public university system, but I think what it
teaches you is how access and affordability
can transform the student body of an institution in terms of attracting the best and
the brightest and giving everybody an
opportunity that is ready to learn and has
the qualification to gain admission to a particular institution. It just really emphasized
for me the importance of financial aid. And
when you look at our system and you realize that 60 percent of the students are on
need-based aid, then you realize that the
future of North Carolina is tied up in our
ability to maintain affordability and access.
A faculty member I had when I was in
college changed my life completely, and I
think that happens much more frequently
than we realize. His name is George Labban,
he taught classics. He started a new program
called the classics experience abroad. And
the first year it was going to happen was my
sophomore year. My freshman year in college was, shall we say, less than stellar. I was
having adjustment problems, as they say. And
I decided what a neat thing it would be to
go abroad and escape all the hard work and
difficulty of college. And so I signed up for
it. Little did I know that George Labban was
about as tough a professor as Davidson had,
and I never worked harder than I did in that
course. It was the professor and seven students in two cars, and we traveled Greece
and Italy primarily, some into southern
France, focused on the classics.
My big paper that I had to present was
on Greek athletics, that I had to present in
Olympia. So as somebody who hadn’t
really traveled much and didn’t really
understand the value of education to be
able to stand and talk about the discus and
stand in the circle where the first Olympics
was held was just an unbelievable experience for me. And by the time I came back
my whole view of the importance of education, my own passion for it, my desire to
learn, all of a sudden I was really thirsty
and I just couldn’t get enough.
A New Era for Jewish Studies
CAROLINA CENTER for JEWISH STUDIES
Jonathan Hess, Director Pettigrew Hall, Suite 100 Campus Box 3152 Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3152 P: 919-962-1509 E: ccjs@unc.edu W: ccjs.unc.edu
The Carolina Center for Jewish Studies is proud
to introduce a new undergraduate degree program,
allowing Carolina students to make Jewish history
and culture the centerpiece of their studies. This
makes Carolina the first institution in the state to
offer an undergraduate degree in Jewish Studies.
We are also pleased to announce our upcoming
community lectures:
Sept. 19: Jews and the Civil War
Nov. 14: The Stages of Memory:
From Berlin to New York
March 19: Striving for Perfection in Ancient
Jewish Literature
April 16: Material Culture and Jewish Identity
To learn more about the Center and the new academic
major, and to see the full list of upcoming community
events, visit
ccjs.unc.edu.
Glee Kids
William Travis Jewelry
Fine Feathers
Review: The UNC System shared in
the 2011 state budget cuts to the tune
of more than $400 million in permanent reductions. What do you think is
the most important message about the
system for the Legislature to get now?
Ross: We are recognized nationally as
one of the best public university systems in
the country. We’re not broke, and I think
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