Minnie Sangster, N.C. Central University's new faculty chairwoman, thinks a lot of students who arrive at NCCU aren't ready yet. Not prepared, academically. Not the proper study habits, not the proper focus.

And that, she says, may be a big reason for lagging retention and graduation rates. The answer: More resources so faculty can teach in smaller classes and give more individual attention.

Here's more.

Glenn Adams knows N.C. Central University needs higher standards and better retention and graduation rates.

But as the new chair of NCCU's Board of Trustees, Adams also doesn't want a cookie-cutter approach where all public universities are evaluated in the same way.

Adams, of Fayetteville, is a criminal lawyer who received his bachelor's degree from N.C. State University in 1981 and his law degree from NCCU in 1984.

He talked with the N&O recently about his new role as head of the trustee board and what he sees as the key issues.

Here are excerpts:

So what's first on your priority list for NCCU?

N.C. Central University's theater department will soon open its new season with "Slappin' God in the Face," a gospel musical. It's written by theater professor Stephanie Howard, who wrote it earlier this year in hopes of examining Jesus Christ from a different perspective.

She spoke with us recently. Here are excerpts.

So, a catchy title.

I take it from the view of the people who conspired against him and even the people who supported him, turned against him. I try to illustrate that in the play, the people who he healed and preached to and showed kindness to, and they turned on him. So, those kinds of things I'm trying to hype up.

 Is this an angle you've thought a lot about, personally?

It is. I try to keep some of the usual thoughts intact, but at the same time I want to approach some things people don't think about. I call them the 'what if's'. Like, what if Judas didn't really know he was betraying Jesus or didn't know the betrayal would lead to the crucifixion?

I try to intrude on the thoughts of characters like Judas and Mary Magdalene. I wanted to show other views of Jesus. Almost the angry Jesus when he's attacking the pharisees and attacking their political system, basically. They're all about the jewish law and making sure everything is done through the law, but not living it. Jesus becomes a threat to their whole political system by taking away their popularity and people aren't respecting their authority. So I want us to see that Jesus is this kind Jesus that we often see, but I want to show that he can get very angry.

Do you consider the play controversial?

That's what Leo Willingham is asking this week in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

And apparently, the question has struck a nerve because the website forum got so popular a second page was set up.

Have your say here.

The board of trustees at N.C. Central University has a new chairman.

Glenn Adams, a Fayetteville attorney, succeeds Kay Thomas. Charles Baron, who has served the board for four years, is the vice-chairman. And Dwight Perry, a two-year board veteran, is the new secretary.

The board welcomes three new members this week. They are: Harold T. Epps, Jr., Paul R. Pope, Jr., and Student Government Association President Dwayne Johnson.

Courtesy of youtube, here's a snippet from the N.C. Central University marching band's recent tribute to Michael Jackson.

They performed during the Duke/NCCU football game Saturday at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham.

Upon realizing recently that a student activity fee was more than originally anticipated, officials at N.C. Central University told students to settle up their bills.

The difference? One penny.

Commence, chaos. Hundreds of students stood in line Monday afternoon, pennies in hand, after a rumor began circulating — later proven false — that those who didn’t pay would be fined $25.

For its penny, NCCU prompted some unprintable thoughts from a disenchanted student body.

"It was just a penny," said JeLisa Wilson, a senior. "But it got everyone in a mood. In a frenzy."

By evening, a campus administrator sent an apologetic e-mail to students. While there was a one-cent student fee increase, the university had erred in asking students to settle the balance, and no fees or late charges would be imposed, he wrote. The adjustment will be made next semester.

"Mistakes happen," wrote Alan D. Robertson, NCCU's vice chancellor of administration and finance. "When they do, we do our best to set things right because we sincerely appreciate you and your relationship with NCCU."

Kent Williams, Jr., a senior and former student body president, said the university handled the incident well but said many students feared they'd be fined if they didn't pay their penny.

"It was the talk of the campus," he said.

At N.C. Central University, Chancellor Charlie Nelms continues with the message he's been thumping since his arrival in Durham two years ago.

NCCU students, he continually insists, must be better communicators. They must be masters of the spoken and written word.

Such was one theme of his State of the University address, given last week during the university's convocation.

Nelms has long held that the success of college students hinges in large part on effective communication skills. Here's part of what he had to say in his address:

Helping our students learn to communicate properly must be a campus-wide effort.  

The English Department cannot do it all on its own. Faculty, whether you teach trigonometry or abnormal psychology; we need you to commit yourselves to improving the quality of the written and oral presentations of our students.

Staff, when students speak to you using improper grammar, correct them.

It’s a competitive world out there and for our graduates to have a fighting chance, we must help them gain the soft skills they need to succeed.

Nelms' address also hit on a number of campus highlights. One Nelms favorite: a recent U.S. News ranking that tabbed NCCU as the top public historically black university in the nation.

You can click on the attachment below to read Nelms' entire speech.

Documents:

N.C. Central University has been shut down this afternoon due to a power outage.

A cable fire at a campus construction site created the power outage, and campus officials just announced that all classes this afternoon have been canceled. Employees are free to go home, according to a news release.

The university will reassess the situation at 5 p.m. today and determine whether evening classes will be held.

N.C. Central University is the newest member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

The university has lobbied for this for a long time now and campus leaders are thrilled today.

"This is a significant milestone in North Carolina Central University's transition to Div. I," NCCU chancellor Charlie Nelms said in a statement released this morning. "Membership in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference is a win-win proposition for our student-athletes, alumni and fans — indeed, all our university constituents."

Check back for updates and read the News & Observer Friday for more.