The chancellor at N.C. State University says it is in the best interest of the university that former first lady Mary Easley resign from a $170,000-a-year position she holds.

New disclosures over the past week about the position led to resignations of the provost who hired her and the N.C. State trustee and friend of the Easleys who also played a role in the job, Andy Curliss reports.

NCSU spokesman Keith Nichols said today that James Oblinger would only say Easley's resignation now is "in the best interest of the university."

He will not say if he has delivered that message to Easley, saying he cannot talk about personnel matters.

Bill Bradley's trip to North Carolina was set up in the spring.

The former New Jersey senator will speak at N.C. State's Millennium Seminar Series and he will also campaign on behalf of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

The seminar series is run by First Lady Mary Easley.

N.C. State spokesman Keith Nichols said that Bradley was booked in the spring and will only speak on the conflict in Georgia and Russia. He said it is "up to the speaker" if they want to do other events while in North Carolina.

Bradley is receiving about $350 for hotel and transportation and an honorarium of $5,000 paid for by funds raised for the series. His transportation costs do not include travel to and from the Obama event in Chapel Hill.

"We do not subsidize campaign events," Nichols said.

Paul Cox, a spokesman for the Obama campaign, said that Bradley has been campaigning for Obama since the spring.

He said former Democratic Party executive director Ed Turlington, who has worked for Bradley in the past, got in touch with the Obama campaign to suggest that he do a campaign event while in town.