Why a world-class public research
university is also a great place to learn
Holden Thorp, Dean
College of Arts & Sciences
Oct. 5, 2007
Board of Visitors
What is the purpose of the College?
To promote original thought
and produce the people and
ideas needed to solve our
biggest problems
Core Values of the College
Originality
 Curiosity
 Transparency
 Diversity

A thorough liberal arts education is the best
preparation for leadership in the 21st century
Teaching mission of the College
We teach all the
important stuff
College faculty teach 100% of 1st and 2nd year
students and
87% of ALL undergraduate credit hours
Info & Lib
0.3%
Dentistry
0.4%
Other
0.0%
Arts And Sciences
Pub Hlth
0.6%
Medicine
1.2%
Education
1.6%
Nursing
1.9%
Journalism
3.4%
Business
3.6%
Business
Journalism
Nursing
Arts And Sciences
86.9%
Education
Medicine
Pub Hlth
Dentistry
Info & Lib
Other
Junior-Senior Majors in the College account
for 74% of all Junior-Seniors, but the College
teaches 79% of their credit hours
Jr/Sr Majors
Jr/Sr Credit Hours
Arts And Sciences
Journalism
Business
Nursing
Education
Cont Ed
Pub Hlth
Dentistry
Arts & Sciences
74%
Medicine
Off Campus
Info & Lib
Arts & Sciences
79%
The College has 22% of all UNC
graduate & professional students
Jour & Mass Comm
1%
Info & Lib Science
3%
Social Work
3%
Off-Campus Non Deg
1%
Nursing
2%
Government
0%
Arts & Sciences
Dentistry
4%
Medicine
Arts & Sciences
22%
Pharmacy
6%
Public Health
Business
Law
Cont Studies Non Deg
Education
Education
7%
Pharmacy
Medicine
14%
Dentistry
Social Work
Info & Lib Science
Cont Studies Non Deg
7%
Nursing
Jour & Mass Comm
Off-Campus Non Deg
Law
7%
Business
10%
Public Health
13%
Government
People on College Payroll
•
•
•
•
•
•
Tenure-track faculty
Fixed-term faculty
Full-time staff
Part-time staff
Post-docs
Graduate students
Total
710
261
540
748
140
2140
4539
Why choose a public research
university for college?
Enhanced
opportunities,
engaged faculty
Attributes of a
great research university
Introduction to original thought
 Wide range of opportunities for faculty & students in
the College and professional schools
 Engaged faculty excited by their research
 Right mix of graduate students and undergraduates
 Great graduate students attract great faculty
Our most important learning resources are
professors who are excited about their subjects

Special Opportunities for
Undergraduates at Carolina





First Year Seminars (small classes with outstanding
faculty)
Undergraduate Research (1:1 mentoring by worldclass scholars)
Study Abroad (many led by UNC faculty)
Honors (not just for Honors students)
Carolina Entrepreneurial Initiative (teaching liberal
arts students to think/ act creatively)
What is different about Carolina?
High-quality Ph.D.
programs combined
with outstanding
undergraduate program
Carolina is a research university
Great schools we’re nothing like:
 Davidson
 Washington and Lee
 Grinnell
 Swarthmore
Maintaining faculty energy at a four-year liberal
arts college without a research program is a
daunting challenge
Some thoughts on rankings
Schools we’d like to emulate:
 Stanford
 Harvard
 University of Chicago
 Northwestern
World-class research and great undergraduate programs
Some thoughts on rankings
Schools ranked “above” us that we don’t emulate:
 University of Southern California (tied)
 Emory University
 Dartmouth
 Washington University in St. Louis
 Brown
 Vanderbilt
 Notre Dame
 Georgetown
Carolina’s academic departments are much
stronger than counterparts at these schools
Some thoughts on rankings
Schools ranked “below” us with great research
programs:
 Wisconsin
 Illinois
 Texas
 UC-San Diego
Carolina has comparable Ph.D. programs to these schools, but we’re
higher on the list because our undergraduate program is better
Why we raise private money
Help the best faculty
and students choose
Carolina, and succeed
Fundraising Priorities






Faculty expansion
Faculty retention
Graduate student support
Facilities
Initiatives
Undergraduate education
Faculty Expansion


Naming Opportunity for Junior Faculty
Positions: enable the College to add faculty
by creating new privately-funded positions for
an assistant professor
New: Can now do with $1M gift and $0.5M
state match. Allows us to expand the faculty
without relying on state money
Faculty Retention


Distinguished Professorships: recruit new
senior faculty or retain outstanding faculty
who are attracting outside offers
Requires a state-funded position from the
College in addition to the private endowment
Graduate Student Support



Ph.D. Fellowships: $25,000 per year in
salary support ($0.5M to endow)
Great graduate students attract great faculty
Graduate students are mentors for
undergraduates
Undergraduate Education






Kenan Music Scholars
Phillips Ambassadors
Study Abroad
Honors
First Year Seminars
Undergraduate Research
Initiatives





Carolina Center for Jewish Studies
Carolina Entrepreneurial Initiative and minor
in entrepreneurship
Fine Arts
Global Education
Nanoscience, imaging and energy
Creative initiatives energize faculty and students, lead
to new ideas
Facilities
Chapman Hall
 Caudill Labs
 Kenan Music Building
 FedEx Global Education Center
 New Computer Science Building
 Winston House in London
 Huge needs in social sciences and
humanities
Great facilities attract great people

What would you do with
$100M gift for anything?
Endow 200 Ph.D. fellowships
OR
 Secure the faculty by providing $5M/year for
compensation and research support
OR
 Add 100 junior faculty in strategic areas,
expanding Honors and First-Year Seminars

Challenge: Maintaining the
distinctive ‘Carolina experience’
Expanding enrollment
Carolina = teaching + research
Total Students
College Faculty Undergraduates:
Faculty Ratio
(Now)
28,136
710
23:1
29,500
765
23:1
35,000
910
23:1
To reach 35,000 students and maintain the same high quality of faculty and
learning environment, the College would have to increase its faculty, graduate
students, staff and facilities by about 28%.
What will they say Thorp has
done five years from now?
So far
Goals






Maintained the great Ph.D. programs in the College,
moved a few more into the top tier
Built appreciation for Carolina as a major research
university with a great undergraduate program
Increased interaction of undergraduates with idea
generation and originality, infused entrepreneurship
Increased the profile of the fine arts
Improved leadership culture in the College
Made faculty retention pro-active instead of reactive