Chancellor-elect Holden Thorp checked in the other day via email. I’d inquired how he felt about having to pack up the family and move from Carrboro to the chancellor’s quarters on Raleigh Road. (Nice place, by the way, with a swell pool.)

The chancellor said he had mixed feelings about the move, especially since his band is a regular on the Weaver Street Lawn and his son loves Little League here.

One thing that strikes me among the many positives of Thorp’s selection is his more intimate knowledge of the towns. Having experienced life here as a resident gives him a perspective that is hard to come by quickly and even more difficult to attain if one starts at the top rather than among the ranks.