California-based, office supply manufacturer Avery Dennison will transition work from its North Carolina plants in Lenoir and Greensboro to plants in Mexico and Honduras, resulting in the loss of employment for over 200 workers — 143 from its Lenoir plant and 82 from the plant in Greensboro. Presently, the jobless rate of North Carolina is 5.4 percent. Lenoir is in Caldwell County where unemployment is at 6.4 percent.
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Support for UNC Poverty Center rises
Last week, a working group hired by the University of North Carolina’s (UNC) Governors’ Board published a report recommending the closing of UNC-Chapel Hill’s Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity. The center is housed by the UNC school of law and is “a non-partisan, interdisciplinary institute designed to study, examine, document, and advocate for proposals, policies and services to mitigate poverty in North Carolina and the nation.” The center operates on an annual budget of $120,000 and receives no funding from the state, relying only on grants secured through 2016. Should the center be shut down, this funding will need to be returned. The proposed closing has drawn criticism and opposition on both a local and national level, with statements released by the UNC School of Law and the American Association of University Professors defending the center and its director, law professor Gene Nichol.
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Economic Recovery in North Carolina Mainly Concentrated in Urban Areas
Rural Counties still lag behind
Despite gains in unemployment rates, North Carolina’s rural counties are still lagging behind their urban counterparts. Much of the economic recovery is based in counties with large urban cities. Meanwhile, rural counties have not returned to their pre-Great Recession states. Half of North Carolina’s counties have seen declines in population since 2010.
According to Jeff Michael, director of the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute:
The area’s small communities can boost their recoveries if they strengthen their supply, transportation and even educational linkages to Charlotte, Michael said. “Their success is going to be tied to those growing urban areas,” he added. During the region’s textile production era, he noted, the small communities were better connected to Charlotte and each other than they are now. The connection among growers, suppliers and manufacturers formed “incredible linkages within that industry,” Michael said.
Michael goes on to cite Asheville, North Carolina’s success in creating a complementary “cluster of services” as one of the ways industry-minded rural counties can maintain economic stability.
Charlotte Business Journal | Recovery bypassing Carolinas’ small, rural communities in favor of the urban centers
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N.C. State Northeast Leadership Academy Program Wins School Leader Award
The University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA) awarded the 2014 Exemplary Educational Leadership Preparation Program Award to North Carolina State University for its Northeast Leadership Academy (NELA) program. NCU is one of only two programs in the nation to receive the award. The two-year Masters of School Administration program prepares future principals and assistant principals for work as “turnaround specialists” in North Carolina’s rural school districts. Bertie County is one of the thirteen school districts served by NELA.