UNC to cut more from the top

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By ABC11

Monday, August 31, 2009

CHAPEL HILL Monday we learned 900 jobs, most of them administrative, are on the chopping block as the system faces a budget crisis.

That number didn't come as a surprise to UNC's chancellor, stating the campus has already laid off workers and more could be coming.

Behind closed doors UNC system chancellors are feeling the pressure to trim hundreds of top heavy jobs on campus.

A blistering e-mail from system President Erskine Bowles calls a recent newspaper report on excessive administrative cost an absolute embarrassment.

Chancellors at all 17 schools have spent months cutting their budgets by 10-percent.

In another stern e-mail Bowles says he'll be looking for proof they're following orders.

UNC Chancellor Holden Thorpe says the Chapel Hill Campus is ahead of the curb slashing more than 80 jobs last year. More cuts are expected. But he remains tightlipped on how many.

When the economy turned sour UNC Chapel Hill put itself under the microscope, hiring a private consultant to look at its spending.

That report found 9 layers of administration, in some instances, with many top level workers supervising fewer than three people.

All UNC campuses are cutting their budgets by 10 percent. The new state budget decreases funding by 6 percent, and schools must cut another 4 percent in case of more revenue shortfalls.