Pam Kelley

Charlotte

Freelance Journalist at Freelance

Journalist, former Charlotte Observer reporter, author of MONEY ROCK: A FAMILY'S STORY OF COCAINE, RACE, AND AMBITION IN THE NEW SOUTH.

Articles

Two Former Students Sue St. Andrews University Over Sex Offender on Campus

2 months ago | theassemblync.com | Pam Kelley

Two former St. Andrews University students are suing the Laurinburg school, alleging that it knowingly admitted the convicted sex offender who later sexually assaulted them. Mison Mickle is now serving a nearly 12-year sentence after pleading guilty in 2024 in Scotland County Superior Court to crimes related to sexual assaults of three former St. Andrews students, including the two plaintiffs. Mickle was recruited as a wrestler and enrolled at St. Andrews in fall 2022.
UNC’s Project Kitty Hawk Cleans Up After a CEO’s Departure

Nov 24, 2024 | theassemblync.com | Pam Kelley

In July 2022, as the University of North Carolina System’s new online degree startup Project Kitty Hawk was just getting on its feet, CEO Wil Zemp took a business trip to Miami. On his expense report for the trip, he described meeting with Venture Hive, a company that builds corporate and university innovation programs, to “stress test the business plan.”Zemp had a big job ahead.
Project Kitty Hawk’s Pilot Departs

May 7, 2024 | theassemblync.com | Pam Kelley

Wil Zemp is out as CEO of Project Kitty Hawk. Last month, we reported that the University of North Carolina system’s new education-technology nonprofit had dropped its original business plan and slashed its enrollment projections.
An Online-Education Gambit Hits Headwinds

Mar 31, 2024 | chronicle.com | Pam Kelley

This story is co-published with The Assembly andOpen Campus, with financial support from Ascendium Education Group. Project Kitty Hawk, named for the town near the Outer Banks site of the Wright Brothers’ historic first flight, has nothing to do with aviation. It’s the brainchild of University of North Carolina system leaders, a new education-technology nonprofit designed to help UNC campuses run online-degree programs for the state’s working adults. Still, the name fits its soaring ambitions.
UNC's $97 Million Online Education Gambit Hits Headwinds

Mar 31, 2024 | theassemblync.com | Pam Kelley

This story is a collaboration between The Assembly and Open Campus, with support from Ascendium Education Group. It was co-published by The Chronicle of Higher Education. Project Kitty Hawk, named for the town near the Outer Banks site of the Wright Brothers’ historic first flight, has nothing to do with aviation.
The College That Refused to Die

Aug 16, 2023 | chronicle.com | Pam Kelley |Andrew Craft

This story is co-published with The Assembly and the Border Belt Independent, with financial support from the Fund for Investigative Journalism. On a Sunday morning in May, St. Andrews University, in Laurinburg, N.C., kicked off graduation exercises with bagpipes — an apt tradition for a college in Scotland County. The sound, distant at first, grew clear and strong as a piper led the Class of 2023 toward a waiting audience. The mood was joyous.
The College That Refused to Die

Aug 15, 2023 | theassemblync.com | Pam Kelley

This story is co-published with TheChronicle of Higher Education and the Border Belt Independent, with financial support from The Fund for Investigative Journalism. On a Sunday morning in May, St. Andrews University in Laurinburg, N.C., kicked off graduation exercises with bagpipes—an apt tradition for a college in Scotland County. The sound, distant at first, grew clear and strong as a piper led the class of 2023 toward a waiting audience. The mood was joyous.