Latest news with #LeeRoberts
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
UNC-Chapel Hill announces site for first new dorm in almost 20 years
UNC-Chapel Hill plans to open a new residence hall in 2028, its first new dorm since 2006. The UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees announced the site for what it's calling New Residence Hall 1 in a meeting on Wednesday. It will be located between Stacy Residence Hall and Cobb Residence Hall on the north end of the campus, on the current site of Jackson Hall. In order to begin the project, the 83-year-old Jackson Hall, which houses the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, will be demolished. The new dorm is expected to house anywhere from 600 to 700 students and is anticipated to cost $93 million. The university plans to begin construction in 2026. 'It's going to be in a terrific location right there in the heart of North Campus,' UNC Chancellor Lee Roberts said Thursday. 'We're excited about it.' This project is just one of many housing improvements in the university's 'decade-long plan to expand and renew Carolina's undergraduate and graduate student housing portfolio,' according to a statement to The News & Observer from UNC Media Relations. Roberts also told reporters Thursday that the renovation in Avery Residence Hall, which has been ongoing since late 2024, is nearing completion. Roberts said he wants more of UNC's students to live in the dorms. Twenty-nine percent of UNC students live in the residence halls, according to a report to the Board of Governors in January detailing the housing rate of each institution in the UNC System. However, roughly half of all undergraduate students live in UNC's residence halls. 'But as everyone who goes to school here knows, some of our housing is pretty old,' Roberts told reporters. 'Because housing is always aging out and requiring renovation, we also have an obligation to look at building new housing.' The university is still looking for a new location for the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, according to its statement to The N&O. 'On behalf of students, thank you. I think it's the beginning of a new plan to modernize our housing, and finally lets us catch up to our peer institutions,' said UNC Student Body President Aldolfo Alvarez, who also serves as a member on the Board of Trustees. The announcement comes as UNC's admissions rise. The latest class to enter the university had a record 73,192 applicants, and 5,624 of them were accepted and enrolled, contributing to the university's 7.7% enrollment increase since 2020. UNC has not yet released the number of new students enrolled for the 2025-2026 academic year. Roberts wants the university to continue growing. He announced in a January Board of Trustees committee meeting that UNC would open 500 additional slots for students for admission in 2025. The N&O reported that Roberts intends for the university's undergraduate enrollment to increase by 5,000 students in the next decade. With the increase in enrollment, some UNC students have expressed concerns about housing availability for students after their first year, the Daily Tar Heel reported. Freshmen are required to live on campus, with some exceptions. Because students with a higher amount of credits receive second priority, sophomores often are least likely to get a housing assignment, the newspaper reported. One student wrote a column in the Daily Tar Heel and likened the housing process at UNC to the game show 'Survivor.' Last June, the university asked some students to voluntarily opt out of their housing assignments for the upcoming year to make more rooms available for incoming freshmen, the Daily Tar Heel reported. If enough students did not volunteer to move to another residence hall, the newspaper reported, the university said it would use a lottery system to reassign housing. Enough students volunteered, so the lottery system was not used. UNC will also continue demolishing the remaining buildings in Odum Village, its long out-of-commission undergraduate, graduate and family housing built in the 1960s. Demolition of Odum Village's 47 buildings began in 2016 due to their inability to meet fire safety standards. Evan Yassky, UNC's executive director of facilities planning and design, said that it was more cost effective to demolish the unusable dorms rather than renovate them, UNC Media Hub reported. However, the project was not completed due to insufficient funding, Yassky said at Wednesday's Board of Trustees meeting. More than 20 buildings remain. Just three buildings in Odum Village are still used by the university, one of which is the Carolina Veterans Resource Center, according to UNC Media Hub. The university is 'actively working to relocate' the center, UNC Media Relations said in a statement to The N&O. The other two buildings are being used by UNC Police and contractors for the construction of Steven D. Bell Hall, which is set to finish by the end of this year, the university said. Yassky hopes to demolish 20 more buildings 'roughly by the end of 2025.'
Boston Globe
24-04-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
UNC hired Bill Belichick to boost its football profile. A game in Ireland marks a return on that bet.
'This game is just another example of the kind of profile, the kind of opportunities that we're hoping to have through our investment in the football program,' chancellor Lee Roberts said at a campus news conference, the day after the game was announced. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up More specifically, the investment Roberts cited is on Belichick, who turned 73 last week. Advertisement UNC hired him in December while committing to more spending on coaches and staff positions, notably with Belichick due to make $10 million for each of the next three seasons in guaranteed base and supplemental salary alone. The hope is that Belichick builds a winner in football — the revenue-driver when it comes to college sports and TV deals — at a school best known for its blueblood men's basketball program. Belichick's arrival has, at the least, elevated the Tar Heels' football profile. That's partly due to his success at the sport's highest level. But it's also based on the curiosity of seeing him toil through the chaotically changing landscape of college athletics, where rosters can turn over seemingly overnight with players constantly on the move through the transfer portal compared to a more structured and contract-driven stability that comes in the NFL. Advertisement His first game comes against TCU at home on Labor Day in a college version of Monday Night Football. Now the return game in what was to be a home-and-home series is headed to Dublin for August 2026, potentially a well-timed showcase event as the Atlantic Coast Conference moves to a revised revenue-distribution model with schools earning more money for generating higher TV ratings. Consider: Georgia Tech's win against Florida State in Dublin last August marked the most-watched 'Week Zero' game since 2019 and top college-football draw on cable all season. 'I do think the success the program has had, the hiring of Coach Belichick, the timing of it's perfect,' athletic director Bubba Cunningham said, noting the Tar Heels had sold out their season tickets for this fall. 'The schedule for TCU worked out well for them that they were willing to move a home game. So it just came together at this time.' As for Belichick, he coached the Patriots four times overseas in NFL regular-season play, according to Sportradar. They won games in London in 2009 (against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and 2012 (against the then-St. Louis Rams), as well as one in Mexico City in 2017 (against the then-Oakland Raiders). Belichick's Pats lost to the Indianapolis Colts in Germany in 2023, his final season with the franchise. Advertisement Back in 2023, Bill Belichick led his Patriots into Frankfurt, Germany, where New England lost to Indianapolis. Michael Probst/Associated Press 'Those games stand out, so specially to me, that there just wasn't another one like the one in Mexico or two we had in London,' Belichick said. 'It's not like playing in the other stadiums that we play in. I don't think you put a price tag on it, but it's great to be a part of. And you remember the things that you did in those places with your teammates or the other people that were on the trip. And I think always kind of bonds you a little bit tighter with the people you experienced them with.' That includes practicing in a cricket stadium during the Patriots' first London trip or that Hyde Park workout in October 2012, down to Belichick recalling putting cones in the grass for 'one of probably the most interesting practices we've ever had.' He smiled at the memory, along maybe with the thought of what could lay ahead in Dublin. 'It'll be great,' Belichick said of the high-visibility game, 'and everybody will be watching.'
Associated Press
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Chief lawyer's position at alma mater prompted Newton's departure from North Carolina Senate
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — A leader among the North Carolina Senate Republicans who resigned this week from the General Assembly is the next chief attorney for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. University Chancellor Lee Roberts announced on Thursday the hiring of outgoing Senate Majority Leader Paul Newton as general counsel and vice chancellor at the UNC system's flagship campus. Newton revealed in a Tuesday news release his decision to step down from the Senate effective Wednesday 'to pursue an opportunity outside of state government' that wasn't immediately made public. During his farewell speech Wednesday on the Senate floor, Newton said he learned about a job opening several weeks ago and was offered it only on Monday. Newton, who received undergraduate and law degrees at UNC-Chapel Hill, is a retired Duke Energy employee and executive who joined the Senate in 2017 and became majority leader after the 2022 elections. He said he is also the father of four UNC-Chapel Hill graduates. Roberts said Newton, who begins the job April 21, 'brings exceptional skills and deep experience in law, business and government to our University' and 'is passionate about returning to his alma mater and contributing to our success.' Republicans in Newton's Cabarrus County Senate district will pick someone to fill his seat through the end of 2026. Senate Republicans also will meet to pick a new majority leader, which is considered a chief lieutenant to the chamber's top leader, GOP Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger.
Yahoo
26-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘Malicious' hoax leads to rumors of ICE immigration raid at Durham grocery store
An apparent prank ICE raid targeted a Durham grocery store last week, raising fears among shoppers that an immigration sweep was taking place. Rumors flew on social media about an Immigration Customs and Enforcement raid at the Super Compare Foods store on Avondale Drive after people dressed in uniforms using a vehicle that looked like a border patrol pickup were seen in the parking lot. In social media posts on Friday, Super Compare Foods said the vehicle and people were associated with a 2021 parody called Thot Patrol. But store management called it a harmful 'prank' that was 'deeply irresponsible and has caused unnecessary fear in our community.' 'What's most concerning is these actions were carried out with clear malicious intent, aimed at spreading fear and misinformation in a time when our community is already in a fragile and sensitive climate,' Super Compare Foods said in a statement Friday. 'Fear, especially in such uncertain times, can spread like wildfire, and we are committed to standing against those who seek to exploit these vulnerabilities.' Super Compare Foods said it's addressed the incident by filing a report with Durham Police. Store management said it will pursue legal action against the individuals responsible. 'Our priority remains providing a safe, welcoming, and respectful environment for our customers and community,' Super Compare Foods said in its statement. 'We deeply regret any distress this incident may have caused and appreciate your trust in us.' Durham Police told ABC11, The News & Observer's news partner, that Super Compare Foods management reported the incident on Thursday, along with rumors being posted online about potential ICE raids of their store. 'The truck involved is not an ICE vehicle,' Durham Police told ABC11. 'We do not have any additional information available at this time.' The hoax comes as President Donald Trump acts on his campaign promise to carry out 'the largest deportation operation in history.' ICE has conducted raids across the country over the past week and begun deporting people on military flights. The Trump Administration rescinded guidance which had kept immigration raids from occurring at 'sensitive' locations such as schools, universities, churches and weddings. In response, UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Lee Roberts told faculty on Friday the university will 'follow the law' and 'comply with any requests from law enforcement' regarding students whom ICE agents may seek, The N&O previously reported. The fear of deportation is higher at stores such as Super Compare Foods, which posted its message about the hoax in Spanish and English. 'It's sad people would try and take advantage of the situation and the fear within the community right now, and these kinds of antics only embolden people to create more panic in the public.,' Rosie De Leon, a Durham resident and Super Compare Foods customer, told ABC11.
