Since 1998, counseling professor Samuel T. Gladding has served as associate provost in the absence of a full-time provost. Vice President Ed Wilson also served with Gladding as associate provost during the interim period.

4. Gym Jam policies revised after students demand change

Following much controversy regarding racial profiling and a plethora of heated student debate of the issue of extra security at Gym Jam functions, a number of changes were made to the university's off-campus guest policy.

The decision came on the heels of concerns brought forth by members of the campus community concerning security policies at Gym Jams -- parties traditionally hosted and attended by black student groups, and which tend to attract a large number of off-campus guests. The changes will relax security considerably, no longer requiring the use of metal detectors at the door or a full-time security guard, as the current regulations stipulate.

5. Unusual sex crimes sweep campus; both on-and off-campus offenders cited

Although out of the ordinary, a number of unusual sex crimes affected the campus this year. Incidents of indecent exposure, public masturbation, peeping toms and child pornography charges kept students wary. One man was arrested for taking part in over a dozen public masturbation and indecent exposure cases while another suspect remains at large.

In what University Police say may be a related case, two men were found secretly peeping at women in shower stalls in several residence halls; one of whom was arrested earlier this month.

In a completely unrelated case, Chapel Hill police found a video that contained footage of five women undressing who were unknowingly filmed on campus last year. In early March, sophomore Shaun Smith was charged with 22 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor for downloading and distributing child pornography over the Internet.

6. Bio-medical engineering school established with Virginia Tech

The university announced plans to establish a joint school of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences with Virginia Polytechnic Institute. The university will gain an engineering school and Virginia Tech will benefit from the university's medical school.

Plans call for the universities to jointly admit students beginning fall 2002. Students will be in residence at one or the other university, but courses that are taught at one campus will be offered at the other through distance learning options.

7. University has financial troubles, endowment drops by $157M

An economic slowdown hit home when the university's endowment dropped for the first time in 27 years.

The endowment, invested in a broadly diversified portfolio, had a negative return, in a striking break from the usual 15 percent annual increase. According to the university's annual Financial Report, the fiscal year ending June 30, 2001, saw the total return of the endowment a negative 13.95 percent net of fees and expenses. This was in contrast to an average annual return of 15.45 percent over the past 20 years, and put the endowment's market value at ,389,000, with a net loss of ,229,000.

8. University draws big-name events and speakers to campus

Over the past nine months, administrators and students have worked diligently to bring national speakers and events to campus, further promoting the university.

Although last year's presidential debate in Wait Chapel seemed to be a tough act to follow, high-profile guests and presentations have still proven to be popular among students and faculty.

Some speakers include U.S. Senator John McCain; chief executive officer of Dell Computer Corporation, Michael Dell; historian and author Doris Kearns Goodwin; minority specialist and Harvard University professor Cornel West; award-winning author and sociologist Jonathan Kozol.

Also, the Vagina Monologues offered students the-opportunity to participate in a nationwide program that promoted awareness of women's issues and sexual empowerment.

9. Baptists officially sever ties with university

The Baptist State Convention voted in November to break nearly all formal ties with the university. The Baptists will now recognize the university as an "historical educational institution" rather than an affiliated institution.

The new classification results in the university's removal as a non-voting member of the Council on Christian Higher Education and the school will not be promoted as a Baptist-recognized university. According to Hearn, the loss of membership on the council will not change much since the university already gave up voting privileges in the 1980s.

10. Students face file-sharing charges, Morpheus shut down

In response to a Sept. 19 virus attack on the campus network, Information Systems blocked access to Morpheus, Kazaa and other Internet file-sharing services.

Traffic from these programs, which was using up to 80 percent of campus network availability, prevented network administrators from remedying the virus attack. Recently, file-sharing networks themselves have gained closer scrutiny by the university. Last semester, as many as six students faced judicial charges concerning copyright infringement of Michael Jackson's song "You Rock My World." This is the first time that the online copyright policy, included in the 2001-02 Student Handbook, was first put to use.

Editor in Chief Will Wingfield contributed to this article.