UNC's Anti-Poverty Center Reopened Outside Of University Control

After the anti-poverty working group at the University of North Carolina was closed in what many call a political act, a new research center has been launched. It's helmed by the same law school professor who led the previous group. 

In the wake of the controversial closure at Chapel Hill, Gene Nichol has created North Carolina Poverty Research Fund, an anti-poverty group outside of the domain of university leaders.

In February, the university's Board of Governors voted to force the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity to close, saying it did not serve the academic mission of the university and should not be housed there.

Nichol, a critic of Republican lawmakers and Gov. Pat McCrory, called the board's vote politically motivated. Jim Holmes, the chairman of the working group that recommended the closures, denied that allegation.