What’s next for the School of Civic Life and Leadership at UNC-Chapel Hill
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- UNC ends $1.2M SCiLL probe, withholds report and affirms dean Jed Atkins.
- SCiLL to offer summer fellowships, July civics institutes, and grad programs.
- Project Kitty Hawk growing: enrollments up, break-even moved to 2029.
Hello, subscribers! Welcome to this week’s edition of Higher Stakes. It’s officially spring break season! Duke and NC Central are off this week, and UNC and NC State are off the next. If you’re on vacation now or next week, I wish you a wonderful time.
The ACC men’s basketball tournament kicks off in Charlotte today. Sign up for exclusive, expert analysis in our free Inside Sports newsletter that will drop daily during the tournament.
Now, let’s get into it.
What’s next for the School of Civic Life and Leadership at UNC-Chapel Hill
The investigation into UNC-Chapel Hill’s School of Civic Life and Leadership is now over, though the results of the seven-month-long, $1.2 million inquiry will not be made public.
The two-year-old school, known as SCiLL, is part of a trend of conservative-minded civics schools at universities across the nation. UNC’s has gained a reputation for infighting and turnover. None of the original faculty remain at the school, and there have been numerous high-profile firings and resignations.
Faculty chair Beth Moracco voiced her concerns about the lack of transparency around the investigation at a Faculty Executive Committee meeting Monday.
“There were very serious allegations made by numerous very well-respected faculty,” Moracco said. “And [for the university] to say ‘Well, we did a thorough review, and everything’s fine’ ... It feels disrespectful to those faculty who put their necks out. It seems that where there’s smoke, there’s got to be some fire. How are we going to put out that fire, given that there were a lot of faculty who left the school, and other faculty who felt they were being retaliated against?
“I don’t know if there’s any possibility at all of anything being released that might give us a little bit more information.”
UNC’s new provost, Magnus Egerstedt, at his first meeting with the committee, fielded questions and concerns about the confidential SCiLL report from faculty leaders.
“I have seen the report and I cannot tell you what’s in it,” Egerstedt told the faculty committee. “Anyone can have opinion about SCiLL, but at the end of the day, let’s focus on why this exists and why it matters, and the student experience. I have the luxury by being a little bit new to be able to say I don’t want to go back in time.”
With the university publicly affirming its continued support for SCiLL under the leadership of inaugural dean Jed Atkins, the embattled school can embark on a new chapter. Here’s what to look for from the school in the coming months:
- Wrapping up the semester: Students in courses like “Grand Strategy,” “The Christian Story” and “Israel and Palestine on Campus” will be wrapping up their semesters after spring break.
- Summer research fellowships: Funded with a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, SCiLL will be providing up to $4,000 for UNC juniors to pursue research related to civic life this summer. The fellowship will end in a weeklong seminar called “The Life of the Mind” to be held at Oxford University in late July.
- Summer civics institute: Also in July, SCiLL will host two civics education programs, one for high schoolers and another for high school teachers. Groups will read “foundational texts” in a seminar setting.
- Graduate degrees: SCiLL is launching a a master’s-degree program in military leadership for active-duty officers and a Ph.D. program for civics educators.
- Using the $10 million grant: In January, the National Endowment for the Humanities gave SCiLL a $10 million matching grant and $100,000 in outright funding to create eight endowed professorships. Let’s hope this faculty search goes better than the last one.
A search for traces of enslaved labor at UNC’s Old East
Last week, UNC students in anthropology professor Glenn Hinson’s class ran their hands over the brick surface of Old East, the oldest building on Chapel Hill’s campus.
They were searching for traces of enslaved laborers who laid the bricks for Old East in 1793. Students found indentations of fingers and palms, marking each depression with tape.
“I’m convinced that we found scores of these signs of human creation ... perhaps even more than a hundred,” Hinson told the N&O. “The students were completely taken aback at what they discovered; none of us expected this many.
“But in many cases, the indentation was so clearly that of a finger pressed into the soft clay when the moist bricks were first removed from their molds and stacked on the ground in the sun to dry before the next step. We’re all a bit stunned still, and the sides of the building are littered with pieces of blue tape.”
Hinson’s class is called “By Persons Unknown: Race and Reckoning in North Carolina.”
“It’s all completely humbling, and profoundly moving,” Hinson wrote.
Project Kitty Hawk reaches 3,000 students
Project Kitty Hawk is the UNC System’s online education program for adult learners. It launched in 2022. At a recent Board of Governors meeting, Andrew Kelly, the system’s senior vice president for strategy and policy, touted the tech nonprofit’s recent successes. Here are some key numbers he presented:
- 3,087: The number of students who have enrolled in Project Kitty Hawk programs since its inception. Currently, there are 2,193 students enrolled. It was initially projected to hit more than 30,000 by 2028.
- 19: The number of degree programs currently live, on subjects like criminal justice, public health education and marketing.
- 32: The average age of a Project Kitty Hawk student at enrollment.
- 81%: The percentage of Project Kitty Hawk students who are from North Carolina.
- 4: The number of UNC System schools partnering with Kitty Hawk. Those include NC Central, East Carolina University, Appalachian State, and North Carolina A&T State. Winston-Salem State will be joining the ranks soon.
- $10 million: The amount of money generated for those partner institutions. That’s expected to rise to $35.2 million this year.
- 2: The number of years ahead of schedule that Project Kitty Hawk will break even, moved from 2031 to 2029.
“The question is no longer whether this works, it’s how far can we take it, now that we have proof of concept,” Kelly said.
Online adult education can be a tricky market, with a lack of meaningful regulation and sometimes vulnerable customers. I recently reported on student dissatisfaction with an online adult education program at NC State, though that was not affiliated with Project Kitty Hawk.
Headlines you don’t want to miss
- UNC won’t release results of its months-long investigation into School of Civic Life by me
- Duke University and its health system are raising their minimum wage by me
- Dozens advocate for academic research amid funding cuts at UNC rally by Twumasi Duah-Mensah
- It’s ACC Tournament time. Here’s how the league stands in NCAA bracket projection by Patrick Stevens
- Duke basketball’s Boozer twins prepared for a final ride together in postseason by Chip Alexander
- Inside look: What are UNC’s top options for the future of the Smith Center? by Shelby Swanson
What I’m reading
- Former Pride Center assistant director Jae Edwards discusses firing, fellow support and future by Nevaeh Sturdivant at NC State’s Nubian Message
- Trinity stabilizes after cost-cutting, plans future Durham Tech transfer partnership by Ana Despa at The Duke Chronicle
- The James G. Martin Center’s influence on UNC’s administrative boards by Phoebe Martel at The Daily Tar Heel
- ‘Call a spade a spade’: UNC isn’t deemed a ‘land-grant university’ — but it received land grants by Lauren Geddes at The Daily Tar Heel
- How Phil Berger shaped North Carolina’s universities by Matt Hartman at The Assembly
- Lawmakers and universities push back on loan caps by Jessica Blake at Inside Higher Ed
What’s next: I’m working on a story about how the experience of diverse students at NC State (and other institutions) has evolved over the last year or two. If you or someone you know has an experience or a story they’d like to share, please get in touch! My email is jane.sartwell@newsobserver.com. I’d love to hear from you.
— Jane Winik Sartwell
Not a subscriber? Sign up on our website to receive Higher Stakes in your inbox each week: newsobserver.com/newsletters.
