At NCSU: student right, textbook wrong
Submitted by eferreri on 11/02/2009 - 10:32Well, this should help the old resume.
David Babson, an N.C. State student, just got published in a scholarly physics journal. Wait, isn't that what his professors are supposed to do?
Here's what happened: Two years ago, Babson was working through a problem in his electromagnetism textbook and just couldn't figure out how to get the answer the book was telling him was correct.
That's because the book was wrong. The problem concerning a basics physics principle was flawed.
Here's Babson's story.
NCSU's Oblinger reflects, looks forward
Submitted by eferreri on 10/29/2009 - 08:49There was a week earlier this year when all James Oblinger wanted to do was celebrate success. For the N.C. State Chancellor, there were three groundbreakings that week marking the start of significant new construction project on campus, each of which would eventually yield something good for NCSU.
Yet those ceremonial events all took place as the heat around Oblinger grew. He now calls it "the swirl," a frenzy of media activity surrounding the actions he and others took in hiring former First Lady Mary Easley for a job that didn't exist before she was placed in it.
It was during that week that Oblinger realized he had to step down.
"I never got a question about how great it was for the university," he said of the groundbreakings that week. "The only questions were about the situation. That meant I was overshadowing a lot of great work. I had never planned on anything other than retiring as chancellor at N.C. State University."
Since resigning June 9, Oblinger has stayed largely out of the public eye. But he's now in the running for a new job - the presidency of New Mexico State University - and he knows he'll be facing some tough questions there.
He already has, in fact, and the folks doing the interviews seem pleased with what they've heard. He'll be down there in November for campus interviews, and the university expects to make a decision Nov. 19.
"We're aware of the situation that happened at N.C. State," Del Archuleta, who is chairing the New Mexico State search, told me this morning. "But he's extremely experienced, very professional. He appeared a very sincere man and very qualified. It looks to us like an unfortunate set of circumstances. He told us mistakes were made and things were learned from it."
In an interview Wednesday, Oblinger spoke at length about how he's spent the last four months since resigning the chancellorship. He has been on leave, and thus has had time to both reflect on his actions and to re-tool and prepare for his next venture, as an NCSU faculty member.
But when the New Mexico State job came up, it sounded to him like a good fit.
Here's today's story from that interview.
Oblinger may have new job lined up
Submitted by eferreri on 10/28/2009 - 12:25James Oblinger, the former N.C. State chancellor who resigned earlier this year amid questions over his handling of the hiring of former First lady Mary Easley and other issues, is a finalist for another top university gig.
Oblinger is one of five finalists for the presidency of the New Mexico State University system.
Oblinger's departure at NCSU was an ugly one. He resigned as questions mounted over his handling of Easley's hiring and of the departure package he okayed for Provost Larry Nielsen.
Months after his resignation, the UNC system's Board of Governors even reduced the amount of pay he received in his own settlement.
And yet, he's not the New Mexico State candidate with the freshest wounds. That would be another of the five announced finalists, Richard Herman.
Herman resigned as chancellor of the University of Illinois just last week, embroiled in a scandal related to his university's admissions process.
Happy Anniversary, Centennial Campus
Submitted by eferreri on 10/23/2009 - 09:22Has it been 25 years already?
N.C. State's Centennial Campus is celebrating its 25th birthday today. Among the activities: a groundbreaking for a new library.
Jay Price reports.
NCSU fires alumni chief
Submitted by eferreri on 10/13/2009 - 08:03The head of N.C. State's alumni association is out of a job.
NCSU Chancellor James Woodward has sacked Lennie Barton, who has led the association since 2003.
NCSU is the state's largest university, with more than 32,000 students. But it's alumni membership hasn't grow over the last few years, hovering around 22,000 paying members.
By contrast, the UNC Chapel Hill alumni association, which is much older, boasts about 70,000 members.
But was there another reason for Barton's firing?
Jay Price reports.
N.C. State arts center re-opens
Submitted by rjbrueckner on 09/11/2009 - 19:21
NCSU grant to aid Latino academic success
Submitted by eferreri on 09/10/2009 - 03:00N.C. State University has snared a $50,000 grant for a program aimed at increasing retention and graduation rates of incoming and current Latino students.
NCSU is one of 20 colleges and universities to receive the grant, which comes from the non-profit Excelencia in Education organization and supported by the Walmart Foundation.
The program "aims to accelerate Latino student success by refining and replicating model educational programs that are proven to advance Latino achievement in two-year and four-year colleges," according to a press release. "The long-term goal of the project is to increase the use of these effective programs for the country’s fast-growing Latino college age population."
Semillas is the Spanish word for seeds. It also stands for Seeding Educational Models that Impact and Leverage Latino Academic Success.
According to the US Census Bureau, Latino young adults are less likely to have earned an associate degree or higher than other young adults. In 2008, eight percent of Latinos 18 to 24 years-of-age had earned a degree, compared to 14 percent of all young adults, according to the news release.
Latino adults, 25 years and over, were also less likely to have earned an associate degree or higher than other adults, with 19 percent of Latinos earning a degree, compared with 29 percent of blacks, 39 percent of whites, and 59 percent of Asians. Meanwhile, census projections estimate that Latinos will be 22 percent of the nation’s college-age population by 2020.
At NCSU, a series of chancellor search forums today
Submitted by eferreri on 08/26/2009 - 10:06If you have an opinion about who the next chancellor should be at N.C. State, today would be a good day to head to campus.
NCSU is holding a series of forums today to gather input on the chancellor search. The university is seeking a replacement for James Oblinger, who as you may recall, stepped down earlier this summer as questions arose over his involvement in the hiring of former First Lady Mary Easley.
Forums for faculty, students and staff will be held starting at 12:30 today at Stewart Theatre.
An evening forum for alums and other folks interested in the process will be held at 6 p.m. at the McKimmon Center.
Here's more information.
Behind the scenes of an NCSU commercial
Submitted by eferreri on 08/21/2009 - 10:03Over at N.C. State, some folks were shooting new commercials for the university, and they had the good idea to also put together a short video about what happens behind the scenes.
It features director Sasha Levinson, actor PJ King and NCSU alum Geoffrey Hunter.
Check it out.
Former chancellor Oblinger gets a pay cut
Submitted by eferreri on 08/14/2009 - 13:22Former N.C. State University Chancellor James Oblinger just got a pay cut.
Oblinger, who resigned in early June amid revelations over his role in the hiring of former First Lady Mary Easley, had until today [Friday] been earning his full administrative salary - $420,000 annually, or $35,000 a month.
Under an agreement he forged with UNC system President Erskine Bowles when he resigned, he was to receive that full salary for six months before returning to the faculty at a lower wage.
But the UNC system's Board of Governors voted Friday to scale his pay back immediately. He will now earn $173,000 annually, a salary commensurate with other members of the NCSU faculty. He will teach food science.
"This is absolutely an appropriate salary, and after such a careful process I am completely comfortable with it," said James Woodward, NCSU's interim chancellor.
The UNC system board's vote was split, with 17 members voting for the change and 10 voting against it. Many who opposed the change said they did so in support of Bowles' decision.
The change in salary over the four months that Oblinger would have received his full pay amounts to about $82,000.
"I think the board acknowledged [Oblinger's] enormous contributions but felt there needed to be consequences for some things that went terribly wrong," said Hannah Gage, the UNC system board's chairwoman. "I think everyone is glad to put this behind us."
Oblinger resigned as chancellor in early June after admitting to Bowles that he had played a role in the university's hiring of former state First Lady Mary Easley in 2005.
Oblinger had long maintained that he wasn't involved, and in his resignation letter wrote that he had simply forgotten his involvement and hadn't intentionally done anything wrong.
Oblinger could not be reached Friday.
For more on this story, read Saturday's News & Observer.
