Speaking in Washington to the National Press Club, UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Carol Folt emphasizes the challenges of balancing student affordability with faculty salaries in an era of 30% cuts in state support.

“To keep our tuition low, we have to make choices all the time,” Folt says. “And some of those are not fun … they hurt. And in fact, we haven’t been able to give faculty raises to the level we’d like, and yet we’ve got faculty bringing in a billion dollars of research –it is a very competitive environment. So you’re dealing in your university with very tough decisions.”