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May 18 proved to be a good day for Carolina and the rest of the UNC system
when the General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a $3.1 billion bond
referendum for facility needs.
Now the work begins to ensure Nov. 7 turns out even better.
If voters approve it, the bond package will generate nearly half a billion
dollars for Carolina alone to spend on construction and renovation projects
over the next five to seven years.
"I am tremendously grateful to the General Assembly for recognizing the
dire capital needs of Carolina and our sister schools and for paving the way
for a bond referendum in November," said Interim Chancellor William O.
McCoy.
Among the first major Carolina projects that would be completed from bond
proceeds is a $26.72 million biomolecular research building. More than $88
million would go to a new science complex. And funding would be restored for
renovations to House Undergraduate Library, a project delayed when the state
diverted dollars to Hurricane Floyd recovery efforts.
"We are on the cusp of a historical opportunity to modernize our classrooms
and laboratories and to add significantly to them to meet our growing needs,"
McCoy said. "The $500 million we would receive from the bond package would help
us address needs at the very core of our mission to teach our young people
while expanding the frontiers of knowledge and helping grow the state's
economy."
It's been a long struggle to get this far, and University officials say
their work is only beginning.
Touring the campuses this spring helped convince legislators of the urgent
building needs throughout the UNC and community college systems.
Now voters will have to be convinced, and that will take an intensive
education campaign, said Evelyn Hawthorne, Carolina's associate vice chancellor
of government relations.
The legislature's quick approval of the enabling legislation for the
referendum was critical, Hawthorne said, because it bought the time that will
be needed to carry out a successful campaign.
Even so, bond supporters will have a lot of work to do in a short amount of
time, Hawthorne said, noting that political campaigns typically use 18 months
to get ready for an election.
Hawthorne said the N.C. Citizens for Business and Industry deserves great
credit for supporting the idea of a bond proposal this year. But its work is
only beginning, too, she said.
Hawthorne said faculty and staff could play vital roles in building support
for the bonds.
Know the facts, Hawthorne suggests, and share them with your neighbors and
friends. The government relations web site (http://www.unc.edu/govrel/)
includes information that should be helpful.
McCoy said he feels good about the bonds' prospects.
"The citizens of North Carolina helped make UNC great through their
financial support over the last 200 years," he said. "I am optimistic that they
will again answer the call by voting for the bond package at the polls in
November."
The Governor's Office is planning an outdoor public ceremony at which the
bond bill will be signed into law. The event is scheduled for 10 a.m. on May 25
on the Capitol grounds in Raleigh.
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