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 MIKE SMITH,
DEAN
School of Government, UNC
By: Christie Taylor
Seriously, it was a great (a.k.a. grait) meeting today.
Mike Smith, Dean of the School of Government at UNC-Chapel Hill
(a.k.a. Dean Smith) presented fellow Rotarians with an informative
overview of the history, mission and accomplishments of the school
since its inception in the late 1920s.
Mike earned his B.A. from the University of Michigan and his J.D.
from the University of UNC-Chapel Hill. Joining the faculty in 1978,
he has written, taught and consulted extensively in two fields -
civil liability of public officials and legal aspects of
corrections. He became director of the school in 1992. Personal
interests include Tarheel sports, Nascar racing and paddling (in a
canoe). He and his wife, Robin, have two children.
The origins of the school lay in the curiosity of Albert Coates, a
young law professor at Carolina- straight out of Harvard Law School.
Professor Coates recognized early in his teaching career that he
knew the law in books, but didn’t understand the law in practice.
He decided to learn by “crawling through the bloodstream” of the
criminal justice system. Coates rode with police officers as
they chased robbers, witnessed the prosecution of criminals in the
courtroom and worked in a prison. He took his knowledge of law back
to the classroom and became a better teacher.
Through his experience, Professor Coates discovered something
important: The public officials knew the law in practice but often
didn’t know the law in the books. Interested in closing the gap,
Albert Coates created the Institute of Government (now School of
Government) to improve North Carolina government by offering its
public a program of basic and continuing professional education.
Since 1931, the mission of the school has been to improve the
lives of North Carolinians by working to improve their government.
Forty full time faculty members work throughout the year in three
areas: courts and criminal justice law, local government
law and public administration and management. These three
fields of study are applied through teaching (236 courses
to14,000 officials); advising (short and long term problem
solving..100,000 phone calls) and research and publishing.
The two important values of the School of Government are:
1) Non-Partisan and 2) Policy Neutrality. The faculty
shows no favoritism based on party affiliation and options and
consequences are expressed without advocating policy changes. An
example of their work is a 3-day school on The Essentials of
Governing offered to newly elected mayors and council members,
managers and their attorneys.
In closing, Dean Smith made reference to Stephen Ambrose, the great
historian of D-Day and the Lewis & Clark Expedition. Ambrose stated
that he learned one main lesson from studying American history---
Optimism always is justified. North Carolina has its share of
challenges, but there is good reason to be optimistic about the
future. So, whether one favors small government or big government,
the School of Government favors good government and will continue to
help public officials carry out their work as effectively as
possible.
Head Table:
Arch McIntosh, Carol Hughes, Tom
Robertson, Mac McCarley, Alan Adler, Henry Cantrell; Invocation: Ken
Poe
Visitors and Guests:
Paul Solitario; Health & Happiness:
David Zimmerman; Song: Gregg Walker
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NEW MEMBER PROFILE |
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Christopher Todd Stevens (Todd)
W. B. Moore Company of Charlotte, Inc.
916 N. Poplar Street (28206)
704-331-9300 Fax 704-331-9302
tstevens@wbmoore.com
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Todd Stevens is Vice President of Operations at W.B. Moore of
Charlotte, Inc., an electrical contracting company that provides
engineering, design, installation and maintenance of electrical
systems in commercial and industrial applications. Todd
relocated to Charlotte in July from Columbia, SC where he worked
in commercial electrical contracting for sixteen years. He was a
member of the Five Points Rotary Club in Columbia for 8 years
and has supported The Rotary Foundation as a Paul Harris Fellow
and Benefactor. Todd is originally from the South Carolina Low
Country. He was born in Savannah, Georgia and raised in nearby
Hardeeville, SC. He graduated from Thomas Heyward Academy and
Beaufort-Jasper Academy of Career Excellence in 1987. He is a
proud supporter of vocational education and has worked with
vocational high schools throughout SC in the establishment and
support of electrical apprenticeship programs. Todd has been
married to Robin Spilliards Stevens since 1987. They currently
reside in Clover, SC.
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2003-04
RI
Theme
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z Congratulations
to Sherry and
Chris Kemper on the birth of
their son, Jacob, on May 9,
2004.
z
District Governor Bill Belk was on hand to congratulate and
present the Major Donor Pin to President
Tom Robertson. “Tom is an
outstanding president who leads by example,” said Belk. Major
Donor recognition is given with appreciation to anyone who
contributes cumulatively $10,000 or more to The Rotary
Foundation. Tom joins other Major Donors of Charlotte Rotary,
including Andrew Taylor, Jr.; Powell
and Dot Majors; Marjorie
and Paul Smith; Charles Stone; and
David and Lee Tate.
z
President Tom commented on a
note received from a teacher at Lincoln Heights Elementary
School, who expressed her thanks to Charlotte Rotary for the
fine work at Classroom Central.
z
Welcome new members – Al Nikels,
sponsored by Chip Scholz and
Jim Flowers, sponsored by
Ed Kale.
z
Pete
Larson provided an update on the Major Grant awarded
Charlotte Rotary and the Constantia Rotary Club that will be
used to provide laparoscopic equipment for Victoria Hospital in
Cape Town, South Africa.
z
Ashley Miller
Moore and Derek Seth Smith
were united in marriage on May 8, 2004. Ashley is the daughter
of Luther and
Sandy Moore.
z
Katherine
Elizabeth Foushee, daughter of
Kathy and
Smith Foushee, will be
presented at the Charlotte Debutante Club’s annual ball in
November.
z
Gateway Rotary is a provisional club working
hard to ramp up membership around the Johnson C. Smith – Gateway
side of town. Charlotte Rotary is sponsoring this energetic
group that is working very hard to put officers and programs
into place. Add this location to your Roster as a make-up club
or even better, Lend A Hand and volunteer to provide a program.
The group is meeting on Fridays at 12:30 in the Double Tree
Hotel (Johnson & Wales University area). |
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New
Member Ballot |
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The Classification and Membership Committee
recommend and the Directors approve for consideration for all
members, the following NEW MEMBERS. Should you question the
eligibility of any nominee, please call the Rotary Office by
May 19th. You will be contacted by a member of the
Board. Otherwise, no reply is necessary and election will
proceed according to our bylaws. |
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Cecily N.
Durrett (Cec)
Jefferson Pilot Communications
Classification: Television-Marketing
Proposed: Marilynn Bowler
Endorsers: Rick Jackson
and Jeannie Falknor
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Janet
T. Fortner
Hospice at Charlotte
Classification: Health Services-Non Profit
Proposed: Katie Tyler
Endorsers: Charlene Kammerer
and John Tabor |
Thomas E.
Senger (Tom)
Luquire George Andrews, Inc.
Classification: Public Relations
Proposed: Tim Newman
Endorsers: Luther Moore
and Henry Bostic |
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Attendance
Record |
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5/11/04 |
5/13/03 |
| visitors &
guests |
15 |
18 |
| club
members |
190 |
173 |
| total
attendance |
205 |
191 |
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Wedding
Anniversaries |
19 Genia and Buddy Chatfield
20 Carter and George MacBain
21 Louise and Tom Norwood
24 Sharon and Darrel Stephens |
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New Members | Resignations |
Jim Flowers
Al Nikels |
Paul Betzold
Hank Heidenreich |
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| Roaming
Rotarians |
Bert Voswinkel,
Friedberg In Bayern
Frank Watson, Las Vegas, NV
Tom Burgess, Ft. Myers, Florida
Frank Watson, Johns Island, SC | |
| Birthdays and
Birthplaces |
20 Bob Elliott, Chester, SC
20 David Lewis, Richmond, VA
20 Kurt Waldthausen, Lisbon, Portugal
21 Harold Hoak, Pottsville, PA
23 Bob Webb, Raleigh, NC
24 Helmut Deussen, Moenchen, Gladbach, Germany |
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