Campus realities
Published: Thu, Dec. 13, 2007 12:00AM
Modified Thu, Dec. 13, 2007 06:08AM
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closeApparently the writer of the Dec. 8 letter "Pigskin playoffs" has been out of touch with his alma mater for a while. The last time a UNC professor taught a freshman was, of course, last week (students are taking exams this week). Last year, more than 120 tenured and tenure-track professors -- including some of our top faculty -- taught 2,200 first-year students (about 60 percent of the freshman class) in seminars: small, demanding classes open only to first-year students.
More than a third of our undergraduates (including first-year students) are engaged in original research in which they are being mentored, one-on-one, by a professor.
As for a positive income stream: During the last fiscal year, professors in the College of Arts and Sciences attracted $95 million in contracts and grants for cutting-edge research and education. That doesn't include professors in the other schools (e.g., medicine, law, public health, etc.). Our faculty are making discoveries every day that enhance our health and well-being, in addition to educating the next generation of citizens, scientists, lawyers, teachers, entrepreneurs, business executives, ministers, doctors, nurses, legislators, parents and other leaders for North Carolina.
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And to think we do all this for peanuts compared with the good coach!
Andrew J. Perrin
Associate Professor of Sociology, UNC-CH, Chapel Hill
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