Thank you, President Bowles. I am honored and humbled to have your confidence in my ability to serve as chancellor for The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. I thank you for this opportunity to come back to North Carolina and especially for the privilege of leading this outstanding university. As I said during my acceptance remarks last June, your voice resonated in my heart when you called to say, “Linda…I’d like to offer you a chance to come home.” How could anyone refuse that kind of offer?
It is an honor to stand before you today during this momentous occasion. This day means so very much to me and to our university. I would like to thank members of the General Assembly and other State and local officials who may be present today, the UNC Board of Governors, the UNCG Board of Trustees and the UNCG leadership team … Provost Perrin, our Vice Chancellors, our Deans and our department heads.
Most important are our faculty, staff, students, and alumni. You represent the core of this great university – our past, our present and our future. We are one great unbroken band.
My special thanks go to Ginger Karb and David Vaughan, who co-chaired the installation committee, and to their colleagues who have worked tirelessly to make this day possible. Thank you all for being here.
It is wonderful to be joined by past Chancellors Pat Sullivan and Bill Moran – we are grateful for your dedicated service to this institution. Your sustained efforts and the efforts of those who preceded you have positioned UNCG to weather challenges, pursue great opportunities and create new possibilities – and we sincerely thank you.
I also welcome all of the chancellors and their representatives who are here today from other universities within The University of North Carolina—my colleagues. A special thanks to Chancellor Oblinger, for the support and mentorship he has provided during my time at NC State and in the years since. It is a distinct privilege to lead with all of you as we collectively guide the best system of public higher education in the United States to continued excellence.
And to my colleagues and their representatives from other colleges and universities and professional societies – I am pleased to be associated with our common efforts in support of higher education during this critical time in our nation’s history.
It is also a pleasure to be joined by members of the Greensboro community…people who care a great deal about UNCG. Know that this university cares a great deal about you. We value our relationship with you and our role in helping enhance the quality of our neighbors’ lives. Part of what makes UNCG distinctive is our connection to Greensboro and the Piedmont Triad. We are here to serve you because we belong to the people of North Carolina.
I would like to express my sincere thanks to my family… I am so happy to have my husband, Steve Heyer, here. I have been in education for more than 25 years. As my life partner, Steve has supported, encouraged and sustained me. He has been at my side in good times and bad and is the major reason that I am able to stand in front of you today and accept this opportunity to help chart UNCG’s course for the future.
I welcome our sons, Stephen and Michael, Stephen’s wife Suzanne, and our grandchildren, Alyx, Megan and Andrew. I am so happy that my brother Scott is here along with his daughter Emily. To Alyx, Megan, Andrew and Emily – the work we do at UNCG and in colleges and universities across this country is for you, to ensure that your futures will be characterized by professional success and personal fulfillment.
My parents have passed away and, therefore, are not sitting in the audience today, but I feel their presence. I certainly owe my success to their strong belief in the importance of education. My father emigrated from Scotland in the 1920s. The second youngest of eight children, he never had the opportunity to attend college. Both he and my mother believed that education was the key that would open the door to a successful and meaningful future for their children.
Creating a life of meaning
I attended a state university in the 1960s when tuition was $200 a semester. Imagine that. I won a scholarship, took out federal loans and worked as a waitress in the dining hall to cover the cost of my education at Douglass College. What I received in return was an introduction to the world of ideas, a sense of my personal abilities and an understanding of the possibilities my life held. One of my parents’ proudest moments was the day I graduated from Douglass College. Today they would be prouder still.
Education, indeed, transforms lives. It changed the life of this first-generation college student and brought me to this place today. Education helped me create a life of meaning. My parents raised me to be a responsible person; my education showed me how. It ignited in me a passion for public service. In my work for the federal government and in higher education, I have witnessed a sacred trust on behalf of the American people. As elected or appointed officials and as educators, we must never forget that our service is a privilege.
Charting a course in this critical moment
Everyone here is very well aware of the challenges facing our state and nation right now. Indeed, these are daunting times. Occasionally, over the last ten months, people have said to me, “What a terrible time for you to take on this position with the economic challenges, budget cuts and tough decisions.” I thought about that. And here is my response: This is the time for UNCG to be a leader. This is the moment. And higher education is the place to be in order to affect change.
It is this moment in higher education, this critical moment, in which we can chart a different course…in which we will shape the future for our children, their children, and for this great country.
Think about what this institution has been able to achieve in critical moments over the last 118 years. We began as the State Normal and Industrial School in 1891 as the direct result of a crusade by Charles Duncan McIver on behalf of the education of women. As times called for us to change, we changed. When we needed to embrace new thinking, we opened our minds, we shifted our perspectives. We became Woman’s College of the University of North Carolina and then The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. And it wasn’t just our name that changed. We changed how we saw our mission and how we defined our purpose based on the issues of the time and what the people of our state and the nation required of us. We broadened our mission. We admitted men and embraced diversity. We developed a research focus – one that honors our commitment to improving the quality of life. The research we conduct now helps make life better for people.
As we’ve evolved, we’ve held onto our traditional values of access, affordability and diversity. There were challenging times along the way, daunting times…but this institution approached them as critical change points…as significant moments. We are one great unbroken band.
Here we are again …in a critical moment. We must seize it – and I believe we are prepared to do so. Why do I believe this? Because of our history, which demonstrates our ability to respond. Because of our placement in this community and region, which demonstrates our ability to partner and serve. Because of our readiness based on the initiatives surrounding UNC Tomorrow. And, finally, I believe we are ready to seize this critical moment because of the vision we have outlined in our strategic plan...a vision to redefine the public research university for the 21st century as an inclusive, collaborative and responsive institution that makes a difference in the lives of students and the communities we serve.
Identifying how UNCG can help
Our new strategic plan provides the framework for the direction we will take in this critical moment. As we ask, “How can UNCG help? How can we build on our commitment to the people?” The UNCG Strategic Plan will guide us for the next five years and beyond.
The plan commits UNCG to values that have shaped our past and present, values that will shape our future: inclusiveness, collaboration, sustainability, responsibility and transparency. It also focuses our energies on five strategic areas during the next five years:
• First, UNCG will foster access to education and student success through outreach, support and the creation of sustainable learning environments for all persons, particularly citizens of North Carolina from underserved regions and from underrepresented populations.
• Second, UNCG will foster health and wellness across the lifespan by enhancing and extending health, wellness and quality of life for children, adults, families, and communities through research, workforce development, the reduction of disparities in access to healthcare and healthy lifestyles, sustainability efforts and recreational opportunities.
• Third, UNCG will foster leadership development by offering transformational undergraduate, professional and graduate programs and educational experiences that develop integrative thinking and transferable skills for life, civic participation and work in a global society.
• Fourth, UNCG will become a catalyst for economic transformation, cultural expression and community development to benefit the residents of Greensboro, the Piedmont region, the State of North Carolina and beyond.
• Finally, UNCG will become a global university where students, faculty and the community engage the problems of our times in a global context informed by international and intercultural experiences and perspectives.
Yes, these are ambitious goals. But UNCG is a community of great people working together to make great things happen. We are ready…ready to face the circumstances of the day and turn them into opportunities…ready to come together as an energized community committed to our redefined mission and vision. We are one great unbroken band.
Letting the moment inspire us
This is a significant moment in the history of the United States, in the history of higher education and in the life of UNCG. How will we respond? We must approach the circumstances before us with a sense of urgency, but without panic; with a sense of confidence, but with the courage to embrace uncertainty. We must let the moment inspire us and we must commit to transformational change.
There are decisive moments in our lives – both in the lives of people and in the lives of institutions – in which circumstances and often individuals have the opportunity to reinvent themselves…to build on history, culture and core values, and reshape one’s relationship to the larger environment. I believe this is one of those times.
Education changes lives. It changed mine. And it has changed yours. Education ensures opportunity. It weaves meaning into the lives of individuals and communities. What we do at UNCG – and in every college and university across this country – matters. It is about the world we will leave to Alyx, Megan, Andrew and Emily. It is about the world we will leave to your nieces and nephews and your sons and daughters and grandchildren. And it is about the social responsibility of higher education.
Keeping pace with the world around us
In higher education, we tend to change incrementally. We change when new faculty and staff join our ranks and when others retire. We change when new generations of students arrive on campus with different expectations. We change when new fields of research emerge and new disciplines are created. But how can we accelerate this process – and we must – in order to keep pace with the social, political, demographic and economic changes around us?
I believe we must generate a new sense of urgency. We must not only respond to change; we must be agents of change.
I believe we must reinforce our commitment to access while reducing the achievement gap that remains between well-served and traditionally underserved student populations. We have an obligation to focus on college readiness in partnership with K-12 and the community colleges. Student learning must remain our top priority.
We must provide new accelerated programs that will enable undergraduates to complete their coursework in less than four years; we will do so by building on emerging technology and our experience with distance education.
We must expand our commitment to graduate education and continual learning in order to better serve the needs of the people of North Carolina – including our growing veteran population and those seeking to change careers.
As responsible stewards of the public trust, we must reduce costs and improve service and productivity. Maintaining affordability while enhancing quality will require us to make strategic choices because we cannot do everything and be excellent in all that we do. UNCG’s new Strategic Plan will provide the framework for those difficult choices.
We must create incentives to encourage collaborations that cut across traditional disciplines and academic boundaries and recognize the value of translational research, community engagement, and the scholarship of teaching and learning. This will require frank and serious conversations on our campus about the roles and responsibilities of faculty.
Moving forward with greater agility
Historically, higher education has had a monopoly on the creation and dissemination of knowledge. This is no longer the case. Our role is, and will be increasingly, much broader and more complex. And we are faced with serious competitors in the United States and around the world. We must move forward faster and with greater agility. We will do so consistent with our values, building upon UNCG’s strong history of shared governance.
This is a university where the next generation of leaders is born and where students from all walks of life can achieve their dreams. We must ensure these opportunities are available to future generations of North Carolinians. Education changes lives.
This is a university where research, scholarship and creative activity engage the problems of our times and improves the quality of life in our communities, across the State of North Carolina and around the world. What we do matters.
Building the promise of tomorrow
David Brooks, in a New York Times column written earlier this year, noted that we are not defined by what we ask of life. We are defined by what life asks of us. At this critical moment in the history of this university, our state and our nation, life is asking a great deal of us. We must use this time to reinvigorate ourselves and to engage in meaningful change. We have an obligation to respond and, in doing so, to build the promise of tomorrow.
Join with me in building the future of this great university. Let us move forward with determination and let us imagine what we can accomplish together. We are one great unbroken band.
Thank you.
