Why a world-class public research university is also a great place to learn Holden Thorp, Dean College of Arts & Sciences Oct. 5, 2007 Board of Visitors.

Why a world-class public research university is also a great place to learn

Holden Thorp, Dean

College of Arts & Sciences

Oct. 5, 2007Board of Visitors

What is the purpose of the College?

To promote original thought and produce the people and ideas needed to solve our biggest problems

Core Values of the College

OriginalityCuriosityTransparencyDiversity

A thorough liberal arts education is the best preparation for leadership in the 21st century

Teaching mission of the College

We teach all the important stuff

College faculty teach 100% of 1st and 2nd year students and

87% of ALL undergraduate credit hours

Junior-Senior Majors in the College account for 74% of all Junior-Seniors, but the College

teaches 79% of their credit hours

Arts & Sciences 79%

Arts & Sciences 74%

Jr/Sr Majors Jr/Sr Credit Hours

Medicine

14%

Public Health

13%Business

10%

Law

7%

Education

7%

Cont Studies Non Deg

7%

Government

0%

Arts & Sciences22%

Jour & Mass Comm

1%

Nursing

2%

Off-Campus Non Deg

1%

Social Work

3%

Info & Lib Science

3%

Dentistry

4%

Pharmacy

6%

Arts & Sciences

Medicine

Public Health

Business

Law

Cont Studies Non Deg

Education

Pharmacy

Dentistry

Social Work

Info & Lib Science

Nursing

Jour & Mass Comm

Off-Campus Non Deg

Government

The College has 22% of all UNCgraduate & professional students

People on College Payroll

• Tenure-track faculty 710

• Fixed-term faculty 261

• Full-time staff 540

• Part-time staff 748

• Post-docs 140

• Graduate students 2140

Total 4539

Why choose a public research university for college?

Enhanced opportunities,

engaged faculty

Attributes of a great research university

Introduction to original thought Wide range of opportunities for faculty & students in

the College and professional schools Engaged faculty excited by their research Right mix of graduate students and undergraduates Great graduate students attract great faculty

Our most important learning resources are professors who are excited about their subjects

Special Opportunities for Undergraduates at Carolina

First Year Seminars (small classes with outstanding faculty)

Undergraduate Research (1:1 mentoring by world-class scholars)

Study Abroad (many led by UNC faculty) Honors (not just for Honors students) Carolina Entrepreneurial Initiative (teaching liberal

arts students to think/ act creatively)

What is different about Carolina?

High-quality Ph.D. programs combined with outstanding undergraduate program

Carolina is a research university

Great schools we’re nothing like: Davidson Washington and Lee Grinnell Swarthmore

Maintaining faculty energy at a four-year liberal arts college without a research program is a daunting challenge

Some thoughts on rankings

Schools we’d like to emulate: Stanford Harvard University of Chicago Northwestern

World-class research and great undergraduate programs

Some thoughts on rankings

Schools ranked “above” us that we don’t emulate: University of Southern California (tied) Emory University Dartmouth Washington University in St. Louis Brown Vanderbilt Notre Dame Georgetown

Carolina’s academic departments are much stronger than counterparts at these schools

Some thoughts on rankings

Schools ranked “below” us with great research programs:

Wisconsin Illinois Texas UC-San Diego

Carolina has comparable Ph.D. programs to these schools, but we’re higher on the list because our undergraduate program is better

Why we raise private money

Help the best faculty and students choose Carolina, and succeed

Fundraising Priorities

Faculty expansion Faculty retention Graduate student support Facilities Initiatives Undergraduate education

Faculty Expansion

Naming Opportunity for Junior Faculty Positions: enable the College to add faculty by creating new privately-funded positions for an assistant professor

New: Can now do with $1M gift and $0.5M state match. Allows us to expand the faculty without relying on state money

Faculty Retention

Distinguished Professorships: recruit new senior faculty or retain outstanding faculty who are attracting outside offers

Requires a state-funded position from the College in addition to the private endowment

Graduate Student Support

Ph.D. Fellowships: $25,000 per year in salary support ($0.5M to endow)

Great graduate students attract great faculty Graduate students are mentors for

undergraduates

Undergraduate Education

Kenan Music Scholars Phillips Ambassadors Study Abroad Honors First Year Seminars Undergraduate Research

Initiatives

Carolina Center for Jewish Studies Carolina Entrepreneurial Initiative and minor

in entrepreneurship Fine Arts Global Education Nanoscience, imaging and energy

Creative initiatives energize faculty and students, lead to new ideas

Facilities

Chapman Hall Caudill Labs Kenan Music Building FedEx Global Education Center New Computer Science Building Winston House in London Huge needs in social sciences and

humanitiesGreat facilities attract great people

What would you do with $100M gift for anything?

Endow 200 Ph.D. fellowships

OR Secure the faculty by providing $5M/year for

compensation and research support

OR Add 100 junior faculty in strategic areas,

expanding Honors and First-Year Seminars

Challenge: Maintaining the distinctive ‘Carolina experience’

Expanding enrollment

Carolina = teaching + research

Total Students College Faculty Undergraduates:Faculty Ratio

(Now)

28,136 710 23:1

29,500 765 23:1

35,000 910 23:1

To reach 35,000 students and maintain the same high quality of faculty andlearning environment, the College would have to increase its faculty, graduate students, staff and facilities by about 28%.

What will they say Thorp has done five years from now?

So far

Goals

Maintained the great Ph.D. programs in the College, moved a few more into the top tier

Built appreciation for Carolina as a major research university with a great undergraduate program

Increased interaction of undergraduates with idea generation and originality, infused entrepreneurship

Increased the profile of the fine arts Improved leadership culture in the College Made faculty retention pro-active instead of reactive