University and student leaders met Wednesday to discuss options for the report N.C. State will file for the UNC Tomorrow Commission, which includes efforts to expand programs and engage students in service and leadership opportunities.
Provost Larry Nielsen authored N.C. State’s own tentative proposal and outlined its objectives, awaiting feedback from administrators and students.
The purpose of UNC Tomorrow, he said, is to “find out what the people of North Carolina want the University to do for them.”
The UNC Tomorrow Commission made seven recommendations to universities when planning, including educating students for success, increasing access to higher education, improving health and wellness and adding further engagement with communities, the draft said.
According to Nielsen, the Commission wants a report from the University by May 1, at which point it will receive feedback to help prepare a final report.
After Chancellor James Oblinger put Nielsen in charge of the report, he met with several groups of students and faculty in gaining ideas.
“The spirit in which I offer this to you is to have a discussion,” he said, adding that many of the ideas could change at any time.
Many of the UNC-Tomorrow recommendations are made to get schools to aid their surrounding regions, but Nielsen said that N.C. State is a state-wide institution.
“Partnership is so much part of the culture of N.C. State,” he said.
One possible initiative discussed was a program called Every Student a Leader, which would require every student to have out-of-class leadership experience, Nielsen said.
Many students are already participating in these types of activities, he said, but this would make it a requirement for graduation.
For the Education Extension Service, another possible initiative, the University would continue to emphasize training students to be teachers, but Nielsen also said he had considered looking into a nursing program.
The state is in as much of a need for nurses as it is for teachers, he said, but the idea’s success is very unlikely for this school.
The group also discussed the possibility of expanding the College of Design to include additional degrees for the Performing Arts, including a possible music major.
But Tom Stafford, associate vice chancellor for student affairs, said he disagreed with the proposal.
“The state of North Carolina does not need to add degrees in the arts,” Stafford said.
And if the school did expand its arts programs, he said, there are “a lot of ways to do that without creating a College of Design and Performing Arts.”
He said it would be better suited for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Student Body President Bobby Mills, a junior in political science, said the idea N.C. State should follow most closely is the idea of “Access to N.C. State for All,” which Nielsen said meant the University would remain competitive and highly selective, but would be helpful to underrepresented groups.
