Protesters have been asking for changes with the Board of Governors, but apparently the board is also interested in making some changes themselves.

The Board of Governors discussed some of the key challenges the UNC system will face in the future at their meeting last Thursday.

The Board heard three presentations, including one from Andrew Kelly the newly named Senior Vice President for Strategy and Policy for the UNC system.

The presentations focused on broad changing trends in higher education, like student debt and evolving demographics.

Jay Puckett from the Boston Consulting Group, presented findings from a survey of the Board of Governors themselves.

“As we dug into that more and more with the board members, it was clear that there was an appetite to spend more time on matters that you though were most important, what President Spellings has described as majoring in the majors,” said Puckett.

UNC System President Margaret Spellings said she wanted the Board of Governors meetings to focus more on policy as well.

“From my earliest days on the job, you’ve heard me talk about the need for more policy and strategy discussions during these board meetings, enabling us to use our time together and the presence of the chancellors more effectively to tackle high level top priority concerns,” said Spellings.

Andrew Kelly was introduced as the new Vice President for Strategy and Policy.

He is currently a resident scholar of higher education policy at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank based in Washington DC. He will begin working for the UNC System this summer.

Kelly spoke about some nationally challenges for higher education like lower degree completion and most importantly, rising tuition and student debt.

“What we’ve seen in Washington are two narratives, one of which is much louder than the other,” said Kelly.

According to Kelly, that louder voice is the one calling for subsidies for college education. Kelly said his approach would focus on fixing the issues that make a college education expensive in the first place.

James Johnson, a UNC professor, gave a presentation about demographic changes in the US and how they will affect the UNC system.

Johnson said dealing with aging population, a changing racial makeup and growing inequality will be the biggest challenges to access in the UNC system.

“The kinds of changes we find ourselves in the midst of, you’re going to have to buckle your seatbelt to deal with them and if you ignore them you ignore them at your own peril,” said Johnson.

While the this strategic meeting was broad in scope, if it is any indication, affordability and student success should be the focus of this board for some time to come.

Related Stories
‹
State Legislature to Consider Shrinking UNC BoG
The North Carolina House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed House Bill 39 on Wednesday. It now awaits action in the state Senate.**** As it stands now, the UNC System Board of Governors comprises 32 members. But if a new bill passes, that number will shrink to 24 by mid-2019. The North Carolina Senate and House […]
Public Forum on State University Governance Coming to Durham Tech
On Wednesday, Governor Roy Cooper announced the sites for a series of public forums dedicated to the governance of public universities. The series includes six forums between February and April, with the last coming on the campus of Durham Tech on April 11. The goal of the forums is to “seek ideas and suggestions on […]
Professor Denied Reappointment To UNC Press Board; Reports Cite Criticism of BOG
A UNC law professor has been denied reappointment to the UNC Press board, reportedly over his outspoken antiracist advocacy on campus.
UNC System Shares Changes to Presidential Search, Annual Budget Amid Pandemic
The role of permanent president for the University of North Carolina System has been unclear for more than a year, as the system has worked to find a long-term replacement for Margaret Spellings. Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, the wait may last even longer than planned. Spellings’ resignation last March means the system’s Board of […]
UNC System Reveals Position Profile for Candidates in Presidential Search
The UNC System revealed its next step in the search for a permanent president on Thursday by revealing its position profile for candidates. The system’s presidential search committee released its description of candidate qualities its searching for and how applicants can submit responses. Describing the qualities as an overall ‘portrait’ of an ideal candidate, the […]
Dwight Stone Honored at Final UNC Board of Trustees Meeting
Dwight Stone served on the UNC Board of Trustees for six years. Now, he will serve the UNC community in a new way: as a member of the UNC System Board of Governors. The Board of Trustees recognized Stone at its final meeting of 2019 in November. It passed a resolution honoring the former chairman […]
Top Stories of 2019: UNC Names Kevin Guskiewicz as Permanent Chancellor
Chapelboro.com is re-publishing some of the top stories that impacted our community in 2019. These were stories that affected Chapel Hill, Carrboro and the rest of our local area. When Carol Folt stepped down as UNC’s chancellor, Kevin Guskiewicz was named as the university’s interim chancellor. Guskiewicz — who had previously served as the dean […]
Former UNC Board Chairman to Step Off Board Entirely
The former chair of the governing panel for the University of North Carolina system says he’s leaving his spot on the board. News outlets report Harry Smith announced on Monday that he was leaving the UNC Board of Governors in February 2020. Smith said he doesn’t have time to be on the board after starting […]
UNC Governing Board Elects New Chair, Vice Chair
The governing body of the University of North Carolina system has two new top officers. UNC officials said in a news release that the Board of Governors elected Randy Ramsey to serve as chairman and Wendy Murphy as vice chairman. They were elected Tuesday at a specially called phone meeting of the board. Ramsey is […]
UNC Board Chair Resigning from Leadership Role
Harry Smith is resigning as chair of the UNC System Board of Governors. Kari Travis of the Carolina Journal was first to report Smith stepping down. WRAL and the News & Observer then quoted Smith saying that the amount of work and the politics involved had been wearing him down. The UNC System confirmed that Smith […]
›