FROM THE HILL
Davidson President to Lead UNC System
Bowles ’ 67, who is stepping down at the end of this
year after five years leading the system.
Ross is described as having an intense interest in
public policy throughout a career that included a stint
as a top aide to an N.C. congressman and as director of
the state’s Administrative Office of the Courts. “He’s a
person who has very strong convictions but is able to
respect the views of others he doesn’t necessarily agree
with,” said Tom Lambeth ’ 57, who preceded Ross at
the Reynolds Foundation.
Ross continued on page 4
CHUCK LIDDY/THE NEWS & OBSERVER
“He’s an extremely able person. I think it’s really a
fine choice,” Lambeth said. “He has a good bit of expe-
rience working with the General Assembly — he starts
out not having to learn who the people are. He has
been involved as a grants-maker with a good many of
the postsecondary schools in North Carolina.”
President Emeritus William Friday ’ 48 (LLB) told
The News & Observer of Raleigh, “He’s worked in and
around all the forces that work for good in North Carolina. I think the University is indeed fortunate. Mr.
Ross is a splendid example of a person dedicated to a
life of public service.”
Thomas Ross ’ 75 (JD) — the president of Davidson College, a North Carolina native, former Superior Court judge and former executive director of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation —
has been unanimously elected by the UNC System
Board of Governors to be the next president of the
UNC System.
Ross will take office Jan. 1, succeeding Erskine
The Class
of ’ 14
23,275
Applied
7,547
Admitted
(32%)
3,990
Expected to enroll
(53%)
19%
Of those enrolling,
are the first
in their families
to go to college
1304
Average SAT score
Possible Academic Misconduct New Focus of Football Probe
‘To everyone who loves this University, I’m sorry for what I have to tell you.” With that Chancellor Holden Thorp ’ 86
opened a news conference called by the athletics
department Aug. 26 to reveal that, in the course of the
NCAA investigation into the football program, UNC
and the NCAA uncovered possible academic misconduct involving an undergraduate student tutor and
some players on the football team.
The tutor was identified as having worked for
Coach Butch Davis’ family for about two years as an
“academic adviser” for his son. Beyond that, Thorp,
Davis and Athletics Director Dick Baddour ’ 66 offered
few details. They declined to say whether the potential
misconduct occurred during the tutor’s employment
with Davis. They also declined to say how many players
might be involved or to describe the nature of the mis-
conduct. Baddour described the misconduct as “impro-
prieties [that] occurred outside the classroom.”
Thorp said that when it was determined to be an
academics issue, UNC officials talked with the NCAA
and that the NCAA agreed to let the University inves-
tigate.
Baddour said the matter of concern with the tutor
came to light in an interview with a player that was
related to the NCAA investigation that has been going
on for most of the summer. The initial probe involves
dealings between a Carolina player or players and pro-
fessional sports agents that might violate NCAA rules.
UNC officials have had little to say about that investi-
gation, citing confidentiality agreements with NCAA
investigators.
Of those reporting
their graduating
class ranks:
41.9%
were 10th or higher
11.9%
were first or second
78.2%
were in the top 10%
Admitted freshmen
come from:
98 N.C. counties
42 states and the
District of Columbia
27other countries
54.5%
have traveled
outside the U.S.
17%
are fluent in a
language other
than English
Source: Preliminary numbers
as of mid-August, from the
Office of Undergraduate
Admissions
NCAA continued on page 4
CAROLINA ALUMNI REVIEW
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