Message from campus leaders on Carolina Next

Dear Carolina Community,

We are pleased to launch Carolina Next: Innovations for Public Good, a comprehensive strategic plan for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, following today’s endorsement by the Board of Trustees.

Developed over two years with broad input from our University community, Carolina Next will serve as the roadmap for the future. It will guide the University’s strategic investment and decision making for the next three to four years on our journey to becoming the leading global public research university.

The strategic plan operationalizes the direction set by the Blueprint for Next, an important one-page framework adopted in 2017. Specifically, it builds on the two central pillars of the Blueprint for Next, ‘Of the Public for the Public’ and ‘Innovation made Fundamental,’ and considers the Campus Master Plan and the UNC System’s strategic plan.

The eight strategic initiatives represent core focus areas across the University and will be led by captains:

1. Build Our Community Together – Amy Locklear Hertel, Chief of Staff, Office of the Chancellor
2. Strengthen Student Success – Abigail Panter, Senior Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education
3. Enable Career Development – Becci Menghini, Vice Chancellor for Human Resources and Equal Opportunity and Compliance
4. Discover — Terry Magnuson, Vice Chancellor for Research
5. Promote Democracy – Andy Perrin, Director of the Institute for the Arts and Humanities
6. Serve to Benefit Society – Judith Cone, Vice Chancellor for Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Economic Development
7. Globalize – Barbara Stephenson, Vice Provost for Global Affairs and Chief Global Officer
8. Optimize Operations — Rick Wernoski,  Senior Vice Provost for Business Operations

Carolina Next represents the areas and opportunities that will make the biggest differences for our campus community and the people of North Carolina. These bold ideas came from many sources and align with the strategic plans of the 14 schools and the College of Arts & Sciences. The plan is a living, breathing document and given the dynamic nature of this great University, we plan for it to evolve as goals are realized and conditions change.

Of all eight strategic initiatives, we intentionally placed Build Our Community Together as the first initiative. How well we meet the extraordinary challenges and promise of our time will hinge, above all else, on our ability to understand and work together toward a common goal of creating a more diverse, equitable and inclusive community.

Today’s announcement is just the start of a multi-year, unified effort to create change at Carolina for the greater good. The plan’s execution, like its development, will be a collaborative process. We wish to thank our captains for their leadership and everyone in our community who has provided input into the plan. We invite you to learn more and stay up-to-date at https://carolinanext.unc.edu.

Sincerely,

Kevin M. Guskiewicz
Chancellor

Robert A. Blouin
Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost