Thorp's launch

Holden Thorp has begun his position as chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in promising fashion. His immediate priorities are clear -- more money for research and to recruit new faculty, talking with students about the future of higher education, working with the town of Chapel Hill to bolster famed Franklin Street, which is in a bit of a slump.

The 43-year-old UNC-CH grad, former chemistry professor and department head seems to have a good grasp of what the state's oldest campus has to do to fulfill its public service mission -- the big picture -- but also has been in classrooms long enough to connect with students.

For their part, the students seem enthused about Chancellor Thorp. "There isn't going to be that learning curve," one said. "That's why we're so excited to have him. He just seems to fit right in here."

Challenges will come along, of course, from overseeing the athletics program to putting out the figurative little fires that erupt from time to time in any university community. But Thorp, originally from Fayetteville, has been a part of the university at all levels, from his childhood fancy for the Tar Heels to his undergraduate days to his promotion to the top job. All that is going to help him.