While a new president prepares to take the reins at Duke, the president of the University of North Carolina system is looking to lead the state's schools in new directions.
North Carolina’s 17-campus public university system has released a strategic plan for the next five years under the direction of new president Margaret Spellings, who took office last year after some controversy surrounding her appointment. The plan was approved in a unanimous vote by the UNC Board of Governors this month.
The themes of the plan are access, student success, affordability and efficiency, economic impact and community engagement as well as excellent and diverse institutions.
“The logic behind a lot of this is that the demographics in the state are changing pretty dramatically,” said Andrew Kelly, senior vice president for strategy and policy of the UNC system, a newly created position.
Kelly said that North Carolina has recently seen an increase in the number of Latinx students and an increase in the number of students receiving free or reduced price lunch.
“We’ve got to be prepared as a public university system for what’s around the corner,” Kelly said.
Michael Schoenfeld, Duke's vice president for public affairs and government relations, said he thinks the plan does what its makers set out to do.
The plan presents multiple targets:
- Increase enrollment and graduation rates of both low-income and rural students, to more closely match the demographics of North Carolina.
- Recruit a "working group" that will make recommendations to ease the transition from K-12 to college.
- Ensure students receive "all useful learning" by surveying graduated students.
- Offer high quality education while limiting increases in cost of tuition.
- Improve efficiency of operational and financial spending.
- Increase the number of degrees given in health sciences, STEM and K-12 education.
- Increase research productivity through collaboration with UNC institutions and outside entities.
- Improve relationships between UNC schools and their surrounding communities.
- Have each constituent institution identify academic area(s) of distinction and achieve regional or national recognition.
Kelly explained that the plan is also meant to help North Carolina experience "continued economic growth and continued population growth.”
Schoenfeld echoed Kelly's statement and said that when the UNC system is successful, it helps Duke as well.
He added that Duke’s plan to promote diversity and be more inclusive includes enhancing the quality of programs, scholarships, curriculum and different kinds of research.
A formal document expressing the new strategic plan of the UNC system will be released in March.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.