Author Archives: Kim Spurr

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Arts and Sciences Deans Office

College Think Tank explores outside-the-box ideas

Dean Kevin Guskiewicz leads a discussion in a December meeting of the Think Tank, composed of alumni, entrepreneurs and community/business leaders. (photo by Kristen Chavez)

Creating a brain trust of strategic advisers was part of Kevin Guskiewicz’s plan even before he became dean in January 2016. He presented the idea of an advisory “think tank” as part of his formal pitch to the UNC selection committee for the job.

“There are plenty of smart people inside the College with great ideas about what it takes to rethink the modern-day liberal arts curriculum, but there is value to bringing in outside perspectives,” said Guskiewicz, who formed the group as one of his first acts as dean. “I believe the best ideas come when you approach a challenge from different viewpoints.”

The College Think Tank is composed of successful alumni, entrepreneurs and community/business leaders who advise Guskiewicz and his senior leadership team on pertinent issues. At a May meeting, the think tank weighed in on drafts of the College’s new mission, vision and values statements that were emerging from the dean’s strategic planning process.

In December, members took a deep dive into reimagining the general education curriculum. (The College is in the process of updating the curriculum — the first major overhaul in a decade — for students entering Carolina in fall 2019.) Topics discussed: How do we get faculty trained in old-school teaching methods to explore more contemporary high-structure active learning techniques? How long does a study abroad experience need to be for students to become immersed in another culture? How do we remove the barriers that prevent first-generation students from taking advantage of experiential learning opportunities like internships?

Think Tank members Jonathan Reckford and Julia Grumbles laugh at a comment; behind them is Terry Rhodes, senior associate dean for fine arts and humanities. (photo by Kristen Chavez)

“The data on first-generation students show that they have the academic knowledge but they don’t have the cultural capital,” Robyn Hadley, who oversees a support program for under-represented students at Washington University in St. Louis, told fellow think tank members. “They don’t know to go to the networking dinners, for example. Coming to college is almost like charting a new country.”

Ideas explored included: scholarships that go beyond covering basic expenses, since there are always hidden educational costs; offering required science courses at partner universities overseas to get more STEM majors to participate in study abroad; pairing low-income students with high-income students for an exchange of experiences.

As the daylong session wrapped up, Guskiewicz told the group, “One of the elements of our new values statement is to be ‘strategically bold,’ and you are one way we are doing this.”

College Think Tank members

Tom Uhlman (political science M.S. ’71, Ph.D. ’75), co-chair along with Guskiewicz, is founder and managing partner of New Venture Partners LLC, an early stage venture capital firm focused on corporate technology spinouts. He is a member of the College’s Foundation Board.

Frank Bruni (English ’86) is an op-ed columnist for The New York Times, the author of two bestselling books and a frequent commentator on television news shows.

Buck Goldstein (political science ’70, law ’76) is entrepreneur-in-residence and a professor of the practice at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is the co-author of Engines of Innovation: The Entrepreneurial University in the Twenty-First Century. He is also chairman of Medfusion, a medical information technology company.

Julia Grumbles (history ’75) is the retired corporate vice president of human resources, public relations and corporate marketing resources at Turner Broadcasting System. She currently serves on the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees and the board of UNC’s Institute for the Arts and Humanities.

Robyn S. Hadley (public policy analysis ’85) is associate vice chancellor and dean of the John B. Ervin Scholars Program, which aims to provide opportunities for under-represented students at Washington University in St. Louis.

Sallie Krawcheck (journalism/political science ’87) is the CEO and co-founder of Ellevest, a digital adviser for women. She is also owner and chair of Ellevate Network, a global professional women’s network.

David W. McLaughlin is provost emeritus of New York University. He supports the scholarly development of faculty and students in mathematics, sciences and technology. His son, Rich McLaughlin, is the chair of the mathematics department in UNC’s College of Arts & Sciences.

Jonathan Reckford (political science ’84) is CEO of Habitat for Humanity. Previously, he served as president of stores for the Musicland division of Best Buy, senior vice president of corporate planning and communications for Circuit City and director of strategic planning at the Walt Disney Co.

Edward Strong is a founding partner of Dodger Theatricals Ltd., a theatrical production company. Dodger has produced more than 150 productions worldwide, which collectively have won more than 50 Tony Awards. He recently joined the UNC faculty as an entrepreneur-in-residence.

Travis Tygart (philosophy ’93) has been the CEO of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency since 2007. He has been recognized by Sports Illustrated as one of the 50 Most Powerful People in Sports and named to the Time 100 list of most influential people in the world for 2013.

Cassandra Butts ’91, an original member of the Think Tank, died in 2016. She had served as White House counsel under President Obama.

By Geneva Collins

#Throwback (spring 2017)

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photo by Lars Sahl

Goodbye, Venable

Demolition of the original, (old) Venable Hall, which housed the departments of chemistry and marine sciences, began in January 2008. The building was named for Francis Preston Venable, professor of chemistry and University president from 1900 to 1914. (New) Venable was completed about two years later as part of the Carolina Physical Sciences Complex, the largest construction project in the University’s history. Do you have memories of classes and labs in old Venable? Share your stories by emailing college-news@unc.edu.

Alan Banov ’67 shared this memory of his time in (old) Venable Hall:

In November 1963 I was in my Qual Chem lab on the Friday afternoon when President Kennedy was assassinated. I worked next to Mike Knowles (now an M.D. and Professor of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at UNC).

Rumors filtered into the lab that Kennedy had been shot. Many of us could not believe it. I didn’t.

I focused on my lab and, while I was a mediocre Chem student, got a B and the second highest grade on the lab that day. (It wouldn’t have surprised me if Mike Knowles had the highest grade since he was an excellent Chem student.)

Afterwards, I joined my parents and a friend from home at the Carolina Inn, around the corner, and discovered the horrible rumors were true.

———————-

Read a story about how Carolina First gifts made a new Venable Hall possible.

Ten Years After: Carolina First gifts elevate faculty and student experiences

The courtyard between Venable and Murray halls, two of the buildings in the Carolina Physical Sciences Complex, the largest construction project in the University’s history. (photo by Lars Sahl)

As the University launches a new fundraising campaign this fall, we are looking at how gifts made during the Carolina First campaign (1999-2007) continue to strengthen the arts and sciences.

In the winter of 2000, Jeff Johnson visited the Carolina campus for the first time, hoping to secure a tenure-track faculty position in chemistry. Johnson had just earned his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1999 and was in the midst of a postdoc at the University of California, Berkeley.

Facility tours back then were, well, fast. Prospective faculty and graduate students were whisked through Venable Hall, built in 1925, where faucets dripped and research was conducted at cramped and decades-old lab stations.

“During my interview, Royce Murray pulled out the plans for new chemistry buildings that would replace Venable and reduce crowding in Kenan and Morehead Labs,” said Johnson, department chair since 2015. “You could sense his excitement for what this would mean for science at Carolina.”

Murray, a Kenan Professor and former chair of the department who was honored with his name on one of the five science buildings, helped lead the planning for the complex. Partially funded with $22 million in private gifts and $84 million from a higher education bond referendum, the $205 million complex was the largest construction project in the University’s history.

From 2003 to 2010, the science complex took shape on the western edges of Polk Place. Three new buildings — Murray, Caudill and (new) Venable Halls — house chemistry, marine sciences and a new department, applied physical sciences. Two other buildings in the science complex are Chapman, home to physics and astronomy; and Brooks, an addition to Sitterson Hall, which houses computer science.

“Solar energy research was what drew me to graduate school, and the faculty at UNC’s Energy Frontier Research Center drew me to Carolina specifically,” said Kate Pitman, a Ph.D. candidate in chemistry.

UNC’s EFRC Center for Solar Fuels, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, was established in 2009. While the center builds on years of research by UNC faculty, “world-class” facilities were key to the center securing research dollars.

Carolina First campaign gifts supported the purchase of Winston House, UNC’s European Study Center in London, now one of Carolina’s top study abroad destinations.

Honors Carolina doubles its enrollment, funds new professorships

Emma Kelly ’17 hung up her waitress apron at her hometown diner last summer and turned her focus to changing the world.

A William W. and Ida W. Taylor Honors Fellowship enabled the environmental science major to stay in Chapel Hill during the summer to analyze water management data in the developing world.

“We were eager to mine the wealth of data that we collected in Zambia, Ghana and Kenya the prior summer. These funds allowed me to work on disseminating our findings,” said Kelly.

In recent years, the deciding factor for exceptional students who choose Carolina over other schools has been its nationally acclaimed honors program, said James Leloudis ’77, associate dean for Honors Carolina. A Carolina First priority was to double the number of honors students without compromising the seminar-style instruction in classes of 20 to 24 students.

In the Class of 2010, Honors Carolina could enroll only 200 students, fewer than 5 percent of first-year students. Ten years later, Honors Carolina enrolled 494 students in the Class of 2020, nearly 12 percent of the entering class.

Honors Carolina’s successful expansion was largely the result of private gifts made during Carolina First and afterward. In addition to study abroad and student research support, donors funded 15 new professorships that increased academic departments’ capacity to offer honors courses.

Campaign gifts also allowed the purchase of Winston House, UNC’s European Study Center in London, now one of Carolina’s top study abroad destinations.

Today, Honors Carolina is ranked No. 4 nationally; it’s been a model program since it was created in 1954.

By Del Helton

New senior leadership team for business operations

From left, James Klinger, Kate Henz and Lachonya Williams work closely together to oversee business operations for the College of Arts & Sciences. (photo by Kristen Chavez)

A new senior leadership team will work closely to oversee business operations in the College of Arts & Sciences.

Kate Henz recently joined the College from UNC General Administration to become senior associate dean for administration and business strategy. Henz will oversee all business operations, which includes finance and human resources.

Henz’s arrival and the addition of Jim Klingler (coming from NC State) as the new associate dean for finance and budget management last fall, together with Lachonya Williams as associate dean for human resources, mark the full transition of the new administrative structure for the College implemented by Dean Kevin Guskiewicz.

The objective of the new team is to create a more sophisticated model of business administration that ensures effective operations across the College, implements innovative business solutions and advances the College’s mission and vision through strategic planning and engagement.

Reimagining Gen Ed curriculum for 2019

Students participate in a history class in Greenlaw 101, which was remodeled to introduce interactive technology and flexible student seating for collaborative work. (photo by Kristen Chavez)

The College of Arts & Sciences is updating its General Education curriculum — the first major overhaul since the “Making Connections” curriculum was put into place in 2006.

Dean Kevin Guskiewicz formed a Curriculum Revision Working Group chaired by Andrew Perrin, professor of sociology and special assistant to the dean, to begin the process last fall.

“Just as Carolina has been in the forefront of instructional innovation, I am confident that we will be leaders in reimagining a foundational, broad and deep liberal arts education at a leading global public research university as we prepare students for the challenges of 21st-century lives and careers,” Guskiewicz said.

Town hall meetings were held in the fall for the Carolina community and the general public to provide input. The planners also held conversations with key stakeholders across campus.

Earlier this spring, eight task forces were assigned specific areas to address, such as “core knowledge and practical skills,” “diverse perspectives and global understanding,” “experiential education,” and “communication and collaboration.” The task forces are expected to present their reports in May.

Once the recommendations are finalized, faculty will begin designing courses (or redesigning existing ones) to meet the new requirements, with the new curriculum debuting in fall 2019 for first-year students.

All undergraduates entering Carolina spend their first two years in the College as they complete their General Education requirements. Some go on to declare majors in other UNC schools, but the vast majority — 78 percent — will graduate with a degree from the College and one of its 40-plus majors.

College funds new team-taught courses

Six new interdisciplinary, team-taught courses will be offered across the College beginning in fall 2017 in disciplines ranging from physics and astronomy to public policy to art.

Dean Kevin Guskiewicz issued a call for proposals for faculty last fall, and a selection committee chose the following courses:

“Climate and Energy Transitions,” taught by Gerald Cecil (physics and astronomy) and John M. Bane (marine sciences).
“Art and Fashion from Rome to Timbuktu,” taught by Victoria Rovine (art) and Herica Valladares (classics).
“Geography for Future Leaders: People, the Planet and You,” taught by Elizabeth Havice and Diego Riveros-Iregui (geography).
“The Lived Experience of Inequality and Public Policy,” taught by Candis Watts Smith (public policy) and GerShun Avilez (English and comparative literature).
“Ordinary Differential Equations within the Modern Scientific Method,” taught by Roberto Camassa and Richard M. McLaughlin (mathematics).
“Healing in Literature and Ethnography,” taught by Michelle Rivkin-Fish (anthropology) and Jane Thrailkill (English and comparative literature).

These new team-taught courses provide an opportunity to offer fresh, multifaceted approaches to complex issues in a way no single instructor could, Guskiewicz said.

“We hope these grants will help eliminate some of the barriers that can discourage interdisciplinary teaching,” he said. “This was a pilot project, and we expect to provide more opportunities for innovative courses in the future.”

Less driving linked to decrease in roadway fatalities

Each year, more than 30,000 people die in car crashes in the United States. Despite safety improvements, motor vehicle fatalities continue to be a leading cause of early mortality.

A new study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine shows that a significant decrease in automobile travel from 2003 to 2014 correlated with a decrease in the number of crash deaths, with the largest reduction among young men. The study also discovered that at the same time, there was no increase in how active Americans were, meaning physical activity did not replace driving for many people.

“These results accord with analyses from the transport literature that show the drop in driving occurred because Americans were going fewer places, not because they were switching from cars to travel by bus, foot or bicycle,” said Noreen McDonald, chair and associate professor in the department of city and regional planning.

The study found that auto travel decreased by 9.2 minutes per day from 2003 to 2014. Men ages 20-29 years saw the largest drop. Consequently, motor vehicle fatalities showed significant declines among young men, but also across all ages.

The amount of time people spent exercising remained unchanged during the study period.

“Americans have stayed home more in the recent decade for a complex set of inter-related factors,” said McDonald. “Technologic advances have eliminated the need for some face-to-face interaction. High gas prices, rising debt, stagnant incomes and increases in unemployment have made driving more costly. Finally, delays in employment, partnering and parenthood have lowered the need for certain types of trips.”

Read more.

Celebrating 10 years of Phillips Ambassadors

Phillips Ambassador Gabrielle Beaudry ’18 studied in Thailand at the UNC Institute for the Environment field site in Bangkok. (photo courtesy of Gabrielle Beaudry)

The Phillips Ambassadors program is celebrating 10 years of supporting students’ study abroad experiences in Asia.

To celebrate a decade of scholarship, service and engagement, five $10,000 awards were presented last fall to Phillips Ambassadors alumni to support further engagement with Asia.

Award recipients, their alumni year and country, and new projects include:

Burcu Bozkurt (2011, Vietnam): “Increasing engagement of International Youth Alliance for Family Planning in Myanamar, Vietnam and the Philippines.”
Melissa Brzycki (2007, China): “East Asia for All,” development of a podcast series with a focus on East Asian popular culture.
Patrick Dowd (2009, India): “Development of Tibetan language textbooks for young children.”
Larry Han (2014, Singapore): “Resolving patient-physician mistrust in China: a crowdsourcing approach through UNC-Project China.”
Adam Schaffernoth (2007, China): “Cross-cultural training and Japanese homestays for U.S. Marines in Japan.”

View a 10^th anniversary photo essay.

N.C. facing statewide crisis in affordable rental housing

An online interactive map shows cost burden, overcrowding and substandard housing conditions among North Carolina’s renters.

Many communities in the state are experiencing an affordable housing crisis, which is particularly severe for those who rent, according to a new report published by the Center for Urban and Regional Studies. Extreme Housing Conditions in North Carolina examines severe housing cost burden, overcrowding and substandard housing conditions among renters in the state. It identifies areas with extreme housing needs, defined as having relatively high levels of at least two of the following three indicators: severe housing cost burden, overcrowding and the lack of complete kitchen and bathroom facilities.

The report — authored by William Rohe, Cary C. Boshamer Distinguished Professor and director of CURS, Todd Owen, CURS associate director and Sarah Kerns — analyzed data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.

Among the report’s findings:

Census tracts with extreme housing conditions were found in 46 of North Carolina’s 100 counties and in all regions of the state.
As of 2013, more than 377,000, or 28.2 percent, of the state’s rental households experienced severe cost burdens, were overcrowded or lacked critical facilities.
The number of severely cost-burdened households increased by 53,737 (or 22.5 percent) between 2008 and 2013.
In eight census tracts, over 60 percent of renter households were severely cost burdened, with the highest percentage being 77.4 percent in a Wake County tract.
The number of overcrowded households increased by 20,437, or 45.4 percent, between 2008 and 2013.
In six census tracts, over 30 percent of renter households were overcrowded, with the highest rate being 53 percent in a Wake County tract.

Read the full report: tinyurl.com/hg56hfb. View an interactive map: bit.do/CURS_Housing.

UNC receives grant to develop videos to counteract extremists

Dauber and Robinson’s proposal grew out of a Maymester class they taught.

An $867,000 grant to UNC will fund a project to create a series of sophisticated videos and other materials to counteract jihadist propaganda that targets young people.

“What makes our project so innovative is that these videos will be produced by Carolina students — experts in understanding how to communicate with their peers — in conjunction with UNC faculty who are experts in jihadist propaganda, video and gaming production, and persuasion strategies,” said Cori Dauber, professor in the department of communication, who also teaches in the curriculum in peace, war and defense.

The UNC grant, for one year, was the largest of 31 issued to institutions by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Countering Violent Extremism Program.

Dauber is an expert in analyzing and decoding ISIL (sometimes called ISIS) propaganda materials and has presented her findings to the Council on Foreign Relations. She is a co-principal investigator on the grant along with Mark Robinson, director of the Multimedia Lab at UNC. The two have collaborated in the past on research analyzing the production means and methods of jihadist materials, especially those of ISIL.

Dauber and Robinson describe their process of working with students “peer-to-peer plus.”

“We have undergraduate students at UNC who are already trained to find, analyze and assess propaganda through courses we currently offer,” said Robinson. The video narratives are conceived and developed by students the same age as the target demographic, but they are supervised by faculty with the necessary expertise.

The idea for the proposal came out of a 2016 Maymester course that Dauber and Robinson co-taught in which students were asked to design and create counter-extremist videos