Welcome, everyone, to the Opening Assembly. I think that most of you are aware that this represents a “different format” meeting than the traditional opening faculty meeting. Last year, we completed the reorganization of campus governance by redeveloping the Faculty Senate. As a result of completing this important work, a general faculty meeting will be held by Newt Smith upon conclusion of this meeting. Separating the opening convocation from the faculty meeting allows me the opportunity to speak to the entire campus community about the future of the University. Newt, I want to take this opportunity to thank you for all the hard work it took to re-do the Faculty Senate and to complete our multi-year focus on developing constituency advisory groups (including the Staff Forum and the University Advisory Council).
Before getting into the meat of today’s meeting, I would like to introduce some special people who have joined us this morning. First, Dr. Adelaide Key—former chair of the WCU Board of Trustees and a current member of the UNC Board of Governors; Mrs. Cary Owen, Member of the UNC Board of Governors, and Mrs. Joan MacNeill, member of the WCU Board of Trustees. Thank you for being here today. I would also like to ask all new faculty, staff, and administrators to stand and be recognized. Welcome to Western! You have come at an exciting time.
We also have three people who are not new to the University, but who are working in important new roles. Robert Kehrberg, who is serving as interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences; Scott Higgins, who is serving as interim dean of Research and Graduate Studies; and Phil Sanger, who is serving as interim director of Sponsored Programs. As you may be aware, Bob Vartabedian and Abdul Turay both accepted academic vice presidencies at other institutions this year. We wish them well.
In preparing this address, it became immediately apparent that I should talk today about two thrusts. First, there are some very important activities in which we need to engage this year. These activities need to be dealt with before the longer-range issues can be managed. Second, there are many profound changes in the conditions that affect the institution over the next decade and I think that it is important that most of this morning be spent on these longer range issues. I will mention in this section some critical actions that will take years to complete. A few of these broader issues are new; most, however, represent a “re-framing” of activities in which we have been engaged for the last several years. I also should mention that they are complex and involve responding to changing world and regional conditions. Let’s turn, then, to the work of this year.
The single most important activity of this year is to position ourselves to receive SACS reaffirmation of accreditation. No area of the institution is exempt from review and all areas must have clear plans for quality improvement. We must do well with this accreditation review. SACS now has very high standards focusing on targeted quality enhancement. Carol Burton and her committees will be working on this issue all year, so please participate and expect to be involved in the re-accreditation process.
Of particular importance in re-accreditation is the development of effective assessment programs. From talking with the people working on SACS, there is real concern about our level of activity with regard to assessment. We must assure ourselves that we are taking every necessary action to develop and implement effective assessment plans in all areas of the institution. To help us with this effort, we will be hiring a new director of assessment.
Likewise, because SACS emphasizes planned quality improvement, it is going to be increasingly important that we clearly link our strategic planning and budgeting processes. Therefore, this year, I am looking to restructure our two important advisory committees, the Strategic Planning Committee and the Chancellor’s Budget Advisory Committee, to bring them into closer alignment.
Second, we must continue to address issues regarding enrollment. We are a focused growth institution and increasing enrollment is the key to every other element in our future. This year, Western’s enrollment will increase, but not quite at the rate that we have seen in past years.
What seems to have happened is that we have experienced a rapid growth spurt. We are reaching a “new plateau” more quickly than we could have imagined. In the marketing literature, there is a model known as the “product life cycle” that can help us understand what we are experiencing. According to this model, when a product is introduced, growth in sales begins slowly. Over time, sale of the product increases, and as people become familiar with the product, sales tend to level off. While many of us may have trouble thinking of university education as a “product,” it is, indeed, a product that can be expected to follow the product lifecycle model.
In our case, while we have not leveled off in enrollment, this year can be seen as a time of consolidation. We are consolidating our gains and we are seeking to position ourselves for the next critical developmental phase of the institution. But, there are expectations that we will continue to grow and to grow at a reasonably rapid rate. This means that there will be a renewed emphasis on enrollment. I have asked Provost Carter to bring together an enrollment management team to focus on recruiting new undergraduate and graduate students, to improve student retention, and to enhance institutional student-oriented marketing.
One of the most important activities involved in the enrollment management plan and implementation is the redesign of our current Web presence. It no longer reflects the “state of the art” and we need to update it during this year.
In addition, Newt Smith, acting on behalf of the Faculty Senate, reminded me that our enrollment gains will have major implications for the surrounding community. Therefore, I will appoint a Chancellor’s taskforce of appropriate university representatives to meet regularly with the community. Additionally, Dianne Lynch , my chief of staff, will continue to represent me at official meetings, including the local Board of County Commissioners, to assure that we are in regular discussion with our elected officials. Whenever possible, we want to minimize any potential negative effects of growth while promoting its more positive aspects.
Third, as Kyle Carter and I visited with each division last year, we heard a great number of comments regarding the desire to have systems that work well, and the need to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy and paper work. In looking more closely at that issue, it is clear that we need to work through a restructuring of the terms of appointments of our department heads. Kyle and the Deans will be developing department head contracts that extend into the summer. This will allow more effective management at the departmental level, as well as create better availability of the department head in the summer when so many issues arise with new students and with graduate programs. We also will examine how to minimize steps in various internal processes to see where we can eliminate duplication.
More broadly, as Kyle and I listened to your comments and concerns, it became clear that it is time to examine the structure of our colleges. Enrollment growth brings with it a need for better mid-level organization that enables academic departments to do their basic jobs of teaching, scholarship, and service. There is no one answer to the form of organization. This is truly a case where “form should follow function.”
I will elaborate more on this issue in a Chancellor’s Update, but this also is a time when the institution needs to consider a different structure for its grants and contracts operations. At this institution, the grants office has functioned as a subsidiary of the graduate school. When we were a small institution that did little funded research, that was an appropriate model. However, as sponsored research and projects become more important to the institution, it is not unusual to re-structure so that the research office reports directly to the Provost. We need to look at this possibility. Regardless of structure, we must consider how we can greatly improve our support for faculty grant activity.
In addition to grant activity, I am asking Kyle Carter to take a strong look at our support for international students and how we can improve the international content, focus, and experience of our educational programming. Kyle and I have had numerous conversations about this issue and it is clear that we need to much better integrate international programming and support into the mainstream of the institution. The reasons for this emphasis will become clearer as we move through this talk, but globalization and internationalization are increasingly important to us as an institution.
The last point in the academic area involves the need to make some corrections to our Liberal Studies Program. Liberal Studies has been very successful, but there are one or two immediate issues that need to be addressed. These issues involve the ability to repeat the freshman seminar and the extensive waivers of upper division liberal studies elective classes. Later in the talk, I will address a broader review of our general education requirements that we should consider once we conclude the SACS review. Until we have successfully completed SACS, we need not take on anything as complex as general education.
This year, we need to finish the master plan for the Millennium Campus so that we can receive Board of Governors’ permission to begin developing the project. This has been a long time in coming and we need to get the project under way. It will make a huge difference in the future of this institution and this region.
At the same time that we are finishing work on the Millennium Campus plan, we need to revise our current master plan. Over the last six months, it has become clear that several buildings in the middle of campus need to be replaced. Specifically, Dodson Cafeteria, and Helder and Leatherwood residence halls are too costly to renovate to current standards. Therefore, new facilities must be built. This will give us an opportunity to re-think the structure of the new quad now taking shape in the center of campus. I hope that all of you will take part in the master planning process.
There is another major transition under way that has occupied many staff hours---the migration of our computerized business systems to SCT Banner. Banner has the potential of greatly improving the efficiency and effectiveness of our business practices so we can serve our people better. I urge each of you involved in this very important initiative to use the conversion to Banner as a time to improve our business processes so that we are able to “work smarter, not harder.”
I want to mention that last year I appointed a budget policy advisory committee. That committee worked most of the spring term to advise me on policies that we should use to distribute new resources in this year’s budget. We are implementing those recommendations, and I want to particularly comment on one. All members of the committee were very concerned about SPA salaries. Therefore, based on their recommendations, I am placing $300 thousand of our new funding into a reserve account to fund SPA promotions and in-range adjustments. Even though we do not control SPA salary policies at the local level, we must continue to make funds available within the state’s framework.
Finally, I also want to note that I remain deeply concerned with the costs of health insurance for all of our employees. Vice Chancellor for External Affairs Clifton Metcalf , Tom McClure , and I have expressed to our legislators our concerns, especially with the costs of family coverage. Please understand that we are being received well, but like all of us, the legislature is not sure how to create a viable solution. We will continue to work on this issue and see if improvements can be made.
So, to reiterate, these are the key issues for the academic year:
· Focus a great deal of attention on successfully completing SACS.
· Plan for enrollment growth both on and off campus.
· Improve our organizational structures and internal processes to assist us in achieving our mission.
· Examine the structure and function of our research office.
· Examine the structure of our support for international students and for increasing international experiences for our students.
· Make minor corrections to Liberal Studies.
· Complete the Millennium Campus Master Plan.
· Complete the current Master Plan revisions.
- Implement Banner.
- Affect SPA Salaries.
- Affect Health Insurance Costs.
This is a significant agenda, but it focuses on key issues that need immediate attention.
I now want to turn to a more broad-ranging conversation regarding the future direction of Western. I think you will see that the roots of much of what we need to accomplish have been well-grounded in the work of the last several years. Please understand that what I am about to discuss is a multi-year focus based on current international and regional conditions. In the last five years, the world has changed a lot. We need to adjust our direction—not change directions—to account for what we now know.
I will now turn to talk about dominating trends that need to be accounted for as we implement our three-part program of increasing quality, increasing enrollment, and engaging with this region. I want to talk with you specifically about three issues:
· Regional developments that will have both immediate and longer term impact on us as a university;
· International trends as they affect higher education in general and Western Carolina University specifically;
· And, how we need to continue to respond both to changing international and regional conditions.
I titled this talk today “Creating Human Capital: An Agenda for the Decade Ahead.” I hope to demonstrate that this concept, creating human capital, is at the core of what is expected of a 21 st century university. Please understand that I am not suggesting that we move education away from our liberal arts roots; quite to the contrary. What I am suggesting is that we need to re-frame our educational enterprise to address the fundamental, core changes in the expectations of society regarding higher education. We have been working at this transformation since 1996, and I think that through the course of this discussion you will see that we are making great progress. Moreover, we are well-positioned to take the next critical steps.
To begin this discussion, it is important to remember that primarily Western is a regional university. We are primarily oriented to serving the needs of the people of the western third of the state. While some characteristics of this region may be unique, the problems being faced by the people of the area represent specific manifestations of classes of problems being faced by people throughout the state and nation.
Therefore, as a regional university it is appropriate for us to draw students from outside the region. We can offer them an excellent education and give them experiences that can be generalized to solving whole classes of problems. This is why in describing Western, I’ll often say that our job is to “serve the region and educate the state.”
Focusing for a minute on the nature of regions, the future of economic prosperity for the United States will be based on the relationships between naturally occurring economic regions and world economic conditions. Those of us in higher education must be key participants in regional development through strong engagement, partnerships, technology transfer, education, and through direct contributions to the quality of life. Therefore, the fact that Western is a regional university is of utmost importance. It is also clear that if we are regional we dare not be parochial. As a university, we have responsibility to link our abilities and services to the needs of the people of the region, but must do so in a manner that reflects changing world conditions.
Last year, I talked with you at length about the concept of “engagement” and how important it would be to our future. This apparently struck a chord with the campus because engagement became a strong topic of conversation, and I anticipate that engagement will become a defining concept for our University as we focus and address the requirements by SACS to create a Quality Enhancement Plan. I am very proud of the work done by the Faculty Senate to develop criteria for tenure, promotion, and merit that will reward faculty members who take engagement seriously. There are a few technical issues to be worked out with the Senate, but I would anticipate final approval of these new policies very early in this academic year. I think that it is important, with this groundwork laid, that we look more systematically at our future.
This summer, I spent a great deal of time reading about a number of issues related to regional development and engagement. Two works in particular were very well done and I commend them to you. Both are reports from Michigan State University . They deal systematically with what they term “outreach.” The way they frame this concept, it is clearly what I mean when I speak of engagement. As an old graduate of Ohio State , it is sometimes hard for me to admit that good things can come from Michigan , but this work is so overwhelmingly on point that it cannot be ignored.
According to Michigan State , what we term as engagement can be defined:
…as a form of scholarship that cuts across teaching, research, and service. It involves generating, transmitting, applying, and preserving knowledge for the direct benefit of external audiences in ways that are consistent with university and unit missions (MSU, 1993: 1).
What is most important about the Michigan State definition is that it recognizes engagement as an intellectual, scholarly approach to addressing higher education’s tri-partite mission of teaching, research, and service. That is, engagement is an approach, not a new mission for education. It combines practice and theory so that students who engage are better educated than students who do not engage. It assures that the work of faculty is scholarly and professional. It builds on academic strengths and it recognizes the importance of the nature of the discipline, profession, or area.
Engagement fits the core mission of a regional university. As a regional institution, we draw much of our meaning and institutional life from the surrounding area and its peoples and cultures. In today’s world, we also have responsibility to work with the people of the region to improve their economic future. This is the primary reason for trying to develop ways of “thinking differently” about the nature of the University. It also is why in the spring I began to talk about creating a “Millennial Initiative.” This initiative will result in developing a “Millennium Campus,” but more importantly, it is an effort to give name to a concept of a University that is grounded in the needs of the people it serves while focusing its education and processes on the future. If we are successful in creating a future-oriented institution that ties traditional educational quality to emerging world and regional conditions, we will have a unique institution that will represent a model of 21 st Century higher education.
We as a University are increasingly committed to engagement. I think that it is important that you understand the magnitude of what you are undertaking. You have an opportunity to focus this university on pedagogies, programs, and educational outcomes that can uniquely position the institution, and assure that our students graduate with qualifications that uniquely position them to address the issues that all of us will face for the foreseeable future. As those of you in the faculty, and in student affairs, develop your assessment strategies for measuring student outcomes, I urge you to include measures of engagement so that we can gauge our progress.
And what will this future look like? In the future, economic competitiveness and prosperity will be based fundamentally on the relationship between individual regions and world economic conditions. States and nations obviously have regulatory, safety, investment, and similar functions, but the actual economic engines that will drive our future most likely will be based in naturally occurring economic regions that produce goods and services that are valued in other regions, nations, or parts of the world. Economic globalization and the need for regions to compete globally will be the most significant defining characteristic of the next thirty or more years—possibly through the remainder of this century. It will be the dominant “organizing principle” for most international relationships and, more importantly, it will fundamentally determine the quality of life for our children and grandchildren.
One of the more interesting works that is in the current literature on globalization is Thomas Friedman’s The World is Flat. I now want to show you two slides. One is Britney Spears, the other is Bill Gates. Why would I show you these two people? Well, as Friedman notes, Bill Gates is the Britney Spears of China and Britney Spears is, well, the “Britney Spears” of the United States . That may say it all. Friedman has a single message for all of us this morning: America 's wake up call is NOW.
Throughout our history, our nation has been the land of opportunity. We see ourselves, and others have seen us, as a prosperous country. You might say that for most of our history we have cornered the market on prosperity. But all of that is at risk. The rest of the world is catching up. We now have a LEVEL PLAYING FIELD; that is, THE WORLD IS FLAT.
As you all know, the race to translate research and technology into business opportunity is hotly competitive. We are neck and neck with other countries, and some competitors are surpassing us. As Friedman says so eloquently, when we were children, our parents told us to finish our dinner because there were children starving in China and India . Today, he tells his children to finish their homework because there are children in India and China who are starving for their jobs! What a change!
According to the Wall Street Journal, China, India, Russia and Brazil could outrank the combined economic might of today's Group of Six—the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Italy and the UK—by the middle of this century. That represents a sea change in economic conditions and the world economic power distribution that should give each of us pause. What are the causes of this massive transition? They are complex, but some of them have serious implications for us as a University. Take for example the situation with regard to language and engineering education. In China , there are 20 million college students today—all of them are learning English. Only 60,000 of America ’s 17 million college students are studying Chinese. In fact, I have seen reports that there are more Chinese taking the SAT in English than there are Americans taking that same test.
Second, it is estimated that there will be 3.4 million degrees awarded in China this year—44 percent of them will be in engineering. In India , there will be 3.1 million graduates—22 percent of them in engineering. In the United States , there will be 1.3 million students who graduate, with only 6 percent of them in engineering. Think about the implications of this for the economic future of this country.
On the screen is a slide showing the academic areas that are in most demand by employers. Employer demand increasingly is reflecting international conditions and changing competition within the global frame. These are all critical areas for the future, but enrollment in many of them has been stagnant or declining in the United States . This does not bode well for our future and it is time for concerted action.
Clearly, China and India are out-producing the United States both in the number of graduates and the number of graduates in critical fields. Although North Carolina is one of the few exceptions, we as a nation have not really responded and continue to limit funding for education at all levels. In many states, the total funding for education has declined. By our inability to design, implement, and fund appropriate models of education at all levels, we have great potential as a nation not only to lose ground, but to change fundamentally the future for our children and grandchildren.
We are no longer in that privileged position as the unchallenged powerhouse of productivity and ingenuity. Our new situation in the balance of world economic power is a troubling concern at the federal, state, and just as importantly, AT REGIONAL LEVELS.
How does internationalization and globalization affect each and every one of us in this room? How many of you have had a friend or relative laid off? How many people do you know who have lost their homes and had to leave their communities as jobs are shipped overseas? Globalization is not just an international trend, it has huge personal impacts on each of us every day. We will need to respond if we are to help this region develop.
It is very important, therefore, for us to become more aware and knowledgeable of international issues. Kyle and I are interested in increasing our focus on international programming. Over the next couple of years, you will have opportunities to work on international education issues, including how to increase the number of international students at Western, how to increase the number of international experiences for our students, how to internationalize the curriculum, and how to encourage international faculty exchange.
The second major trend that clearly will represent a significant defining characteristic of our times, and those of our children, is increasing local population diversity. We are seeing it today with the rise of the Hispanic population throughout most of the United States and, most particularly, in North Carolina . North Carolina has the fastest growing Hispanic population in the country.
Growth of the Hispanic population represents a major change for this country, and I suspect that this shift is only one phase of what will become increasing diversity that may well involve increases in the numbers of Asians (especially Chinese and South Asians) and Eastern Europeans. We also are seeing major in-migrations of people from other regions of the United States into North Carolina —which has the potential to shift ethnic composition and religious affiliation percentages. Similarly, in-migration in Western North Carolina has great potential to change the political structure of the region—it already has done so. And, because of the quality of life offered in this region, we also can expect to see continuing increases in the number of older people who choose to live in Western North Carolina .
Western must effectively respond to the increasing diversity of our region and state. I have asked Fred Hinson to make sure that we develop parental admissions brochures in Spanish and that we have at least one admissions officer who is a fluent Spanish speaker. It also is important to examine our support systems for students from ethnically diverse backgrounds and to assure ourselves that our campus culture is tolerant of diversity.
The earlier trend that I mentioned—the development of this region as a retirement community—will have very profound implications for us as a University, and for this region as a whole. Especially of note is relatively new work by Michael Porter, the Harvard professor who first developed the concept of “clusters of innovation.” In his analysis of rural prosperity and competitiveness, he notes that the willingness of retirees to locate in a region is a significant indicator of the quality of life in the area which, itself, is a significant indicator of regional development potential. Obviously, changes in this region in the last several years show that the potential for development is great.
As an institution, we have begun to respond to the aging population. We have created programs in gerontology, and through a generous gift from Wallace and Jeanette Hyde, we have established a Distinguished Professorship in Gerontological Social Work. Pat Brown is developing a Senior College to promote advanced education among the region’s older residents. And, our faculty in engineering and physical therapy are working toward establishing a center for adaptive device development. We’re working with MAHEC and UNCA to create a Center for Health and Aging that will be a national model.
Remember, however, that many people who are moving to this region are recently retired professionals who have achieved the highest levels of professional recognition and accomplishment. They represent a virtually untapped resource of potential part-time faculty, lecturers, or volunteers. We need to take advantage of this gathering of expertise and experience—it can do nothing but help us.
Now, there is another major change that is affecting this region. On the screen behind me you will see a series of maps of the region that surrounds this institution. In our area of the country, state lines were developed in the early days of our nation. Obviously, much has changed and the functional boundaries of this region do not conform to state lines. The future of Western North Carolina is inextricably tied to the future of surrounding states.
Turning to the slides, what you see is the median value of housing in counties surrounding Cullowhee in 1990. White and yellow define lower median prices and blue defines higher prices. In our general region, only Atlanta had higher housing values. The rest of our region was relatively inexpensive.
Look at what happened by 2000! High median housing values have followed paths out of Atlanta , Greenville-Spartanburg, and Asheville . As this map clearly shows, the value of housing has increased more along the U.S. 441 corridor toward Macon and Jackson Counties than it has along the I-75 corridor toward Chattanooga . According to recent reports from the Macon County planning office, 42 percent of all property in that county is now owned by out-of-state residents. Thirty-four percent of that property is owned by Floridians and Georgians. Change in housing prices of this magnitude is an important indicator of the increasing impact that our specific area of the state can expect from the Atlanta metropolitan region. Moreover, reports from the Brookings Institute indicate that the wealth in Atlanta is moving northward as the metropolitan area develops. Based on everything that I have read, there is no indication that this trend will slow down—if anything, it will increase significantly over time.
The second set of maps is also very telling. On the screen is the map of the 1990 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) surrounding this region. The MSA is the most widely used federal definition of an urban area and it accounts for economic interdependencies among counties as well as population characteristics. The arrows indicate some of the growth trajectories in these regions that affect our area. Recently, the Bureau of the Census has added a new urban form to its definitions to reflect some very important changes in American settlement patterns: the “Micropolitan Area.” A Micropolitan Area consists of a smaller city and its surrounding economically integrated areas. Take a look at the re-mapped metropolitan and micropolitan areas based on 2003 census analysis.
This map startled me—even though I’ve been talking about this issue for years. Note that this region is surrounded by urban areas. Sitting in Cullowhee, we sometimes feel isolated, but we are not. We are in the center of an emerging conurbation that is being driven by Atlanta , Chattanooga , Greenville-Spartanburg, Knoxville , Johnson City , and Asheville . This has huge implications that we are just now beginning to understand. In fact, given the changes in this University, trends in retirement, distribution of high speed internet capacity, and increasing diseconomies of scale being experienced by Atlanta , I would predict that either Franklin or Sylva will become the hub of a micropolitan area within the next ten to twenty years.
Of particular importance is the increasing distribution of broadband capacity throughout this region. Through the work of companies such as Balsam Net West, Verizon, Bell South, Duke Net, and Metrostat and not-for-profits including MAIN and the ERC, the region can expect full broad band integration over the next several years. Western North Carolina will have one of the best, low-cost, broad-band capacities in the United States . Moreover, continued development of NCREN connections to both Internet II and National Lambda Rail will make educational and research computing even more important and available than it is today.
A final trend that I want to mention involves the changing structure of prosperity. There is increasing evidence that shows that innovation and entrepreneurship coupled together will be the primary basis for creating economic prosperity. This thesis regarding the importance of creativity has received wide attention due to the influential writings of Richard Florida. Florida ’s work has generally been associated with a school of thought that indicates that the new economy can only develop in a metropolitan area that has certain cultural characteristics. Recent works by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Michael Porter, and Joel Kotkin, among others, dispute the notion that development can only be based in metropolitan areas. In fact, Porter notes that rural areas have lagged metropolitan areas by only a small percentage in the development of new economy businesses. Work published by the U.S. Department of Commerce shows that in terms of entrepreneurial activity per thousand population, a rural community in central Colorado leads the nation.
What is more significant than even these works is the long-term trend recognized by economic geographers that shows that when they can find the basic services and utilities required to perform their jobs, people will tend to locate in rural or urban areas that provide strong quality of life. Quality of life, in this literature, generally involves the quality and characteristics of the physical environment, the availability and quality of health care, the quality of birth through college education, safety, recreation, and the availability of cultural assets such as concerts, museums, and galleries.
So, given the trends around us, and given the innate quality of life in this region, we can expect growth in the population. The only questions involve the quality of that growth and the role Western will play in assuring that we contribute to both preserving that quality of life and providing support for regional development that is meaningful and productive.
What I am leading up to is that all of these trends, coupled with the themes and concerns that I heard from faculty, staff, and the community in my various hearings and discussions last year, suggest some key directions for work this year and over the next several years. I want to speak to each of these in some measure.
First, once we complete SACS, we will need to again review our curricula and academic programs to assure that we are meeting the emerging needs of our students and our state. We have an excellent liberal studies program, but we will need to assure that it reflects what we now know about such issues as globalization, internationalization, cultural contact and conflict. The program also needs to be sufficiently flexible to encourage students to develop working, functional facility in languages other than English.
Now, turning to a second key issue, we know that increasingly students have to be facile with electronic technology and, minimally, they should be competent with the Microsoft Suite. Newt Smith has told me that there have been discussions among faculty about how to increase the value of our computing admissions standard, and that these discussions involve integrating each element of the Microsoft Suite into Liberal Studies classes. Technology competency is going to be increasingly important and I applaud these efforts.
Now, this also may be a time to look at developing non-credit opportunities for our students to add globally recognized credentials to their degrees. Many corporations are developing international certifications in technical fields. These certifications are recognized in many countries and they can significantly increase the value of a University degree. As we move forward, we should consider where it might benefit our students to have access to such technical certifications.
The issues surrounding globalization, the critical need areas for job growth, and the shifting local situation also support the efforts we are making in increasing our technologically based programs of study. The world has changed and we need to continue to change with it. Engineering and engineering-related disciplines will continue to play critical roles in helping this region re-gain prosperity. Similarly, emerging fields in rapid prototyping, nanotechnology, micro-manufacturing, photonics, ultra-computing, and wired and wireless communications will all need to be followed closely. This also means that it is important for us to take the next steps in developing our joint computer engineering program with UNC-Charlotte.
Western made an important organizational move this last academic year by proposing to restructure its Department of Engineering and Technology into a School of Technology within the College of Applied Sciences . This reorganization was approved by the Board of Governors last week. This restructuring will allow us to bring better coordination to our efforts and it will improve greatly our ability to assist this region.
I am pleased to report that by a vote of 49-0 the Senate approved modifications to the Umstead Act, which prohibits competition with private business. And, while the bill still has to go to conference committee for final negotiations, we are hopeful that this critical change in the Umstead Act will simplify our ability to work to support existing businesses in this region. Once approved, the bill sets up a review procedure that allows Umstead complaints to be addressed so that our faculty members can reasonably work with business without fear of creating “unfair competition.”
Returning to the globalization issue, as we progress over the next several years, Western needs to look carefully at establishing a formal program for developing interdisciplinary majors that might well be unique to the student’s particular interests. In the rapidly changing world in which we are living, problems do not often tie themselves neatly to one discipline or profession. Interdisciplinarity and the ability to structure unique and varied plans of study must be made readily available—especially to our better students.
Next, we must find ways to expand our access to language education. Such important languages as Mandarin, Japanese, Urdu, Russian, and Arabic will not draw sufficient numbers of students for Western alone to offer programs in these languages. We must find ways of developing inter-institutional programs and majors that allow the cost of offering such languages to be amortized across several institutions.
Further, we need to expand our programs that contribute to the quality of life. The Fine and Performing Arts Center is finally opening this year. It will provide an excellent venue for plays, concerts, and art exhibits. At the same time, we will need to link more closely with our region and assure that we have programs in the arts that support and promote the works of local artisans and artists—both visual and performing.
Of particular importance to the quality of life also are teacher education and health professions. We obviously need to find ways to develop and retain classroom teachers. Under Michael Dougherty ’s leadership, we have made significant strides in supporting new teacher transitions and in creating partnerships with local school districts. At the same time, we need to recognize that there are severe shortages of teachers in key areas, especially math and science. This shortage is coupled with a national crisis in the decline in the number of students who are majoring in math, science, computer science, and engineering. We should look carefully at this issue and consider developing very early intervention programs—possibly as early as the third grade—to identify students with potential to help build their capacities in math and science. We should consider ways in which we can link with regional school systems (that is, multiple school districts) to create a special purpose “middle college” to prepare students to major in these critical shortage areas. These last approaches will, however, require development of appropriate state policies to protect the University, as well as provide additional funding. But, these are the kinds of programs that may well make a long-range difference.
We are making great strides in many of our health-related disciplines, but we need to understand how we can expand these programs and how they can continue to contribute to both the quality of life, as well as to provide support for this region. We know that there is a nursing shortage. We need to be responsive to help solve this problem effectively. We cannot find ourselves in the same situation that we now are in with teacher education.
Obviously, we are making a great deal of headway in many areas, but there is another where we can make a difference both in the quality of life and in bringing employment to this region: environmental reclamation. We have an environmental science program, an environmental health program, and a construction management program. Can we not bring these three programs together to educate a student who can work on both human-made and natural environmental issues? This person could bring a unique set of skills to the table by understanding both the science of the problem and the techniques needed to correct it.
At the same time, I am asking the College of Business to look carefully at several issues. First, it is time for the College of Business to examine how it can systematically encourage faculty members to take a much stronger external focus. To be sure, there are individual faculty members who are working closely with the region’s businesses, but we need the College of Business to focus more specifically on business relationships and business development. Second, we need to further integrate entrepreneurial concepts across the business curriculum. Entrepreneurship represents an approach to business that is clearly needed for the future and as the college becomes more external, it will also need to focus more on entrepreneurial development. Third, it is time for us to have a 15 to 18 hour minor in general business that can fit within a field major or that can be taken by a student majoring outside the college. Many fine AACSB approved colleges have such programs, and we need to follow suit if we are to effectively serve our students. Fourth, over the next several years, we need to examine how to better integrate cooperative education options within our degree programs. Business students especially can benefit from a structured, educationally based co-op program that involves full-semester work assignments.
I want to turn now to the sciences. The evidence is increasingly clear that the sciences will have significant impact on the future of this University and on the ability of this region to compete. I have been in lengthy discussions with various key science policy specialists, including Vice President of the UNC system Russ Lea and the Governor’s science adviser Bob McMahan. There is common agreement that molecular bioscience as it relates to our specific location could be the most significant area for development for the institution. Suggestions have been made to me that we should, for instance, dramatically increase our ability to do research in such issues as eliminating invasive plants, finding ways to prevent tick-born diseases, and developing mechanisms to help commercialize native plant products.
Because of the importance of this issue, I have asked Kyle Carter and Dianne Lynch to organize a day-long conference involving Dr. Lea, Dr. McMahan, and key faculty from the sciences.
In the sciences, we also have great potential in the field of forensics. We have begun to establish ourselves in forensic anthropology, but with faculty and administrative leadership we have the potential to broaden this specialization into forensic science. We need to continue that development and assure that all relevant departments are engaged. This is an area where departments in Arts and Sciences and Applied Sciences need to work together to create a strong program. Once we have a clear definition of how we will build a strong program in this field, we need to determine how we can become certified as an FBI laboratory in forensic science. This will create a necessary condition for allowing Western to become a national leader in applied forensic science. I am asking Tom McClure to take the lead in developing the process for applying for FBI recognition.
Within this context, globalization has brought with it clear concerns for the safety of people in the United States . Homeland security is a core issue. Our rural location, our Internet capacity, and development of programs in computer science, forensic science and engineering create opportunities to link with businesses and federal agencies looking for less populace research sites, back-up data sites, and emergency operating facilities. Moreover, some of the finest minds in homeland security are locating in this area because of the quality of life. We have many natural advantages in this regard, and I am asking Paul Evans to take the lead in putting together a Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Homeland Security so that we can develop a better understanding of how these issues can affect us.
One critical element in developing our science capacities is the rapid enhancements we have been able to make in scientific measurement. We need to complete the process and create a Center for Scientific Measurement. Through the good offices of Congressman Charles Taylor, we have obtained a confocal microscope, a research grade mass spectrometer, and funding for a tunneling-scanning electron microscope. In conjunction with Harris Regional Hospital , we also will receive funding for an Oxford laser, which will allow our engineers to create products in very fine scale. The Oxford laser cuts accurately to the sub-micron level. This is a key to many areas of development—especially rapid prototyping of both medical and scientific equipment.
Now, we will need additional equipment. But we must also fulfill our obligation to make as much of this equipment available to other higher education institutions as possible. We need to Web-enable several of these instruments and we need to develop policies to allow sister institutions in the region—public and private, two and
four-year —to use our facilities at cost to provide better educational opportunities for all students in the area. This is a promise that we have made to the Congressman and we need to fulfill it. I am asking Rich Kucharski and Kyle Carter to take the lead on developing these policies and David Butcher to take the lead in implementing Web-enabled control of these instruments.
It also is clear that sciences need to expand significantly if we are to effectively serve this region. This means that, even with the renovations to Stillwell, we will not have enough space for the sciences. Therefore, I am asking Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance Chuck Wooten to work with the dean and the faculty to examine the space needs for the sciences and to begin to develop the justification and request to the Board of Governors to expand our science facilities. At the same time, because of the presence of the Highlands Biological Station, the North Carolina Arboretum, and the Coweeta Laboratory, I am asking Kyle to call together a meeting of key players to see how we can establish strong working partnerships with each of these important entities. Mountain science can possibly mean as much to Western as marine science does to UNC- Wilmington.
To shift to another area, one of the great delights of the last several years has been the discovery of how many accomplished people are willing to relocate to this area of the country. Ron Rash, Bruce Frazier, Jack Sholder, and Terry Curtis Fox are but a few examples of the international quality people we have been able to attract. We also have among the finest sound recording and television recording capacities in higher education. We must now take advantage of these capacities and develop strong international class programs in various media arts and sciences. Of particular note are such areas as interactive broadband, commercial video, and electronic gaming. If we aim at the right niches, we can create both highly educated students and support spin-off businesses in a variety of fields associated with electronic media. We also can develop our own production capacity to a level of being able to create national class educational programming such as one might find on “Masterpiece Theater.”
Because of his understanding of the field, I am asking Jack Sholder to take the lead in working with Kyle Carter and Robert Kehrberg to create a working plan for electronic media.
Next, I think that most of you are aware that we reorganized our hospitality area last year by moving the program to the College of Business . We need to continue to develop this program with special emphasis on tourism research, product development and entrepreneurship, and management of hospitality facilities. We also need to examine ways in which we can find the funding for our proposed hospitality management building.
A final note, we are moving to greatly increase the organization, scope and quality of our formal university outreach program. To promote thought leadership in this field, we created the Institute for the Economy and the Future (IEF) to replace the Center for Regional Development. The Institute is a direct outcome of our participation in the vision plan for the AdvantageWest region. As a result of the vision plan, Western Carolina University agreed to build a regional “think tank” with capacities for rigorous research, economic base analysis, issue polling, and employment trends analysis. The desire is to create data-driven analytics that can be used in crafting policy at the state and regional levels to support growth and innovation in industries with high economic multipliers. We aim to make IEF a place where scholarly engagement is at the forefront.
The Institute’s executive director will be Paul Evans . As some of you know, Paul is a Western grad and a former industry executive who has an extensive background that ranges from Program Management at the National Science Foundation to the creation of technology start-up ventures.
I have covered a lot of ground today, but one fact remains constant. Our core business is education. Our responses to these trends must be primarily manifested in our curricula. Our core direction is not changing. We must continue to improve quality. We must continue to increase enrollment. We must support the development of this region. If not for ourselves, for our children and grandchildren.
We have to create the human capital to assure that our state and region are internationally competitive, that our people understand the responsibility of citizenship, and that they are active leaders in the global culture.
We can make this happen. We must.
Thank you for being here today and have a great year.
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