FYI CarolinaJULY 2014

From the time she arrived on campus as chancellor last July, Carol Folt could feel it. A pulsing energy was everywhere, and with every student she met, she felt increasingly plugged into it.

“I call it the buzz – the absolute excitement of being at a place where people care,” Folt said. “There is a passion, a commitment

to service, but also such a joyful feeling here, and a warmth.”

As students began sharing their stories, Folt learned the sense of pur-pose that brought them to campus and what motivates them. Each story reveals something fresh and exciting about Carolina.

As Folt completed her first academic year as chancellor in May, she watched graduating seniors decked in Carolina Blue gowns gather at the Old Well for pictures and memories. And she was reminded why she was so excited to become Carolina’s 11th chancellor.

One of those students, outgoing Student Body President Christy Lambden, said he was immediately struck by her passion for educa-tion and students. He is not alone.

“Every student I speak to has said how they really enjoyed their time with the chancellor,” Lambden said. “She is so natural and has a fun

personality and really allows that to come out when she is interacting with students.”

At the same time, he said, there is a depth to those interactions that students value.

“She has a natural charisma and really cares about each student on this campus,” Lambden said.

Students are passionate in their conversations with Folt because they are in front of someone who they deem to be important to the University, he said. “But at the same time, the chancellor has listened to them with the same intensity because she also believes that she is talking with someone who is important to the University. I think that is key,” Lambden said.

Staying connected to students is an essential part of being a good leader, Folt said – and it is fun.

“If you spend your life as a teacher, and for me also as a scientist, there is nothing better than to see the excitement of learning,” she said.

“That is what happens here every day.”

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LISTENING, LEARNING, LEADINGFolt completes successful first year as chancellor

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FRESH IDEAS ABOUND

During her installation on University Day, Oct. 12, Folt drew a connection between past achievements and future challenges. She underscored the importance of renewal as the University holds fast to its bedrock values of pursuing excellence while preserving access and affordability.

“We must make sure we continue to provide what I believe is the best education in America by continuing to prove greatness does not have to be traded off against cost,” Folt said. “No matter what it takes to continue to find a way to be affordable and accessible and outstand-ing, we are going to do it.”

Carolina began as a “fresh idea for a new nation,” Folt said, and it must continue to keep that same freshness during a time of increasing budgetary challenges and accelerating change.

As she has met with people across campus, Folt said she has seen evidence of fresh ideas everywhere.

It is in the innovations that are spawned by advances in technolo-gy, including Kenan-Flagler Business School’s leading online MBA program and this year’s experimentation with MOOCs (massive open online courses).

It is in faculty members’ groundbreaking discoveries that have been created through collaboration, not only within departments, but across departments and schools – and extending to Duke and N.C. State universities.

It is evident in the recent dedication of Marsico Hall, a nine-story, state-of-the-art research building that creates a place of synergy for scientists to push the boundaries of human knowledge.

The freshness of ideas also is evident in the social entrepreneurship sponsored by the Campus Y.

“The Y alone has over 30 student-led committees developing new approaches to long-standing local and global problems, and another 10 ventures creating for-profit and not-for-profit businesses to address critical social issues,” Folt said. “The students are reaching out. They are doing service. And they are developing intellectual property and building companies.”

That same entrepreneurial spirit is spilling beyond campus and blos-soming with students’ start-up companies in a new incubator space called 1789 that opened on Franklin Street last year.

And it is evident in the Gillings School of Global Public Health, where scientists are working on sanitation systems and water-cleans-ing methods developed during the three-year academic theme,

“Water In Our World,” that mobilized the campus around this global challenge.

“We must make sure we continue to provide what I believe is the best

education in America by continuing to prove greatness does not have to be

traded off against cost. No matter what it takes to continue to find a way to be

affordable and accessible and outstanding, we are going to do it.”

—CHANCELLOR CAROL FOLT

Top: Chancellor Folt talks with students at the Union during an open house. Below: President Barack Obama talks with Chancellor Folt and N.C. State Chancellor Randy Woodson aboard Air Force One on the way to attend a White House summit on college affordability. On page 3: Philanthropist Thomas Marsico, left, acknowledges a standing ovation during the March dedication of Marsico Hall. The building houses a lung institute and a biomedical research imaging center.

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SUPPORTIVE CAMPUS CLIMATE

TURNING CHALLENGE INTO OPPORTUNITY

Folt has shown a deep commitment to diversity and the ongoing need to foster a campus climate that is welcoming and support-ive, said Deborah Stroman, chair of the Carolina Black Caucus and a lecturer in exercise and sport science.

“The chancellor is a great listener, and to be a leader in a commu-nity as diverse as ours, that is an invaluable quality,” Stroman said. “I really felt the warmth and the kindness and her genuine commitment to make a difference and take Carolina to the next level.”

Newly elected Faculty Chair Bruce Cairns, director of the N.C. Jaycee Burn Center and John Stackhouse Distinguished Professor of Surgery, said Folt “hit the ground running.”

Lowry Caudill, chair of the Board of Trustees, said he discovered how easy it was to talk to Folt the first time they met. But he also learned that beneath the smile was real substance.

“She truly has all the skillsets that a great CEO needs to have,” Caudill said. “She has the ability to make decisions quickly when

speed is necessary. She also has the ability to be very thoughtful when decisions require additional study.”

All of those skills have been put to the test during the past year as the University continues to address questions surrounding past academic irregularities.

“Carol knew when she came to Carolina that the athletic and academ-ic issue was still in play,” Caudill said. “She came in with her eyes wide open. She also knew that she did not create this – she inherited it. But she also understood that she was charged with wrapping it up and bringing it to closure so the University could move forward.”

Folt said she remembers her conversation with UNC President Tom Ross following the UNC Board of Governors review of Carolina’s re-sponse to the academic irregularities: They agreed that if new material

Not only did she assemble a dynamic leadership team, she also reached out to stakeholders who care about Carolina, including alumni, taxpayers, state legislators and Gov. Pat McCrory.

“These are very interesting times for higher education, in particular in North Carolina,” Cairns said, “and we need to be able to define the role of a global public research university and how Carolina fits into that.”

Folt also recognized that no constituency is more vital to the Univer-sity’s mission than faculty, he added. “Being a distinguished educator and a researcher herself, she recognizes the importance of the faculty and working together with the faculty as we move forward with the really important challenges for the University,” Cairns said.

came to light, they would take advantage of that and probe deeper.

In February, she and Ross announced they retained Kenneth Wain-stein, a 19-year veteran of the U.S. Justice Department, to conduct an independent inquiry of academic irregularities.

“This is our chance to really get to the bottom of this and then use that as a moment for putting our stake in the ground for how we move forward,” Folt said.

In January, Folt signaled a strong change in tone when she spoke to the Board of Trustees. It was important, she said, that the University hold itself accountable for inexcusable mistakes. Caudill said Folt felt very strongly that this was necessary in moving forward, and the trust-ees gave her their full support. “I think every leader looks at a crisis as an opportunity to learn and to grow and be stronger,” he said. “That is what she has done here and I applaud her for that.”

The University launched a new website, http://carolinacommitment.unc.edu, related to the past reviews into academic irregularities, current reforms, ongoing work and future plans. (At this writing, the Wain-stein inquiry is ongoing; his report will be posted on this website.)

FYI Carolina JULY 2014

4 No state funds were used to print this publication.

During my career in higher education, I have developed a deep appreciation for the role of private giving and sincere gratitude for the generous donors who provide it. Carolina is proudly public and while the State of North Carolina is our partner, private support sustains and enhances our great University.

My first year as your chancellor has been a wonderful ride. I have seen firsthand the tremendous passion – among students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents and friends – for doing what it takes to make Carolina even better in the future. I know your love for this special place with its legacy of excellence and public service motivates your remarkable generosity.

As chancellor, I want to make a special appeal for gifts to our Chancellor’s Unrestricted Fund. These gifts meet a critical need,

Connect with CarolinaCarolina’s social media reach has expanded, and you are invited to follow along. Get the latest news about Carolina on Twitter,

Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn. View campus photos on Instagram and Flickr and share your own photos. See http://unc.edu/social.

their impact stretches broadly, and we use them when and where they are most needed. You can make a gift to the Chancellor’s Unrestricted Fund – or any department or unit of your choice – at giving.unc.edu/gift.

Thanks for your support.

Sincerely,

Carol L. Folt Chancellor

Folt admits that no one could have anticipated the extent to which what happened at Carolina would become part of a broader dis-cussion about the inherent tensions between academics and college sports. But Carolina is part of that national discourse, and Folt wants the campus to lead it.

“When you are an important institution, when you carry a real commitment to make a difference in the world, you have to embrace

the tough as well as the promising,” Folt said. “How we do this is going to be how we define ourselves in the future. I am determined that this will turn into something that really helps Carolina and makes us proud.”

—Gary Moss, University Relations

DEAR ALUMNI, PARENTS AND FRIENDS:

Your Support Keeps Carolina Moving Forward and Strong

FOLLOW CHANCELLOR FOLT ON TWITTER AT @CHANCELLORFOLT.