University of North Carolina moves to define academic freedom – Asheville Citizen-Times

EDUCATION

UNC System moves to define academic freedom, battles profs union

By Clayton Henkel, NC Newline, Asheville Citizen Times, Jan. 30, 2026, 6:04 a.m. ET

The UNC Systems’ Committee on University Governance gave an initial nod Wednesday to a formal definition for academic freedom.

“Academic freedom as a concept is included in our code and has been for some time,” explained Andrew Tripp, UNC System’s senior vice president and general counsel. “What has been lacking is a definition of academic freedom for both faculty and students.”

Tripp said university leadership identified that gap over a year ago and tasked the chair of UNC’s Faculty Assembly and others to work out a consensus definition that could govern how university campuses operate.

“It does a couple of things — that definition defines [academic freedom] in words that our faculty assembly have provided, but it also talks about what academic freedom is with concrete examples and where it applies most pointedly to protect the classroom and course development, research, and scholarly inquiry,” Tripp said.

The proposed policy also defines what academic freedom isn’t, which is important to acknowledge, Tripp told members of the Board of Governors.

“I think it’s a good balance of what the responsibilities we have are and what the opportunities we have are, because academic freedom is critical to us using our expertise to do the teaching and research the faculty are supposed to do,” Maki said.

The policy defines academic freedom as “the foundational principle that protects the rights of all faculty to engage in teaching, research/creative activities, service, and scholarly inquiry without undue influence. It ensures that faculty can freely pursue knowledge; express, discuss and debate ideas; and contribute to knowledge and understanding related to their areas of expertise.”

The policy further states that faculty have the rights and responsibility to determine “pedagogical strategies, instructional materials, evaluation methods, and classroom discourse that supports student learning” provided those methods align with professional standards.

But the policy also cautions that academic freedom is not absolute.

Under the policy, faculty are expected to exercise academic freedom that falls “within the parameters established by academic disciplines, professions, and in compliance with institutional policies and rules.”

Other guardrails spell out that academic freedom does not permit instructors to teach content “clearly unrelated” to the course description or to use university resources for political or ideological advocacy.

The North Carolina State Conference of the American Association of University Professors says that proposed revisions to the policy differ considerably from language adopted in the UNC Faculty Assembly’s Resolution on Academic Freedom back in October 2025.  What started as six lines defining the limitations of academic freedom last fall mushroomed to 35 lines when presented this week.

“That’s a really big increase, and that increase was not done in a way that was presented with shared governance, but that increase was done with very little faculty input over the holiday break when very little faculty were even available to weigh in,” said Annelise Mennicke, a AAUP member and associate professor in the School of Social Work at UNC-Charlotte.

Attorneys for NCAAUP say the list of parameters effectively weakens the historical scope of academic freedom.

“Much of the language in the Resolution and proposed additional language is also vague and, therefore, risks creating an academic environment that is inconsistent with principles of academic freedom and free speech articulated by the United States Supreme Court and the Fourth Circuit,” NCAAUP attorneys write in a January 26 letter to the UNC System.

Editor’s Note: Read the rest of the story, at the below link.

Continue/Read Original Article Here: University of North Carolina moves to define academic freedom

Tyler Hansbrough agrees: Renovate, Don't Relocate the Dean E. Smith Center.

Please sign our petition - https://renovatesmithcenter.org/.
#UNC #Tarheels #uncbasketball #uncchapelhill #DeanDome

Drake Maye’s NFL Postseason debut results in a victory for the New England Patriots – Keeping It Heel.com

 Drake Maye’s NFL Postseason debut results in a victory for the New England Patriots

Maye and the Patriots did just enough to advance to the AFC Divisional round of the playoffs.

By Nick Delahanty | 17 hours ago

It was a night to remember for Drake Maye and the New England Patriots for multiple reasons.

Before we even get to the game itself, it’s been a while since the Patriots, formerly an annual Super Bowl contender for a stretch of 20 years, hadn’t competed in a playoff game since 2021. It’s been even longer since playoff football graced the field at Foxboro Stadium, as the last home playoff game for the Patriots occurred in 2019.

Now, it appears that order has been restored in New England, as Maye and the Patriots found a way to secure a 16-3 victory on Sunday night.

Maye wins his first NFL postseason game

https://twitter.com/Patriots/status/2010556259901005964?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2010556259901005964%7Ctwgr%5E45ac68d9e278e227b61cfd31d2190d9e26f3c6b5%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fkeepingitheel.com%2Fdrake-maye-s-nfl-postseason-debut-results-in-a-victory-for-the-new-england-patriots

While it wasn’t an offensive slugfest by any means, Maye settled into the game nicely and made some timely throws. He finished the night completing 17 of 29 passes for 268 yards and a touchdown, as his 28-yard strike to Hunter Henry was ultimately the final dagger in this AFC Wild Card matchup.

Continue/Read Original Article Here: Drake Maye’s NFL Postseason debut results in a victory for the New England Patriots

UNC System details painstaking process to root out diversity, equity and inclusion  – NC Newsline

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UNC System details painstaking process to root out diversity, equity and inclusion 

By: Clayton Henkel – January 8, 2026 9:00 am

The University of North Carolina System assured state legislators Wednesday that they are doing everything in their power to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion language and programs across the 17-campus system.

The UNC Board of Governors voted in May 2024 to formally repeal the system’s policy on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in favor of “principled neutrality.”

Still, equity has remained in the political crosshairs, with Republicans lawmakers filing multiple bills in the 2025 session to  prohibit the support, funding or implementation of DEI programs in state government and education.

Bart Goodson, the UNC System’s senior vice president for government affairs, told members of the House Select Committee on Government Efficiency that by the time President Trump’s executive orders on discrimination and DEI rolled out in January 2025, the system was ahead of the curve.

Goodson said each campus was advised on the remaining steps necessary to bring campuses into full compliance with the Trump administration’s orders.

“The guidance emphasizes the policies refocus on student success and reminds campuses of the constant, ongoing vigilance campuses must use,” said Goodson.

A memo from the system also mandated that all general education requirements that included completion of course credits related to diversity, equity and inclusion be suspended.

The system further mandated an annual campus reporting requirement with the chancellor’s signature to verify compliance.

To date, 59 positions tied to DEI have been eliminated and 131 have been realigned. The system estimates that the implementation of the equality policy across the University of North Carolina system has saved $17.1 million. The savings have been redirected to student mental health, military and veteran student services and academic advising, according to Goodson.

But efforts to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion from higher education in North Carolina have not been quick or easy.

“We’re turning over every stone,” Goodson told committee members.

The campuses have manually reviewed more than 4,756 web pages, revised 1,270 web pages, and reviewed over 8,000 gifts, including scholarships and grants. Of those gift funds, 345 were flagged, 29 amended, with some spending paused. Funding from 85 foundations required working with individual donors to bring agreements into compliance.

“It takes a lot of manpower and a lot of man hours to review this information,” Goodson told the committee. “It’s a time-consuming area.”

Continue/Read Original Article Here: UNC System details painstaking process to root out diversity, equity and inclusion  • NC Newsline

UNC-Chapel Hill study shows AI can dramatically speed up digitizing natural history collections – EurekAlert!

News Release 5-Dec-2025

UNC-Chapel Hill study shows AI can dramatically speed up digitizing natural history collections, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

A new study from UNC-Chapel Hill researchers shows that advanced artificial intelligence tools, specifically large language models (LLMs), can accurately determine the locations where plant specimens were originally collected, a process known as georeferencing. This task has traditionally been slow, expensive and dependent on significant manual effort. The team found that LLMs can complete this work with near-human accuracy while being significantly faster and more cost-effective. 

“Our study explores how large language models can take on one of the biggest bottlenecks in digitizing plant collections,” said Yuyang Xie, first author and postdoctoral researcher in the department of biology at UNC. “We are pioneering the use of these tools for georeferencing, a breakthrough that will accelerate the digitization of plant specimens and unlock new possibilities for ecological research.” 

The research set out to answer a central question: Can AI automate one of the most time-consuming steps in digitizing natural history collections? The Carolina team found out that yes, it can. LLMs not only performed georeferencing with an error margin of less than 10 kilometers, outperforming traditional methods, but also completed the task at a fraction of the time and cost. 

“Recent advances in LLMs can potentially transform the georeferencing process, making it faster and more accurate,” said Xiao Feng, corresponding author and assistant professor in the department of biology at UNC. “This gives researchers unprecedented opportunities to advance our understanding of global biodiversity distributions.” 

The implications are significant. An estimated 2–3 billion herbarium specimens exist worldwide, but only a small fraction have been digitized. Without digital records and spatial data, researchers face major limitations in tracking biodiversity loss, understanding species movement under climate change and analyzing ecosystem shifts. By deploying AI-powered georeferencing, scientists may soon be able to rapidly digitize vast natural history collections that have remained largely inaccessible. 

“This technology allows us to unlock millions of records that are currently sitting in cabinets,” said Xie. “With the power of LLMs, we can rapidly digitize plant specimen data that will be critical for addressing global environmental challenges.” 

Traditional approaches to georeferencing rely on manual interpretation, specialized software, or multiple rounds of expert review. The UNC study is among the first to apply LLMs to this task and to show they can outperform existing methods in accuracy, efficiency, and scalability. This new approach opens the door to digitizing natural history collections at a speed never before possible. 

The research paper is available online in Nature Plants at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41477-025-02162-y  

Continue/Read Original Article Here: UNC-Chapel Hill study shows AI can dramatically speed up digitizing natural history collections | EurekAlert!

#AI #artificialIntelligence #BiologyDepartment #CarolinaTeam #Collections #DigitizeContent #EurekAlert #Georeferencing #LargeLanguageModelsLLM #LLMs #NaturalHistory #Nature #UNCChapelHill #XiaoFeng #YuyangXie

@pixouls

Wonder how this might impact Chapel Hill's ALA accreditation status?

#libraries #ala #accreditation #Library #uncChapelHill #AI

https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/university-breaking-school-of-ai-20251009

Hugs and Pups Posse | Rescue dog brings joy and comfort to UNC Chapel Hill students – ABC11 Raleigh-Durham

• PETS & ANIMALS

Rescue dog brings joy and comfort to UNC Chapel Hill students

ByAmber Rupinta

Friday, October 3, 2025 2:41PM

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WTVD) — Students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are finding stress relief and joy thanks to an unlikely campus celebrity, a three-legged golden retriever named Ted.

Ted, a rescue dog adopted through Neuse River Golden Retriever Rescue, makes regular visits to campus with his owner, Kristen Ponturiero.

“Ted and I come on campus. We like to come at least once a month,” Ponturiero said.

Before becoming a source of comfort for college students, Ted’s journey began far from North Carolina.

“Ted was actually found as a stray on March 20, 2024, with a compound-like fracture on the streets of Albania. A very kind stranger found him and took him into her care, and was able to get him very good veterinary care. They were unable to save his front left leg. So he did have an amputation over in Albania. But, as you see, he gets along fine,” Ponturiero said.

Despite his rough start, Ted quickly adjusted and showed a natural love for people.

“My husband and I took Ted out to a brewery one night. A woman approached us, and she commented on Ted’s great demeanor and that she thought he would be a great volunteer,” Ponturiero said.

That encounter eventually led them to HAPPEE Hugs and Pups Posse, a group that encourages and empowers college students by offering emotional support – one hug or pup at a time.

Many UNC students say Ted has become an important presence during stressful times on campus.

“I think a lot of students, like, we really need that, especially during a time like this. So if you are stressed about exams, but like seeing a dog, that’s just like a moment to, like, unwind and see another smiling creature,” said student April Chou.

For others, simply seeing Ted is the highlight of their day.

“This is amazing to have on campus. It literally makes my day every time I see a dog on campus. Like, just because we never get to see dogs, because kids here don’t have them in the dorms or have them in their on-campus housing. Absolutely makes my day,” said student Madeleine Bouvette.

Ponturiero says Ted’s resilience makes him even more special.

Continue/Read Original Article Here: Hugs and Pups Posse | Rescue dog brings joy and comfort to UNC Chapel Hill students – ABC11 Raleigh-Durham

#2025 #ABC11 #America #CollegeLife #Comfort #HAPPEE #Health #Joy #NeuseRiverGoldenRetrieverRescue #NorthCarolina #RaleighDurham #RescueDog #Students #TED #TheUniversityOfNorthCarolinaAtChapelHill #Travel #UNCChapelHill #UnitedStates

The Daily Tar Heel, the independent student paper at #UNCChapelHill, still prints a daily issue. It's front page today consists of text messages sent and received by students during yesterday's active shooter incident. It is not pleasant reading.

I am particularly struck by this message, halfway down the page: “It’s also scary how unprepared our teachers and staff were for that.”

https://s3.amazonaws.com/snwceomedia/dth/a05ac798-5a0a-468c-b74d-4db0a2a8b559.original.pdf

h/t @goldengateblond @electricarchaeo

I’m thinking of everyone at #UNCchapelhill tonight.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/28/us/university-north-carolina-shooting.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare