THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL
Office of Vice Provost For Graduate Studies and Research

 
 
 

	Campus Box 4000, South Building
	Chapel Hill, NC  27599-4000
	(919) 962-1319  FAX: (919) 962-1476

 
 
 

TO:	Deans, Directors, Department Heads
	Chancellors Cabinet
	University Priorities and Budget Committee
	Executive Committee of the Faculty Council
FROM:	Thomas J. Meyer
	Kenan Professor of Chemistry
	Vice Provost for Graduate Studies and Research
DATE:	February 24, 1999
RE:	"Carolina in the 21" Century"

 

I am enclosing a draft version of "Carolina in the 21" Century." It provides the background for a capital funding plan for UNC-Chapel Hill. The plan includes renovations and new construction and has been developed in conjunction with a study being conducted by Eva Klein and Associates for the General Assembly. The planning process uncovered an exciting array of new initiatives in the sciences and preliminary plans for a series of new buildings. In the sciences, the capital planning process was led by Tom Clegg (Physics) and a science planning effort by Greg Forest (Arts and Sciences). Following the lead of the sciences, a group led by Bill Balthrop (Communications Studies) in conjunction with Darryl Gless and Dick Soloway (Arts and Sciences) developed information about capital needs and planning for new initiatives in the arts and humanities and social sciences.

"Carolina in the 21't Century" was written to support the capital planning effort but it also provides a basis for programmatic planning for the future. I look forward to working with the Provost to develop a mechanism for exploring this possibility.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is the oldest stare university, honoring its compact: 1-1VIrh the state's Citizens since 1793. For two centuries, Carolina has trained generations of leaders, created models for social change, enriched countless lives, and produced viral innovations in science and technology. Within its distinguished programs in the social sciences, humanities, arts, and health affairs, Carolina has become one or- 'me major centers In the world for the study of people. their institutions, their welfare, and their personal and public health. Carolina is also at the heart of a high-technology era, both present and future, for the Scare of North Carolina

A New Vision

With broad participation from its community of faculty members, this "University of the People" has examined its future in the context of its past. What has evolved is a clear vision built on a continuing partnership with the people of North Carolina. Building on current strengths. The university will create new programs and enrich old ones, addressing a range of challenges vital to our society and its high-tech, information-based economy.

These new efforts will further enrich an already stimulating environment for undergraduate education, infusing it with the excitement that generating new knowledge imparts to all intellectual work at a research university. The training of graduate students and the impact of their research will be at the heart of a series or new initiatives that will enhance North Carolina, its people. its welfare, its technology, and its economic well being.

ELEMENTS OF CHANGE

Planning for Carolina in the 21" Century is a continuing and dynamic process. Significant programmatic and research initiatives define our vision:

In the Sciences

Infrastructure of Science- with emphasis on the elements of modern scientific methods: cutting-edge instrumentation and visualization, mathematical modeling, scientific computation; emphasis also on the revolution in information science.

Interdisciplinary Physical Sciences - fundamentalsciences that will yield exciting new materials and processes-natural and synthetic-Including high-tech plastics, the next generation of computer chips, and a whole range of 21st Century technologies.

Life Sciences - a major focus in genomic sciences, the application of genetics to human health, disease prevention, and individualized medicine, and to the function of plant organisms with application to enhanced food resources and plant survival. Additional emphases on such areas as cognitive neuroscience and the science of exercise, fitness, and sports.

Multidisciplinary Environmental Studies - the integrated study of environmental health, policy, and science, addressing the coastal zone of North Carolina, biodiversity and human health, sustainable resources, and responsible technologies.

In the Arts and Humanities

Communication - enhancing the nation's crosscultural competencies, and our citizens' expertise in communication, both written and oral, in English and the world's diverse languages.

Creative and Performing Arts ---- enrichingour live through music, art, drama, film, and creative writing

In Education and Social Science

Economic Development and the University in Public Affairs - shaping the ideas, policies, and technologies that drive economic development and contribute to the public good.

Innovations in Education --- enrichingand uplifting K12 education through LEARN NC, development of emerging undergraduate opportunities, a focus on graduate and postgraduate excellence, and professional and technology programs.

International Dimension of Education and Research - bringingthe perspectives of foreign languages and cultures co bear on the educational experiences of UNC-CH students and K-12 students throughout North Carolina.

Enabling the University to succeed in these roles will require a continued and significant partnership with the people of North Carolina, the financial support of friends of the University, and an even greater emphasis on raising funds from foundations, corporations, and federal agencies. It is this effort that will provide the new facilities, the support for new programs, and the help required with new methods of financing.

The process of change has begun. The future is bright for "The University of the People," *its public, and the State of North Carolina.

CAPITAL PROJECTS

Our five-year plan includes a coral of $500 million in critically needed capital projects, including $371 million for the construction of 10 new buildings and $129 million in repairs and renovations. There will be a reinvigoration of the historic campus and new construction for interdisciplinary programs. In addition to the academic buildings described below, there would also be a new Student Services Support Center, which would enable the consolidation of student services now inefficiently scattered among several buildings.

Interdisciplinary Science Buildings

The interdisciplinary science buildings will be designed to promote the efficient use of shared facilities and equipment and foster natural affinities, helping to break down disciplinary boundaries. These buildings will enable leading-edge, interdisciplinary research and reaching on emerging issues in science.

The Interdisciplinary Physical Sciences and Information Technology Building. This building, which would total about 439,140 square feet, would house elements of the Department of Chemistry, the Curriculum in Applied Sciences, Materials Science, and infrastructure support. It will provide the laboratories for interdisciplinary programs in polymer science, nanoscale materials, imaging, sensors, and biomaterials. This facility will include a 500-seat auditorium, two 200-seat auditoriums, eight 50-seat classrooms, four 25-seat classrooms, six teaching laboratories, 20 research laboratories, and support space, including shops, imaging facilities, library stacks, group study rooms, and computer facilities. Estimated cost: $60 million.

The Environmental Studies Building. Totaling about 308,062 square feet, this building would house the Marine Sciences Department, the Ecology Curriculum, the Geology Department, the Geography Department, the Carolina Environmental Program (CEP), the Environmental Studies Curriculum, and the Environmental Resource Program. It would support thematic, interdisciplinary work in Global and Regional Processes, Environmental Modeling and Visualization Science, 6ustainable Environmental Management, Environmental Biology and Biotechnology, and Environment and Human Culture. It would include a 300-sear auditorium, a 150-seat auditorium, six 75-seat classrooms, several 25-seat classrooms and laboratories, research laboratories and offices for all faculty, and support space. Estimated cost: $80 million.

The Genomic Sciences Building. This building, totaling about 333,070 square feet, would house Bioinformatics, Genomics, and Combinatorial/Bio-Analytical Chemistry. It would support thematic, interdisciplinary work in Combinatorial Chemistry, Bioinformatics, Genomics Model Organisms, Cell Biology/Microscopy Imaging, Plant Genomics, and Bio-Analyrical Chemistry. The plans include a 500seat auditorium, two 200-seat auditoriums, four 50seat classrooms, four reaching laboratories, research laboratories and offices for all faculty, advanced research infrastructure and instrumentation, animal space, greenhouses, and support. Estimated cost: $80 million.

Interdisciplinary Arts, Humanities, Education, and Social Science Buildings

Each of these proposals responds to the high priority the University's planning groups have placed on globalization as well as the increasingly Interdisciplinary nature of advanced learning. Each building will contain classrooms of varying sizes, with special emphasis on small class settings and spaces that can be reconfigured for differing uses.

The Communication, Language, and Cultures Center. This building, providing about 1140.000 square feet of instructional and support space would bring together the Communication Studies Department, the language departments (e.g., Asian Studies. Classics, Germanic Languages, Linguistics, Romance Languages, Slavic Languages), writing programs in English and the oral communication program, as well as other units that include global communication and :~e broader study of cultures (e.g., Anthropology, Cultural Studies, Religious Studies). Estimated cost: S30 million.

The Center for Global and International Education. This new building, which should be adiacent to the Communication, Language, and Cultures Center, would house faculty, students, and staff who approach global studies primarily from the perspectives of the social sciences. It would be home to such units as the Curriculum in International Studies. the --V-- Studies Programs (e.g., Latin American Studies, the Curriculum in Russian and East European Studies, the Center for Slavic, Eurasian, and East European Studies), Study Abroad, the International Student Center, and the University Center for International Studies. The Center for Global and International Education would enhance research and education in international studies nor only by offering spaces for those ac-ci-6ries. It would also house units that focus on research and others the focus on overseas programs for students (Study Abroad), as well as the practical requirements of overseas study and the needs of international visitors (the International Center). The instructional and support spaces in this building would require about 19,350 square feet. Estimated cost: $10 million.

The Center for the Study of the American South. This building would highlight a particular multidisciplinary strength that creates special opportunities for public interaction across the state and the region. It would house the Research Laboratories of Archaeology (collections and museum), the Southern Oral History Project, the Journal of Soutbern Culture, and the Folklore Curriculum. It also would be an appropriate home for other units or interdisciplinary groups that contribute to the University's growing strength in Native American Studies and its broad and well-established preeminence in the study of African American literature and of Southern Literature. Instructional and support spaces in this building would require roughly 58,000 square feet. Estimated cost: $11.8 million.

The Center for Public Policy and Research in the Social Sciences. This building would highlight the University's internationally recognized position as a center for advanced interdisciplinary research and teaching in the Curriculum in Public Policy Analysis, the Department of City and Regional Planning, Urban Studies, and the Institute for Research in Social Science. Estimated cost: $ 10 million.

Digital Multimedia Instructional Center. This building anticipates the growing importance of digitized audio-visual material for individual student learning and classroom teaching by distributing it to multiple sites over the campus network. It will provide increased classroom space and faculty offices and will offer state-of-the-art digital resources for instructional use in its labs, classrooms, and carrels. it will bring together the internationally recognized music collection, which has occupied substandard, unsafe space in the basement of Hill Hall. The center will vastly expand access to audio-visual materials at Carolina, and will include facilities for the digitization of material from such units as the Music Department, the Art Department, and the Southern Folklife Collection. Estimated cost: $12 million.

THE NECESSARY SUPPORT

For Carolina, die turn of the century represents a time of decision and opportunity. In the new century, new approaches to teaching and research will restructure our thinking and with it the physical structure of the campus. To meet this challenge, we will need new facilities, new cools, and new methods of instruction-and new ways to finance them all. The capital financing plan must address such factors as

Solving Space Needs for the University of the Future

The capital financing plan for the University must meet the needs and requirements of

The future of the University and its value to the citizens of North Carolina depends on our ability to maintain competitive edge.

A recent study commissioned by the UNC General Administration and performed by a respected outside consultant reveals that the University is short 800,000 to 1,000,000 square feet in research laboratory space for conducting research and for training undergraduate and graduate research students and postdoctoral research fellows. The study also found enormous shortfalls in reaching and office spaces. The lack of space could ) jeopardize $305 million in outside grants and contracts and our ability to help North Carolina realize a high-tech future by training the most able students and by encouraging new interactions with industry and new start-up companies.

 
 
 

Academic Capital Project Requirements	Total Requirements	New Constructions	Reparis and Renovations
The Science Complex:
New Capital Construction Projects:
Medical Biomolecular Research Building	$62,718,000
Public Health Laboratory Sciences Building	$25,598,300
Nursing Sciences Laboratory Building	$7,904,000
Genomics Sciences Building (estimate)	$80,000,000
Interdisciplinary Physical Sciences & Information Technology Building (estimate)	$60,000,000
Multidisciplinary Environmental Studies Building (estimate)	$80,000,000
New Capital Construction		$316,220,300
Repair and Renovation Projects:
Dental Sciences Renovations (see attachment 1)	$8,689,400
Nursing Sciences Renovations (estimate)	$1,000,000
Public Health Renovations (estimate)	$5,000,000
College of Ai Is and Sciences Renovations (estimate)	$5,000,000
Health Sciences Library (see attachment 1)	$5,865,800
Medical School Renovations (see attachment 1)	$10,259,500
Pharmacy School Renovations (estimate)	$1,500,000
Repairs and Renovations			$37,314,700
Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Complex:
New Capital Construction Projects:
Digital Multimedia Instructional Center	$12,000,000
Communications, Language, and Culture Center	$10,000,000
Center for Global and International Education	$10,000,000
Center for the study of the American South	$8,000,000
Center for Public Policy	$10,000,000
Memorial Hall	$10,027,600
Student Services Support Center	$20,910,900
New Capital Construction		$80,938,500
Repair and Renovation Projects:
School of Education (see attached)	$7,168,400
College of Arts and Sciences (see attachment 1)	$12,888,200
Student Services (estimate)	$5,000,000
Repair and Renovations			$25,056,600
Central Infrastructure and Information Technology:
Repairs and Renovations Porjects;	$40,469,900
Totals	$5000,000,000	$397,158,800	$102,841,200