The Daily Tar Heel

News

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Elfland will retire after four decades

After four decades at the University, Carolyn Elfland, associate vice chancellor for campus services, will retire next June. Her retirement was announced to UNC faculty and staff Monday in an email written by Karol Kain Gray, UNCs vice chancellor for finance and

administration. Gray said in the email that she will make changes to the organizational structure of the currently services managed by Elfland, in preparation for Elflands retirement. Elfland leads Auxiliary Services and Safety, Security and Sustainability. Her responsibilities include oversight of the Carolina Inn, Horace Williams Airport, Carolina Dining Services, Student Stores and all campus parking. She has been instrumental in developing an unbelievable area in energy services and sustainability, Gray said of

Carolyn Elfland has announced she will retire next June after four decades at the University as a student and administrator.
Elfland. Finding one person who could take over the post as it is currently structured is unrealistic, Gray said. Just because you graduate doesnt mean your education and opportunity to give back to the University should end, Elfland said.

I think that what Ive done is an example of how the University can contribute to your success the same as you can contribute to it, she said. Gray said part of the organizational restructuring will include merging Facilities Services with the Facilities Planning and Construction Division into a unified Facilities Services Division, effective July 1. Bruce Runberg, the associate vice chancellor for facilities planning, will lead the new division. Ray DuBose has led Facilities Services on an interim basis since December and will con-

tinue until Runberg takes over in July. Also included in Grays plan, Anna Wu will be promoted from University architect to assistant vice chancellor for facilities operations, planning and design. In this role, she will oversee Housekeeping Services. Wu said she will begin participating in the housekeeping departments oversight committee, which was formed in response to complaints by department employees and the findings of a report conducted by PRM Consulting Group. Darius Dixon has been the departments director since April.

Since Darius arrived, it seems like things have calmed down, Gray said about reforms to the housekeeping department. Elfland said she believes Dixon is moving the department forward. I think Mr. Dixons been a wonderful addition to the University, Elfland said. Former department director Bill Burston left the University last September, and Lea Holt served as interim director until Dixon was hired. Contact the University Editor at university@dailytarheel.com.

a cElEbratiOn Of pridE

Homeless shelter plan takes shape

dth/melissa key Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt speaks to fellow members of the Chapel Hill Town Council at a meeting on May 11.

Kleinschmidt is off to the capital for lGbt pride Month

Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt has spent more than two decades as an activist for civil rights, even marching on Washington, D.C., in support of various issues. This week hell be returning, but in a very different setting. On Friday, Kleinschmidt will be joining President Barack Obama and other leaders from across the country at the White House for a reception in honor of Pride Month. The LGBT community unofficially recognizes June as Pride Month to commemorate the anniversary of the 1969 raid of the Stonewall Inn. The raid is considered the defining moment that started the modern LGBT rights movement. Bill Clinton was the first president to declare Pride Month in 2000, and Obama has recognized the celebration each year hes been in office. Kleinschmidt, Chapel Hills first openly gay mayor, said this year is particularly special because for the first time in history, a U.S. president has supported the legalization of same-sex marriage while in office.

Its a point in time that we will never forget, he said. At the reception, Kleinschmidt said he hopes to speak with other leaders from across the country to see how they are dealing with LGBT issues in their communities. He said North Carolina suffered a great disappointment with the recent passage of Amendment One but that its important to continue moving forward. Terri Phoenix, director of UNCs Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Center, said the biggest issues the community and the state face are employment protection, health care access, relationship recognition by the government, cultural competency and harassment. Phoenix said Kleinschmidts desire to give back to the town and UNC, and his visibility as an advocate have made him tremendously valuable to the community. Phoenix said Kleinschmidt has worked with the LGBTQ Center, allowing students to shadow him at work and speaking at Lavender Graduation a commencement ceremony for sexuality studies minors and members of UNCs gay community. I have tremendous respect for him,

I think Mark has really been vocally supportive of LGBT rights.

Phoenix said. Chapel Hill Town Council member Lee Storrow who is also openly gay said the Chapel Hill community is fortunate to have Kleinschmidts forward-thinking ideas. I think after the passage of Amendment One, its a really discouraging time to be a gay North Carolinian, Storrow said. I think Mark has really been vocally supportive of LGBT rights and has been an advocate in our community. Kleinschmidt said Chapel Hill has a long history of being a leader in the state for the civil rights for all people. Its a part of our culture, he said. Contact the City Editor at city@dailytarheel.com.

The passage of the Good Neighbor Plan Monday makes the Inter-Faith Council for Social Service one step closer toward their goal of a new transitional homeless shelter. The shelter will help integrate homeless men back into society. Chris Moran, executive director of the IFC, said the council will next get a zoning compliance permit which he said is 60 to 70 percent complete and then it can begin the bidding process for the project. But Moran said they must now also start raising money for the project in the community. I would think that some donors have been waiting until the town really moved across this bridge, as they did last night, he said. Moran said he hoped to be able to start building by spring of 2013. If everything goes well, the construction will take about a year and a half to complete and the building will be ready to open by 2015, Moran said. The Chapel Hill Town Council unanimously approved the IFCs Good Neighbor Plan Monday, after lengthy discussion among residents. The Good Neighbor Plan intends to address concerns about the new shelter being built at 1315 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. But the plan has also come under fire by many residents worried about the impact of the shelter on the neighborhoods around it. Moran said the Good Neighbor Plan was more detailed than any other of its kind in the U.S. or Canada in keeping neighborhoods as unaffected as possible. Some residents were concerned about the 17 beds that will be provided for homeless men in emergency situations, such as severe weather. But the beds will only be available until an emergency shelter can be constructed elsewhere in Orange County. A transitional housing facility and an emergency shelter are equally important for different reasons, Moran said. The council also approved by a vote of 6-1 the lease and sublease for the new property. By the conditions of the special use permit passed in 2011, the leases could not be approved by the council until the Good Neighbor Plan passed. Council member Matt Czajkowski voted against the motion. He said he wanted the lease to include a provision that would require the IFC to move out of its current location in a town-owned building within a set time limit. Moran said if he had been able to respond to Czajkowski at the meeting, he would have asked the council to consider an intergovernmental discussion between the IFC and local governing bodies to address homelessness and hunger in the area. If theres an intergovernmental interest, including the University, involved in helping us get all that done, I think the time span (to move out) would be shorter, he said. Contact the City Editor at city@dailytarheel.com.

Obama prioritizes nancial aid inBRIEF

An estimated two-thirds of college students borrow money to pay for college, and the federal government is trying to make the process easier. In an effort to increase student awareness of the options they have to manage loan debt, President Barack Obama announced the government will develop a streamlined loan application process and integrated online and mobile resources by the end of September. According to a memorandum released by the White House, the average student who uses loans to pay for college graduates with about $26,300 of debt. The memorandum said too many borrowers are unaware of their options to manage student loan debt, and many borrowers have difficulty completing the application process.

Shirley Ort, director of the UNC Office of Scholarships and Student Aid, said many students do not know what their options are because the topic of student aid is complicated. More than one-third of seniors graduating from UNC have borrowed money, she said. Students, just like the rest of us adults, learn what they need to know just in time, Ort said. It is not going to be in the front of their mind until they have to start repaying. Income-based repayment which was introduced in 2007 currently allows former students with a high debt-to-income ratio to cap their debt payments at 15 percent of their income. This amount will be reduced to 10 percent starting in 2014. The program also provides for debt forgiveness after 20 years. Sophomore Rachel Malin said she is concerned about the debt she could owe after college. But she said she has friends who would have attended college if they had known about these options. It is good for all students to know,

she said. Some of my friends didnt go to college because they were concerned about debt. Some of the efforts to reduce the complexity surrounding the process include the use of online and mobile resources to explain repayment options. Ort said she thought most students will find the provisions of debt repayment attractive, since it uses communication methods more familiar to students. It is a big challenge to get the attention of students, especially at the time of graduating, because there is a lot of things in their minds, Ort said. Junior Sanem Kabaca, an economics and public policy double major, said the program would help students. Any student is concerned about getting a job and repaying their loans, Kabaca said. She said the program provided her assurance that she would be able to pay back a loan. It takes into account each individuals circumstances, rather than the graduating class as a whole, she said. Contact the State & National Editor at state@dailytarheel.com.

Campus Briefs
UNC professor co-authors book on nursing for clinical settings
Gwen Sherwood, professor and associate dean at the UNC School of Nursing, wrote a book published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International. Sara Horton-Deutsch coauthored the book with Sherwood. The book, titled Reflective Practice: Transforming Education and Improving Outcomes, is intended for nurse educators in academic and clinical settings.

City Briefs
Chapel Hill Tire Car Center earns first Triangle hybrid certification
The Chapel Hill Tire Car Center announced Monday it has become the first car repair shop in the Triangle to be ACDC Hybrid/EV repair certified. The car center earned certification by completing an education and training session and testing. The process qualifies hybrid-certified technicians to make repairs to hybrid vehicles.

UNC Health Care recognized for Repair of Hillsborough parking patient safety by national report lot to limit parking downtown
UNC Health Care and Rex Health Care both received A grades from the Leapfrog Group, an independent nonprofit group. The Leapfrog Group developed the Hospital Safety Score from public data on patient injuries, medical and medication errors and infections. The group recognizes the countrys best hospitals while warning patients of the worst. Beginning near or on Tuesday, the town of Hillsborough will do repair work to the Bank of America parking lot in downtown Hillsborough. During this time, the Bank of America drive-thru will remain open, but the parking spaces will be limited The parking lot will be closed between June 24 and 25. Any vehicles left in the lot will be towed. From staff and wire reports