Bonds
Campaign Gets Organized
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 Twelve of the state's top business
and education leaders -- including a former U.S.
Senator and four company presidents -- are
spearheading the campaign to pass a $3.1 billion
bond package for the state's community colleges
and universities, Phil Kirk, president of North
Carolina Citizens for Business and Industry
(NCCBI) announced Friday.
Heading up the campaign will be Leslie Bevacqua
(picture, left), NCCBI vice president of
governmental affairs. She will take a four-month
leave of absence from the NCCBI staff beginning
July 17 to run the day-to-day operations of the
campaign. Until the campaign secures office space
of its own next month, work on the campaign will
done out of NCCBI's offices.
The campaign co-chairs, charged with directing
the statewide effort to pass the bond package,
are: Jim Broyhill, former U.S. senator; Mimi
Cecil, secretary of the board of directors of the
Biltmore Co. and chair of the board of Warren
Wilson College; Mac Everett, First Union Bank
Mid-Atlantic Region president and NCCBI chairman;
Helen Newsome, president of the National
Association of Community College Trustees; and
Dr. Leroy Walker, former N.C. Central University
chancellor.
The finance co-chairs, who will raise funds for
the statewide campaign in order to educate North
Carolina voters about the bond referendum are:
William J. Armfield IV, president, Spotswood
Capital LLC; Thomas Bradshaw Jr., managing
director of Salomon Smith Barney Inc.; Bert
Collins, president and CEO of N.C. Mutual Life
Insurance Co.; Hugh McColl, chairman and CEO of
Bank of America Corp.; John Medlin, chairman
emeritus, Wachovia Corp.; Earl N.
“Phil” Phillips Jr., president of
Phillips Interests; and Dr. Ruth Shaw, executive
vice president and chief administrative officer
of Duke Energy.
Last week, Gov. Jim Hunt and three former
governors -- Jim Martin, Jim Holshouser and Bob
Scott -- were named honorary co-chairs of the
campaign.
“The bond proposal is critical to help our
community colleges and universities prepare for
the future, “ Kirk said. “We couldn't
be more pleased that these great citizens have
agreed to lead our efforts on behalf of higher
education in North Carolina.”
In May, the Michael K. Hooker Education Act was
overwhelmingly approved by the General Assembly
and Gov. Hunt signed it into law, placing it on
the general election ballot in November. The
proposal would allocate $2.5 billion for new
construction, repairs and renovations for the UNC
system's 16 campuses. Another $600 million would
go for critical building needs at the state's 59
community colleges.
The state's Community College System expects
57,000 new students over the next 10 years, while
the 16-campus University of North Carolina System
predicts another 48,000 students to enroll.
“But the campuses are not prepared to
accommodate such booming enrollment growth,”
Kirk said.
“Our community colleges and universities
have made North Carolina into the great state it
is today,” Kirk said. “But now they
need help from the very citizens they serve. It's
up to all of us to make sure that folks from all
across this state show up on Nov. 7 and vote
`yes' for the higher education bonds.”
The referendum has garnered widespread bipartisan
support from education, government and business
leaders across the state. State Treasurer Harlan
Boyles has also endorsed the proposal, saying
that it is a fiscally responsible way to support
our community colleges and universities.
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