Be it resolved:

That the chair send a letter of appreciation to President Broad, other appropriate staff and the legislature for their work on the recent budget success.

Following consultation with the Office of the President, the chair sent the following letter to the state's daily newspapers on September 25, 2001:

Editor:

The leadership in the General Assembly and Governor Easley demonstrated statesmanship and uncommon political courage in giving our state a sound, responsible budget.

Education represents sixty percent of the state??s expenditures. Had the Assembly failed to identify new revenues, our educational system would have been devastated. Although the budget makes painful cuts to education at all levels, it keeps the state??s educational capabilities essentially intact at a time of rapidly growing enrollment.

It is true that the faculty of North Carolina's public universities, like all state employees, effectively took a pay cut because a small salary increase was more than offset by a cut in benefits. Nevertheless, the picture could easily have been much worse. We are grateful to all legislators who gave the budget their support, and we applaud their recognition of the importance of public education to the welfare of all North Carolinians.

Richard Veit
Chair, Faculty Assembly
University of North Carolina

The chair also sent copies of the above letter, along with the following letter, to each member of the majority leadership of the General Assembly:

Dear _____________:

The faculty of the University of North Carolina wish me to express our gratitude for your leadership, wisdom, and courage in the successful effort to provide our state with a responsible budget. We especially appreciate your efforts on behalf of public higher education in North Carolina.

I have sent the enclosed letter to the daily newspapers of the state expressing our support for your efforts.

Sincerely yours,

Richard Veit
Chair, Faculty Assembly