Leaders of the North Carolina University System came together at the NC Arboretum of Asheville as UNC system president Margaret Spellings delivered the State of the University System Address, on April 27.
Spellings was the U.S. Secretary of Education from 2005 to 2009 under the George W. Bush administration. In that role, she led the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act and later became UNC system president in 2016.
The NC Arboretum hosts a room full of esteemed guests there to hear the Address. Photo from the WCU live stream.
Discussing the future of the public institutions of the NC system, Spellings focused on three major issue areas UNC system is facing today: economic mobility, affordability, and the public good.
Working toward a future where all North Carolinians have access the higher public education, Spellings is looking for ways and strategies for higher education to meet these three challenges in a time of great pressure on resources and change.
Spellings identified economic mobility as ‘the defining issue of our day’ as it was mentioned frequently throughout the address. Children born in poverty in the south have been proven to have strikingly low odds of bettering their lives. To make up for this deficit of those who have and those who don’t, the NC University System is committed to reaching students of all backgrounds and financial incomes.
“Opportunity is meaningless if you can’t pay for it,” said Spellings. “Through the leadership of the General Assembly, the UNC Board of Governors, our institutions’ trustees and chancellors, we have put a lid on tuition. We are holding to no more than the pace of income growth here in our state and freezing it for students who remain enrolled and on track.”
As far as advancing the public good, Spellings called on all universities to stand behind the core values of free expression, intellectual diversity, and patient engagement with new ideas. She pointed out how important it is to lead by example and to show that public institutions are an ally in the effort to make a better world.
Acting Chancellor, Alison Morrison-Shetlar represented WCU as did chancellors and leaders from Appalachian State University and UNC Asheville during the panel session following Spelling’s address. Interim Chancellor of UNC Asheville, Joe Urgo, concluded the event by speaking about the challenges of health and safety that students in the U.S. face every day.
“In elementary through high school, it could mean learning to live with the fear of being shot at or killed, learning about grown-up’s ideas to arm your teachers, learning about how going to school is dangerous.”
Spellings gives her State of the University System Address. Photo from WCU live stream.
Urgo went on to say, “Being a college student in the United States today can also mean doing your best to concentrate on your academic work which seems devalued if it’s not directly related to employment. If we wanted to compound our children’s anxiety, we have a sound strategy in place.”
Our UNC system is committing to countering the fears and anxieties of students with the resources they need to embrace the future.
“Our campuses, our communities, our country; they are better economically and socially when more people have the opportunity to learn and strive to contribute in meaningful ways to a common purpose. Higher education may not be and does not have to be for everyone, but it ought never to be off limits to anyone,” said Urgo. “Making it accessible does not make it less valuable.”
With commitments from the Legislature and the Board of Governors, tuition is flat or falling at every single UNC system institution. Seeing this come to fruition will be WCU, UNC Pembroke, and Elizabeth City State University who will undertake the NC Promise tuition change this Fall thanks to the bold investment of $51 million. Tuition will be just $500 per semester going forward.
“We know that this particular program will change the lives of our students, it will change the lives in our communities, and it will change the lives of those families the students belong to,” said Morrison-Shetlar on behalf of WCU.
You can see the entire State of the University System Address here.
