Tuition has increased by 56 percent at Catawba College since Bill Graham joined the board of trustees.

When Graham became a trustee in 2000, tuition at the private college in Salisbury was $13,330, or roughly $16,050 when adjusted for inflation. Each year since, tuition has gone up between 5 and 9 percent, to $20,836 this year.

Aaron Lay, a Graham spokesman, said the increases were necessary to keep Catawba competitive.

"They've got to keep up with everyone else," he said.

Lay said that the school has had to pay for major renovations and build new dorms and noted that Graham, a wealthy attorney and alumnus, has given more than $1 million since joining the board.

"He's using his personal income and helping find donations to help keep tuition down," Lay said.

Catawba College's tuition is at the higher end of private schools ranked similarly by U.S. News & World Report in North Carolina: $17,880 at Belmont Abbey College, $18,000 at High Point University and $20,690 at Lenoir-Rhyne College.

Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory joined the college's board of trustees in 2005. The tuition that year was $18,750.

The debate Thursday was also something of a college reunion.

Republican gubernatorial candidates Pat McCrory and Bill Graham both went to Catawba College, a small liberal arts college in Salisbury, and serve on its board of trustees.

Graham, who has given more than $1 million to the college, was elected to the board in 2000 and serves on its executive committee. In October of last year, a new dorm, Graham Hall, was named for him and his wife, Shari, both members of the class of '83.

McCrory, class of '78, became a board member in 2005 and serves on the development committee, which oversees fundraising. He is also involved with recruiting new students.

The two candidates also worked together on U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole's campaign and attended the Republican National Convention in New York City.

Catawba College was rated 16th by U.S. News and World Report in the class of "Best Baccalaureate Colleges in the South," below High Point University (No. 6) and Lenoir-Rhyne College (No. 13).

"You have more state employees now — good, hard-working people, no doubt about it — but you have more state employees employed than you have people engaged in manufacturing in this state."

— Bill Graham at a debate at High Point University on Oct. 20

At a Republican gubernatorial debate Saturday, Salisbury attorney Bill Graham argued that state government has grown too big and called for across-the-board cuts.

As part of that argument, he claimed — twice — that state government now employs more people than manufacturing.

That's not accurate. According to the most recent figures from the Office of State Personnel, the state employs 94,502 people. The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows 542,000 North Carolinians had jobs in manufacturing in August — nearly six times the number of state workers.

A Graham spokesman said he misspoke. He meant to say that there are now more government workers — a category that includes local, state and federal government employees.

That figure was 674,800 in August — which is indeed more than manufacturing.

Verdict: Misstatement

The GOP gubernatorial candidates will face off in High Point Saturday.

The three candidates — Salisbury attorney Bill Graham, former Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr and state Sen. Fred Smith — will debate each other at High Point University.

The debate will be moderated by John Hood, president of the John Locke Foundation.

The event, which starts at 2 p.m. in the Hayworth Fine Arts Center, is free and open to the public.

Dome will be blogging the, um, high points of the debate tomorrow.

You could call it High Noon at High Point.

The three Republican gubernatorial candidates — Salisbury attorney Bill Graham, former Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr and state Sen. Fred Smith — will debate each other at High Point University on Oct. 20.

The debate will be moderated by John Hood, president of the John Locke Foundation.  It will start at 2 p.m. at the university's Hayworth Fine Arts Center.

The event will be free and open to the public.