UNC-Chapel Hill leader dies at 53

On the verge of the millennium, in the midst of a sweeping financial disaster, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill paused last month and stood in silent mourning. The chancellor, visionary and, some would even say, "soul" of the university for the past four years, Michael Hooker died June 29 after a six-month battle with cancer. He was 53.

Hooker brought passion for learning to his position as chancellor of the nation's oldest public university and spearheaded an ambitious campaign to reconnect the school to its cultural roots in North Carolina. He personally visited each of the state's 100 counties and attempted to refocus the university's attention on undergraduate education.

"There's not any question, he set the agenda for this university for the past four years," said Dick Richardson, provost at UNC-CH. "Michael often said, 'The only reason for public universities is to serve the students of the state.'"

In his quest to better serve his constituents, Hooker relentlessly sought to bring technology to the university's students, culminating in a groundbreaking program beginning this fall that requires all incoming students to have a laptop computer.

His death prompted an outpouring of support from across the state; in the week after his death, the memorial fund established in his honor recorded donations of well over $15,000.

Although Hooker's illness was well-publicized, the news of his death shocked even those closest to him, who thought he was winning his battle against cancer.

Hooker was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in January, but his doctors were optimistic that the disease had been caught early enough and could be defeated.

His condition worsened as the cancer grew more aggressive and in April, he was forced to take a two-month medical leave of absence. But he sought experimental treatment at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Md., and when he returned to work in June, he announced that his cancer was in remission.

"There was this euphoria when he announced that the cancer was in remission," Richardson said. "What we didn't recognize, but he did, was that he still had this travail to go through with the chemotherapy."

Hooker suffered terribly from the side effects of the treatment, experiencing severe pain and temporary paralysis in his arm. In the days leading up to his death, Hooker could not walk and had trouble speaking; the paralysis in his arm had also returned. Still, he continued to work, holding regularly scheduled meetings at his home and participating in others via telephone.

But even though most colleagues admired his perseverance over the disease, there had been some rumblings that Hooker's insistence on keeping the helm was harmful to the university, particularly in these turbulent times for the school.

On the night of his death, Hooker worked on university business until 9:30. Just a few hours later, he complained of severe pain and was taken to UNC Hospitals, where he died shortly after 1 a.m.

When Duke President Nan Keohane returned June 28 from a weekend-long alumni event in Seattle, there were three letters from Hooker waiting on her desk.

Two days later, she spoke of her shock at his sudden passing.

"It is as if a great source of electricity has suddenly gone out of the world," she said. "He had such an incredible life force."

And now, more than ever, UNC-CH desperately needs that life force, particularly in light of the financial woes plaguing most aspects of the university.

Provost Richardson, the school's chief academic officer, is recovering from a heart attack and has announced that he plans to retire in the near future. He is expected, however, to stay on until the school's ninth chancellor is named sometime next year. The school's top financial officer has also announced that he plans to leave, as UNC-CH struggles with an $11.6 million deficit.

To cover its losses, the university had to make budget cuts across the board, prompting some layoffs.

William McCoy, the UNC system's vice president for finance from 1995 to 1999, served as interim chancellor during Hooker's leave of absence; he will assume the post again for a one-year appointment while the new leader is sought. Traditionally, chancellor searches take at least a year.

His budgetary prowess should be of vital use to the university as it tries to recover from the cuts. One of his first tasks will also be to develop a budgeting system that prevents such deficits from recurring.

As if that was not enough, the university now also faces a hefty bill from the Internal Revenue Service. An intensive, multi-year audit has left UNC-CH with a $20 million bill for back taxes.

As part of an IRS crackdown on improper reporting by non-profit institutions, several schools across the nation have faced similar bills, but they have usually been pared down during settlement negotiations.

The University of Michigan, for example, successfully sued the IRS and had its $7.7 million tab cut to only $124,366.

Schools have been targets because they often engage in activities, like merchandising and concert hosting, that are designed for no purpose other than to earn a profit.

Twenty-one other schools are currently undergoing similarly intensive audits.

'This was just our turn at bat," Richardson said. "I don't know, you come out the other side of the tunnel and you hope you're still wearing some clothes." He said he expects a settlement in just a few weeks.

The entire UNC system is also at the whim of the North Carolina General Assembly, which must decide whether to approve hundreds of millions of dollars in renovations to the state schools.

But an independent consultant identified $7 billion in necessary renovations in the system's 16 universities. Even if the General Assembly approves the scaled-back bond request, such an agreement officials from UNC-CH said the smaller packages will not be able to meet the system's needs, considering there will be a projected 31 percent rise in enrollment by 2008.

At a time of such turmoil, many have taken solace in the example set by Hooker's single-minded devotion and visionary leadership.

"Michael Hooker was one of the finest leaders the University of North Carolina ever had," said Gov. Jim Hunt in a statement. "His vision and leadership had a lasting impact on both the university and North Carolina."

Hooker was a native of Richlands, Va., a coal mining region in the southwest portion of the state. When he received his undergraduate philosophy degree from UNC-CH in 1969, Hooker became the first member of his family to graduate from college.

He then went on to earn master's and doctoral degrees in philosophy from the University of Massachusetts and to teach at Harvard University. At age 37, he became president of Vermont's Bennington College.

He later served as president of the University of Maryland-Baltimore County and was dean of undergraduate and graduate studies at Johns Hopkins University. After running the University of Massachusetts system, he returned to his alma mater as chancellor in 1994.

Hooker is survived by his wife Carmen, his daughter and his mother.

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