion board members had yesterday about giving higher priority to a request for $5 million over two years to set up a payroll system to look after the finances of nine campuses, some of which have run into some money problems revealed over the last year by the state auditor.

An attempt yesterday to make that item a higher priority failed. But today, with the full board voting, it succeeded. Yes, this is a lot of inside baseball, but the crux of it is this: A request for $5 million over the next two years to help the UNC system set up a payroll system and create some new accountability measures went from the last of its 10 priorities to the 4th.

Said Hannah Gage, the board's chairwoman:

"Fiscal integrity isn't an item on an agenda. It's the foundation that lets us go over there [to the legislature] with our head up high. We need to do this." 

The total budget request is attached below if you'd like to read it yourself. 

Documents:

If you slogged through my story in today's paper about the UNC system's proposed budget cuts and were confused by the ending, good job: You were paying attention.

Here's what the last two lines read, as you saw it in the paper today:

 "On campuses, department heads have long relied on vacant positions for savings. A good example: the state's last economic downturn came several years ago in the years following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

In 2003-04, the UNC system faced permanent cuts of 3 percent, leading to the elimination of 378 jobs across the state."

What was cut from the story was the following line, which made all of that make sense. What it said was that of those 378 jobs eliminated four years ago, only 11 were filled at the time. Meaning, while the university system lost funding for 378 positions, most of those were vacant at the time so only 11 people were actually out of work.

Sorry for the confusion.

Academic performance at North Carolina's public schools dropped significantly last year, and many school leaders say a higher standard for reading is the culprit.

Reading exams were tougher last year and the state raised its performance expectations for those tests as well. As a result, school officials say, fewer students met the state's new goals.

UNC system President Erskine Bowles and Scott Ralls, president of the state's community college system, nonetheless are hailing the state's higher standards today, saying it will only lead to brighter students.

Here's what they said:

"We commend the State Board of Education's efforts to raise performance standards for North Carolina students. North Carolina competes in a knowledge-based global economy, and the expectations set by our state's education systems must reflect the increased knowledge and skills required to be successful in today's workforce. 

Both the University of North Carolina and the N.C. Community Colleges have made improving retention and graduation rates our top priorities. Together with steps we are taking within our respective systems, the State Board's commitment to rigorous standards for students will lead to increasing numbers of North Carolina students finding success at our community colleges and universities. This is the right agenda for our students and our state." 

During UNC system governance board meetings Thursday and Friday, UNC system President Erskine Bowles gave blistering status reports on his investigation into the saga surrounding N.C. Central University and its unauthorized satellite campus in Lithonia, Ga. 

It is jarring to realize that NCCU is on the hook for the federal financial aid money it distributed to students in the program. Bowles is clearly not happy with the situation. I've posted some of his comments in other forums, but here is a transcript of exactly what he said Friday morning during a full board meeting of the UNC system's Board of Governors.

He did not mince words.