Folt debuts public relations position

Chancellor Carol Folt ushered in a new administration when she began this month — but it is not yet complete.

Folt created the position of vice chancellor for communications and public affairs in May after discussions with former Chancellor Holden Thorp.

According to the University’s job description, the vice chancellor will be responsible for the strategic management for all of UNC’s public relations and affairs.

He or she will also have direct oversight of various offices that serve as media outlets for the University.

Julia Grumbles, the interim vice chancellor for University advancement, is the chairwoman of the search committee.

Grumbles said the University will join other peer institutions — including Folt’s former employer Dartmouth College — in creating a position like this one.

She said the position was not created to play defense for the University.

“I look at this more proactively,” she said.

“We’ve got to get information out faster, quicker and more strategically.”

Grumbles said she felt confident her nine-person committee would find the right person for the job.
She said members such as Director of Sports Information Steve Kirschner and Karen McCall, vice president of public affairs and marketing at UNC School of Medicine, will be crucial to the selection process.

“They really have to deal with the public every single day, so they have a real vested interest,” Grumbles said.

The committee also includes members from outside the University, such as Don Baer and Jim Mahoney, who are both leaders in the corporate world, Grumbles said.

Grumbles said the committee wants to choose a candidate who is dynamic and can help the University become better equipped to handle the complex media landscape.

“You have to respond almost minute by minute and we’re not structured that way — yet,” she said.

Search committee member Susan King, dean of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, said the selection process is just beginning.

“Those on the committee will help define what this job will be moving forward,” she said.

King said she is looking for a broad understanding of communications in the candidates as well as someone who can handle a crisis.

But she added there are other qualities necessary to succeed at a position such as this one.

“You’ve got to have the right personality, you’ve got to love answering the phone, you’ve got to love talking to The Daily Tar Heel,” King said.

Grumbles said the committee is working aggressively but admitted there was no set date to pick a candidate.

“We’re not going to rush just to get someone in there.”