Poe Hall likely to get more money in NC budget. How about other projects?
For 18 months, Poe Hall at NC State University has been shuttered due to the presence of PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls — toxic chemicals considered to be “probable human carcinogens” by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
University leaders announced last summer that they plan to remove the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems and materials in the building to remedy the issue, and state lawmakers earmarked millions of dollars last year for the project.
Now, the university appears poised to receive millions more for the building — to the tune of $180 million, to be exact.
That’s just one of many projects that lawmakers seem to agree on funding as they head into budget negotiations this summer.
Welcome to Dean’s List, a higher education newsletter from The News & Observer and me, Korie Dean.
This week’s edition includes a look at key capital improvement projects for UNC System campuses that could be funded in the state budget; a series of leadership changes around the system; and headlines you might have missed from last week — including a first-of-its-kind proposal for accreditation in the UNC System.
Let’s get started.
NC budget plans include higher ed items
There’s a good rule of thumb in the General Assembly: If an appropriation appears in both the House and Senate budget proposals, there’s a solid chance it will appear in the final compromise budget at the end of negotiations.
That’s the case with lawmakers’ proposals for Poe Hall, which are identical.
Both chambers’ budget plans would increase the total authorized spending amount for the rehabilitation and renovation of the building to $185 million, up from $5 million under the previous budget. Most immediately, both proposals would allocate roughly $25 million in the 2025-26 fiscal year and roughly $75 million in the following year for the project.
That’s not the only project that appears in both spending plans. Among other projects the chambers appear to agree on are:
- Providing more than $12 million in 2025-26, and more than $14 million in 2026-26, for renovations at the Hickory campus of Appalachian State University, which opened in 2023.
- Providing more than $9 million to complete the construction of a new aviation instruction building at Elizabeth City State University, where aviation science has become a signature academic offering.
- Providing the remaining funding of $8.75 million to establish a new regional medical examiner’s office at East Carolina University.
- Providing continued funding for the renovations of seven residence halls at the NC School of Science and Math, and increasing the total authorized spending for the project to $44 million.
- Providing the remaining funding of more than $17.6 million to complete improvement projects at the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Nursing.
- Providing continued funding, in the amount of $3.75 million each fiscal year, for the UNC System office’s lease in downtown Raleigh, which will be used until the North Carolina Education Campus is constructed and ready for use.
Those, of course, are just a fraction of lawmakers’ funding proposals for higher education. And there are plenty of additional proposals that differ between the chambers’ spending plans.
Among lots of other provisions I’m keeping an eye on, I’m interested to see whether a House proposal to increase tuition rates in the UNC System will come to fruition. That proposal, released last week as the House rolled out its budget in bits and pieces, would have the Board of Governors increase undergraduate and graduate tuition rates to generate at least $30 million a year in additional revenue.
Legislative staff said that could result in a tuition increase of 2% to 3% depending on how it’s implemented.
But keeping tuition flat for in-state undergraduate students has been a priority of system President Peter Hans. When I asked him about the House’s proposal last week, he said he is “hopeful” the system could make it a full decade without raising tuition.
For more on key items in the House’s spending proposal, check out this story: NC House budget calls for job cuts, tuition increase. What else they’re proposing
ICYMI: Catch up on these headlines
I say it a lot, but last week really was a busy week on the higher ed beat. That means I have several stories to share with you.
First, while we’re on the topic: There’s a new update on Poe Hall.
Late last month, then-NC State Chancellor Randy Woodson informed the campus that the federal health investigation of the building had been closed due to cuts to the federal workforce. Now, the congresswoman who represents Raleigh and much of Wake County in Washington is asking that the cuts be reversed and the evaluation resume.
Democratic Rep. Deborah Ross sent a letter last week to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. urging him to “reconsider” the decision to terminate hundreds of workers from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, or NIOSH.
Read more about Ross’ letter in this story: NC Rep. Ross asks RFK Jr. to reverse federal cuts that halted Poe Hall investigation
Next up, a surprise announcement from UNC System President Peter Hans at last week’s Board of Governors meeting.
Hans said Wednesday the system is “exploring the idea” of partnering with other “major” public university systems around the country to create a new accrediting agency, a move that would appear to be the first of its kind in the U.S. and that comes after significant changes to accreditation at the state and federal levels in recent years.
Hans offered few details of the plan. But I tried to parse the context as much as I could.
Read the full story: UNC System ‘exploring’ creating its own accrediting agency, president says
Speaking of Hans, he walked away from last week’s meetings a whole lot richer.
In addition to approving a one-time bonus of $442,200 for his performance over the past year, the Board of Governors also voted to give him a raise of nearly $150,000 as part of a new employment agreement. His new terms will be good until 2030 — and if he stays until then, he will be the longest-serving UNC System president in more than 30 years.
Read more about the new terms in this story: UNC System president gets $150K raise and big bonus. Why board says he earned it
Finally, Elizabeth City State University has a new leader.
Keith Hargrove, an engineer who has experience in leadership roles at three historically Black colleges, will be the next chancellor of the HBCU in Eastern North Carolina.
The Board of Governors last week approved Hans’ recommendation to hire Hargrove for the university’s top job. He succeeds Karrie Dixon, who left ECSU last summer to become chancellor of NC Central University in Durham.
Read more about Hargrove in this story: Elizabeth City State chancellor named. Why his HBCU pedigree made him top pick
Comings and goings
I have several leadership changes to share this week.
Let’s start with some departures:
▪ Bethany Meighen, UNC System vice president for academic and student affairs, will leave her role to become president of Concord University in West Virginia. Her new appointment is effective July 1.
The move is a return to West Virginia for Meighen, who holds her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Charleston. She has been part of the UNC System for more than a decade, beginning as a graduate assistant while she earned her doctoral degree in education at UNC Wilmington before moving to the system office.
Members of the UNC System Board of Governors and Hans offered their congratulations to Meighen during last week’s meetings.
“We will miss her optimism, her devotion to student experience, student wellness and success, and genuine care for her colleagues and community,” board member Terry Hutchens said Wednesday.
▪ Martin Brinkley, dean of the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Law, will step down from his role at some point within the next year. He will remain on the faculty at the law school, where he teaches courses on property, corporate law and legal history.
Brinkley has served as dean for nearly a decade, coming to the school directly from practicing as a partner with Raleigh’s Smith Anderson firm. He received his law degree from UNC in 1992.
“Over Martin’s decade-long tenure, the school has experienced exceptional growth and success thanks to his strategic vision and leadership,” UNC Provost Chris Clemens wrote in announcing the change. That includes the law school rising 27 spots in the U.S. News & World Report rankings and completing a $78 million capital campaign, per Clemens’ message.
Brinkley will remain dean until his successor is named, or until the end of the 2025-26 academic year.
And now, some arrivals (or promotions, really):
▪ Will Sears will be Appalachian State University’s next vice chancellor of university advancement, overseeing fundraising and alumni relations. Sears has filled the role on an interim basis for a year; the title will officially be his July 1.
Under his interim leadership, the university experienced its best fundraising year to-date, bringing in $46 million in the 2024 fiscal year, per a news release. According to the release, the university is on track to exceed that amount by 30% this year.
▪ Chris Buddo is the new provost of East Carolina University, as of Friday. He comes into the role officially after serving as interim since October.
Buddo, a musician and longtime faculty member at ECU, will be the university’s top academic official. Already in his interim term, he helped oversee the process of combing through the school’s curriculum for possible violations of a new UNC System ban on mandatory diversity, equity and inclusion courses.
“In recent weeks, I’ve met with a wide array of university stakeholder groups and various leaders across campus,” ECU Chancellor Philip Rogers said in a news release. “In those meetings, I heard strong support of Dr. Buddo as the right person to lead the university’s academic initiatives over the next few years, as well as an appreciation for his thoughtful and authentic leadership style.”
▪ And Meagan Kiser is ECU’s new general counsel, filling a role she has held on an interim basis since October. Kiser has been at ECU for a decade and previously worked in a private law practice in Charlotte.
Kiser “is a true partner when it comes to managing university leadership issues and knowing how to balance legal risks and opportunities for an educational institution,” Rogers said. “She has also proven to be an effective problem solver for legal and policy matters while also navigating the ever-changing higher education landscape in the state and nationally.”
Higher ed news I’m reading
- Federal lobbying disclosures show that research universities are spending heavily on their advocacy efforts since Trump took office, Inside Higher Ed reports. Duke University spent $280,000 in the first quarter of the year, while the UNC System spent $115,000.
- Lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives are urging Duke to end its partnership with Wuhan University in China, The Assembly reports. The Duke Chronicle offers a fact-check of the legislators’ key claims, finding that many were exaggerated or lacked context.
See you next time
Thanks for reading Dean’s List. I’ll see you right back here next week.
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This story was originally published May 20, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Poe Hall likely to get more money in NC budget. How about other projects?."
