The Chancellor’s Liaison meeting, held Wednesday afternoon at Talley Student Center, began with a discussion about how to change the college-centric culture of N.C. State.
According to Kelly Hook, student chief of staff, the Chancellor’s Liaison meeting is an opportunity for Student Government, University faculty and student organizations to bring their concerns before the Chancellor.
Neither Chancellor Randy Woodson nor Interim Provost Warwick Arden were present at the meeting and Jim Ceresnak, student body president, said both would instead be able to watch footage of the meeting, filmed by WolfBYTES, and would comment at a later time.
Developing a University-wide value statement and improving New Student Orientation were the two most discussed items.
“What is the University’s message?” Ceresnak asked at one point.
Vice Provost Louis Hunt said he liked the idea of a value statement but, if used at New Student Orientation, it would just be more talking at students instead of generating excitement about the University.
Vice Chancellor Nevin Kessler said developing a coherent, meaningful value statement to encompass all of NCSU might be too great a challenge and instead suggested asking what the common set of experiences students take away from NCSU are and presenting those to incoming students.
Gabe Wical, director of New Student Orientation, said a consistent message could be delivered lots of different ways at New Student Orientation once a message is defined. Orientation counselors, college faculty and resident advisers are all influential parts of a new student’s orientation experience.
Director of Campus Activities Deb Luckadoo suggested coordinating New Student Orientation with the Wolfpack Welcome Week and Hook suggested hiring students or professionals from outside the University to make New Student Orientation presentations more exciting.
Developing cross-college programs and working with individual colleges to change the University’s college-centric culture were also issued discusssed.
Sen. Arialle Crabtree said individual colleges don’t set a good example for students. Jefferson Scholars and Franklin Scholars are both cross-college programs and they are rivals and compete with each other all the time, she said.
To get colleges to change their modus operandi, more evidence college-centrism is a bigger issue than stagnant Alumni Association numbers will be needed, Wical said.
It would be a “restructuring of [NCSU’s] culture … That’s what we’re talking about,” he said.
Representatives from Student Government, Office of the Chancellor, Office of the Provost, the Alumni Association and various student organizations who had raised concerns at the presidents’ round table last week attended.
Cody Williams, assistant director of marketing and business relations, said students need something else to buy into.
Athletics, over long periods of time, are not consistent and students from different years don’t share the same experience.
“We want to continue to make this clear to the new administration,” Kelli Rogers, Student Senate president, said. “They need to know that students care about this problem [of campus unity].”
