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TheAppalachianOnline.com
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Motorcyclist airlifted following three-vehicle crash by STEPHANIE SANSOUCY
Professors gain a 1.2 percent pay increase by CHELSEY FISHER
2008, the North Carolina General Assembly passed a budget that did All North Carolina state not include severe cuts, employees will receive a 1.2 said Susan McCracken, percent pay increase and five director of external affairs extra vacation days due to and community relations. the new education budget. This year, the UNC-sysFor the first time since tem’s need-based finanIntern News Reporter
cial aid increased, and state employees were given a 1.2 percent pay increase and extra vacation. In addition, $3 million were added to the faculty retention fund, which is designed to keep professors within the UNC-
GOP headquarters opens
Intern News Reporter
A crash involving a Harley Davison motorcycle, Jeep Patriot and a Dodge Ram occurred at noon Monday across from Klondike. One of the drivers was airlifted to Johnson City, Tenn., according to a news release. Tyler Walker, junior biology major, witnessed the accident. “I was standing in front of the accident,” Walker said. “I heard an explosion sound and saw the cyclist go flying. I ran over to go “At first he c h e c k was unreon him. He apsponsive parently but then I had a got him to dog in a respond.” carrying case. A Chase Gustine, woman Boone EMT c a m e a n d got the dog, and it seemed okay. The girl standing next to me called 911.” Boone EMT Chase Gustine was already at Klondike when the accident happened. “I got down to check and see if he was conscious,” Gustine said. “At first he was unresponsive but then I got him to respond.” The victim was able to communicate that he was aware of what was going on. However, when Boone Police and Fire Department began arriving, Gustine said the victim started to lose consciousness. Fire Marshal Ronnie Marsh said at first he was only aware there was a bike and car accident. “When we arrived there was a male on the ground,” Marsh said. “We don’t know the extent of the injuries. He has been taken to Watauga Medical center where a helicopter has been called to airlift him.” The accident was cleaned up, and traffic flow returned to normal by 12:38 p.m. The cause of the wreck has not been determined, according to the news release.
Vol. 87, No. 01
system, McCracken said. “It’s absolutely critical to do as much as we can for the employees of this university,” McCracken said. However, to some faculty at the university, that may not be enough. Michael Behrent, an assis-
by ANNE BUIE
A
Anne Buie | The Appalachian
see BUDGET, pg. 2
Hurricane Isaac won’t ‘impact’ RNC Managing Editor
Landon Jordan, son of NC Representative Jonathon Jordan, assists U.S. Representative Virginia Foxx in cutting the ribbon at the grand opening of the GOP's new headquarters Saturday. The headquaters are located at the Shadowline shopping center, off U.S. HWY 321.
tant professor of history, began working at Appalachian in 2008 during the first set of extreme budget cuts. “The lack of budget cuts this year doesn’t reverse the long standing trend of dis-
lthough Hurricane Isaac was expected to postpone parts of the Republican National Convention, Watauga RNC delegate Rick Woods said the convention is scheduled to proceed as scheduled. “The hurricane won’t impact much else, beside the rain and the wind today,” Woods said. Woods said he thought attending the RNC would be an “exciting time” to experience how the convention works. Woods also said the political system turns him off and he gets frustrated with the flawed system. But he wasn’t going to let his frustration prevent him from going. “A lot of people get frustrated with it and then they quit,” Woods said. “You’re not doing your party or your country any good. You just have to stay in there and muddle through all the politics.” Woods described himself as a “lukewarm” Mitt Romney fan, but he still was going to “actively work to get the pair elected.” “We often focus on maybe five to 10 percent things
that we disagree on with each other on and sometimes we cause division in the party instead of focusing on the 90 percent things we do agree on…” Rick said. “Go God, go family and go country. And if we do all that then go Republican.” Rick has worked as an advisor for the university’s College Republicans club. “He’s extremely dedicated to helping the College Republicans, and pushing the gap between College Republicans and Watauga GOP,” Chairman Kelsey Crum said. “It’s wonderful that we have someone who is so active in pushing the conservative message.” Delegates are elected at the district convention, when Woods was nominated by Republican Chairperson Matt Synder. Three delegates are elected for each district, along with three alternates. “We’re one of the smaller counties in the district and I thought it’d be great to have someone from Watauga county represent us,” Synder said. “I nominated him to go…he was very excited. He’s been very active and involved. I thought if someone really wants to go that bad, then I’d be happy to nominate them.”
Thirty-one percent of goals for 2008-12 strategic plan met by KELLI STRAKA News Editor
Plans for the university’s new strategic plan for the 201317 school year are underway. The updated plan was supposed to be finished in 2012, but due to unprecedented university accreditation, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools extended the deadline, Lori Gonzalez, provost and executive vice chancellor, said. Thirty-one percent of the goals from the 2008-12 strategic plan were met, Gonzalez said. Some of those goals included: creating the Office of Sustain-
ability, establishing College of Health Sciences and completing the College of Education building. Twenty-two percent of the goals are still on-going and essentially have no endpoint, Gonzalez said. Some of those goals included: completing the construction of the College of Health and Sciences and Allied Professions Complex, obtain Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification in major construction projects and increase housing for 40 percent of undergraduates and maintain that percentage. Twenty-five percent of the goals were not met and 17 percent of the goals were not initiated due
to financial limits, Gonzalez said. The university’s strategic plan is updated every four years. Gonzalez said she wants to define who Appalachian is and what we are known for by 2017. Gonzalez said she wants to use the strategic plan to strengthen the university’s scholarly research, interdisciplinary programs and research, becoming a globally inclusive campus and sustainability aspect. Gonzalez said she hopes to have the plan complete by the Board of Trustee’s meeting in either fall or summer of 2013. The beginning process of the strategic plan includes forming the Universi-
ty Planning and Priorities Council. The committee is in charge of ranking the priorities of the campus, reviewing the IRAP’s data and reviewing past progress and evaluating future goals, while crafting the strategic plan, Gonzalez said. Members of the UPPC have already been selected, but the committee hasn’t been completely formed yet, said Bobby Sharp, director of Institutional Research, Assessment and Planning. “We know that the future will bring all kinds of surprises but the strategic plan can be a guiding principle to navigate through those changes,” Sharp said.
Summit Hall surpasses projected budget, LEED certification ‘worth the price’ by KELLI STRAKA News Editor
Construction for Summit Hall exceeded the $30 million project budget given to the Planning, Design and Construction department Project Manager David Sweet said. However, Sweet was unable to provide an exact number because the residence hall’s contract was “complicated.” Under the contract, designs are still in progress as the Fixed Guaranteed Maximum Price is decided, he said. Sweet said the work after the FGMP
and the bad market are two of the main In 2007, the university’s Board of Trustreasons the project went over budget. ees created a policy stating all new buildDespite the upfront ings and major cost, getting the renovations have to building Leaderbe LEED certified, ship in Energy and “Appalachian’s role is to educate, according to susso it’s important that dorms are Environmental Detain.appstate.edu. LEED certified or compliant.” sign is worth the “By living in one of price, Sweet said. these LEED cerGed Moody, Director of Sustainability Summit was built tified dorms, we to be LEED cerwant to be providtified, although ing an education it has not been certified yet, Direc- on what a sustainable and energy effitor of Sustainability Ged Moody said. cient building looks like,” Moody said.
Moody said he hopes LEED certified buildings create a sense of partnership between the occupants and the building in order to educate on sustainability. Appalachian’s role is to educate, so it’s important that dorms are LEED certified or compliant, Moody said. By choosing to build these types of buildings, decision-makers have chosen to make a leadership decision that is good for our environment and hopefully, over time, good for the students’ pockets too,” said Crystal Simmons, university sustainability specialist.
Reverse transfer initiative enforced to make transfer process ‘seamless’ by KELLI STRAKA News Editor
As enrollment for transfer students grows, policies and procedures are being developed to make the transfer process more “seamless” in regards to credit hours, said Jane Rex, director of Enrollment Management. The Office of Transfer Articulation, which was formed in 2010, has been working to develop new policies to help transfers adjust to Appalachian as the number of
transfers continues to increase. The university is growing their transfer enrollment, not significantly, but by 150 to 300 students per year, Susan Davies, associate vice chancellor for enrollment services, said. This fall, a reverse transfer initiative was implemented. The initiative allows the university to work with transfer students, with 11 or less hours, to complete their core requirements at the community college they’re currently at, while simultaneous-
ly taking Appalachian courses. Currently, the Office of Transfer Articulation is working on a two plus two agreement, which means if students take two years of coursework at a community college, they can complete their degree in two years at Appalachian. “I think that we have a lot of initiatives in place now that if we continue to build those initiatives and enhance our communication, then I think we’ll be serving the transfer students well,” Rex said. The Office of General Edu-
cation and Office of Transfer Articulation have been working closely to bridge the gap and make credits transfer and work best for students, Rex said. The General Education office is looking at out-of-state Associate of Arts and Associate of Sciences, which in the past had not met Appalachian’s general education requirements. Now, transfer students with an AA or AS are being looked at by a case-by-case basis to determine if they’ve met gen-
eral education requirements. This fall, the General Education office is piloting the possibility to have transfers who have met Appalachian’s sister institutions general education requirements to transfer over as having met the university’s general education requirements, Paulette Marty, director of General Education, said. A proposal will be sent this fall to Academic Policies and Procedures. If approved, the initiative can be implemented next fall.
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