UNC system President Tom Ross is defending a proposal to remove university workers from the State Personnel Act.

In tomorrow's N&O and Chapel Hill News, the president of the university system, says having one personnel system for workers exempt from and currently subject to the State Personnel Act would benefit everyone.

“We’re not interested in taking away the rights of our SPA employees,” he says. “Unfortunately some outside groups have attempted to create that fear. What we want to do is create flexibility to do more for our employees.”

Senate Bill 575 would put 22,000 workers under the UNC Board of Governors. The bill's dead this session, but its HR change could be inserted in the final budget bill. Among other provisions, the board would adopt policies on compensation, health and disability benefits, and “any other human resource policy the Board deems appropriate to promote the recruitment and retention of capable, diligent, and effective employees.”

Last week, a group sent a letter signed by 130 individuals and organizations to UNC-CH  Chancellor Holden Thorp, asking him to publicly state where he stands and to speak at a rally at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday outside South Building on the UNC-CH campus. We'll be at the rally and have a report Thursday in print and online. 

Tom Ross, president of the 17-campus UNC system, for years worked on the first-down measuring chain crew at high school football games. "It gave me the best political ad I ever ran," Ross, a former Superior Court judge, told Carolina Alumni Review. "I was running for re-election as a judge, and the caption was, 'Keep the judge on the chain gang.' That's as good as it gets."

In an interview at The N&O last week, Ross said he worked a college game last year when he was president of Davidson College.

There has been much speculation among UNC-Chapel Hill football fans about Ross' role in the dismissal of former coach Butch Davis. Ross told The N&O that he talked with UNC-CH Chancellor Holden Thorp a number of times but it was Thorp's decision to fire Davis. "I did not give any advice to him one way or another," Ross said. For more on Ross' comments, click here.

--John Drescher

The UNC Health Care System has transferred $20 million to the main UNC system to help ease the universities' pain from state budget cuts.

UNC Health CEO Bill Roper announced the transfer at a joint meeting of the UNC Health and Rex Healthcare boards today in Raleigh.

Auditors are still tallying final results for the fiscal year that ended June 30, but UNC Health had a good year with its operations and investments, said spokeswoman Karen McCall. The health system expects to report an operating margin of 5 percent to 6 percent, better than the year before.

UNC President Tom Ross and UNC Chapel Hill chancellor Holden Thorp had requested the money as they reviewed the cuts the system was facing, McCall said. Last week, Ross announced that the UNC system would allocate $414 million in cuts across its system, with UNC Chapel Hill taking an 18 percent hit and N.C. State taking a 15 percent reduction.

"This is a good example of how our system is trying very hard in these tough times to stay together," McCall said. "This is an opportunity to help in an extraordinary time."

The UNC Health Care System's board announced this afternoon that it formed a committee to review WakeMed's offer to buy its Raleigh subsidiary Rex Healthcare for $750 million.

UNC Health officials reiterated that they aren't interested in selling Rex, but will review the hostile takeover bid "in accordance with our fiduciary responsibility."

The committee is expected to review WakeMed's proposal for several weeks and then make a recommendation to the full board. The committee includes D. Jordan Whichard, who will be chairman, as well as board members Lisa Fischbeck, Andrew Greganti, Dale Jenkins, James Speed and UNC Chapel Hill Chancellor Holden Thorp.

"We strongly believe that Rex is an integral part of UNC Health Care," said UNC Health board chairman Richard Krasno, in a prepared statement.

WakeMed leaders are urging UNC officials to begin negotiations on their hostile $750 million bid to buy rival Raleigh hospital Rex Healthcare.

In a letter delivered Wednesday to UNC president Tom Ross, WakeMed CEO Bill Atkinson and chairman Tom Oxholm wrote that they want to close the acquisition "on or before" Dec. 31.

"We think it could be done by the close of the year, assuming everyone wants it to happen and we put teams in place on both sides to make it happen," Atkinson said in a phone interview today.

"We hope the state of North Carolina and UNC will look at this in a timely and fair and serious manner," he added. "We have a very viable proposal and it could be a big plus to the state of North Carolina economically."

Still, a sale is far from certain.

UNC officials have made clear that while they will review WakeMed's offer, they're not interested in selling Rex, which is a foundation of the UNC Health Care System's expansion strategy in Wake County. Ross had recently requested more information from WakeMed, which made the unsolicited offer to buy Rex last month.

UNC's top executive issued an official response this afternoon rejecting WakeMed's unsolicited offer to buy rival Rex Healthcare for $750 million.

The UNC Health Care System bought Rex in 2000 for $290 million, and is using the Raleigh-based hospital system to expand its operations in Wake County

Here is the prepared statement from UNC President Tom Ross:
 
"Today I received a letter from the CEO and the board chair of WakeMed proposing to purchase Rex Healthcare and all its assets from the UNC Health Care System for $750 million.  The letter offers few specifics and leaves many unanswered questions.
 
UNC Health Care and the UNC School of Medicine have a three-part mission:  providing high-quality medical care to citizens from all over North Carolina, regardless of their ability to pay; conducting cutting-edge research that improves patient treatment and care; and educating the next generation of physicians. 

Carrying out those core responsibilities in today’s complex world requires that we have strong partnerships with a wide range of schools, hospitals, researchers, physicians, and patients. 

That is why Rex and Chatham Hospital joined the UNC Health Care System, why we are expanding our medical school training in Charlotte and Asheville, and why we have a network of cancer researchers and clinicians throughout the state.
 
In this uncertain health care environment, it is critically important that we maintain a long-term vision for the UNC Health Care System that extends beyond the current budget crisis. 

Click read more to read the remainder of Ross' statement.

The leaders of the UNC system and its campuses turned precisely zero cartwheels Tuesday upon getting a look at the spending plan proposed by the House.

It calls for cuts of more than 15 percent to public universities. That's far too much, UNC President and others said.

Systemwide, that would lead to the elimination of 3,200 jobs, many of them filled, Ross said.

N.C. State Chancellor Randy Woodson said the cuts would force "large and dramatic change" to the entire system.

Stay tuned. The Senate budget, expected to be more friendly to universities, comes out next.

UNC President Tom Ross has added to his leadership team.

Lyons Gray, a Winston-Salem businessman who served six terms in the N.C., General Assembly before joining the administration of President George W. Bush, has been named Senior Advisor to the President of the 17-campus University of North Carolina. Gray will earn $180,000 for the one-year appointment, which begins March 14.

His is a new position paid by non-state funds, said Joni Worthington, a UNC system spokeswoman.

 In his new role, Gray will provide guidance and assistance on state and federal issues impacting university priorities, as well as university-wide efforts to implement efficiency measures and best practices that reduce overall operating costs.
 
After attending UNC- Chapel Hill, Gray spent more than a decade working for the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company before founding and growing several small businesses.  Appointed to the N.C. House of Representatives in 1989 to represent Forsyth County, he was subsequently elected to the position for six consecutive terms. 

During his 14-year tenure in the General Assembly, he chaired the House Finance Committee, introduced key legislation supporting economic growth and quality of life improvements across the state, and helped advance the $3.2-billion Higher Education Bond Referendum of 2000. 

After leaving public office, Gray served as president of the Downtown Winston-Salem Partnership before being nominated by President George W. Bush to serve as chief financial officer of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  He served in that capacity, managing a budget in excess of $7 billion, from 2005 to 2009.
 
Gray is currently vice chairman of the Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation, and has previously served on the boards of UNC-Chapel Hill’s General Alumni Association, Salem Academy and College, the UNC School of the Arts Foundation, and the Piedmont Triad Partnership. 

UNC system President Tom Ross is concerned about the damage that could be done if Gov. Beverly Perdue's budget proposal wins approval.

In a statement released this afternoon, Ross said the loss of nearly 1,500 jobs, as Perdue has projected, will do severe damage to the university.

"With fewer faculty, staff, and course sections, many more students would not be able to obtain the courses and academic services they need to graduate on time," he said.

Here's the whole statement:

Given the economic climate and the size of the projected revenue shortfall, Governor Perdue had to make some very difficult decisions in order to balance her proposed state budget.  All of us in the University appreciate the challenges she faced and are grateful that she identifies potential ways to avoid even more severe cuts that certainly would cause permanent damage to our institutions.

We are particularly thankful that she recognizes the critical importance of our enrollment growth funding and need-based financial aid, although those needs would be only partially met, as well as operating reserves for new buildings.  In addition, revenues from tuition increases would stay on the campuses to provide more need-based financial aid and help reduce the impact of proposed budget cuts.
 
As our state struggles to work its way out of this recession, affordable access to higher education has never been more important to North Carolina’s economic recovery and long-term competitiveness.  That’s why I am deeply concerned that additional cuts of the magnitude proposed would place academic programs across the University in jeopardy and require the loss of more than 1,500 jobs. 

With fewer faculty, staff, and course sections, many more students would not be able to obtain the courses and academic services they need to graduate on time.  Given that the University has already absorbed $620 million in cuts and mandated reversions over the past four years, requiring the elimination of over 900 administrative positions, it is simply impossible to absorb further budget cuts without adversely affecting the quality of the academic experience for our students.  

While the Governor has proposed a small pool of funding for statewide repairs and renovations, I am also increasingly worried about the $2.1-billion backlog of unmet R&R needs across the University.  University facilities are valuable state assets, and unless we are provided adequate resources to maintain them properly, we put that taxpayer investment and public safety at risk. We stand ready to work with the Governor and the legislature to preserve both access and educational quality.

General rule of thumb: If you're planning to protest a big decision by a governing body, get there while that body is actually meeting.

This morning, a small collection of students primarily from UNC-Chapel Hill gathered at 10 a.m. at The Pit toting protest signs. They then marched resolutely down South Road to the Spangler Center, where the UNC system's Board of Governors meets.

Problem: They were late. The board did in fact meet Friday, and approved tuition hikes averaging 6.8 percent for public university students. But the meeting began at 9 and was done before 10 a.m., well before the protesters arrived.

Kinda blunts the power of the message, doesn't it?

The small group arrived around 10:20 a.m., chanting "No Cuts, No Fees, Education Should be Free," a noble sentiment, if unlikely.