New dean candidate emphasizes the liberal arts

On Thursday morning, one last candidate vying for the deanship of the College of Arts and Sciences discussed interdisciplinary studies and her idea of “the Carolina genius.”

The University hosted its last open forum with candidate Laurie Maffly-Kipp in the search process to replace Karen Gil, who will step down in January.

“Oh, I think (the forums have) been great,” said Executive Vice Provost Ron Strauss. “It’s been an opportunity for exchange; we can hear people think on their feet; we can hear the concerns of the faculty, staff and students.”

He said the open forum procedure is an integral component of the hiring process by allowing the community to examine each candidate.

Maffly-Kipp, a former professor of religious and American studies at UNC and a current professor at Washington University in St. Louis, answered questions regarding her plans for the College of Arts and Sciences should she become dean.

She said she appreciates the balance UNC has developed between the practical view of education and the utopian — the idea of education transforming students’ lives by providing unique opportunities.

“First of all, I would focus on making an emphasis on what I call the Carolina genius,” Maffly-Kipp said. “The aspect of Carolina genius allows us to align what is right with what is practical.”

She said her time as an educator taught her education is not just about learning technical skills, but about developing an appreciation for the diversity of knowledge.

“The best doctors, I have found, are those conversant in the arts and humanities, not just because those are fancy add-ons to the technical aspects of scientific knowledge, but because those fields inform one another in deep ways,” Maffly-Kipp said.

She said good general college curriculum allows students to understand how different academic fields relate to each other.

She said she would encourage a focus on UNC’s guiding spirit or genius, a commitment to the University and open communication at all levels.

“We need to sustain here a good circulatory system,” she said. “I believe that a well-functioning circulatory system can be greater than the sum of its parts, because it means that all the parts are moving well and communicating with each other.”

Misha Becker, a professor in the linguistics department, said she wanted to know how this open communication would affect smaller departments at the University.

“There are sometimes reasons to change disciplinary boundaries or think across disciplinary boundaries,” Maffly-Kipp said. “I am open to looking for ways to think creatively with the faculty.”

The answer, Maffly-Kipp said, would be to not demolish smaller departments, but to encourage undergraduates and professors to open their minds to change and compromise.

“I don’t believe in small dreams,” she said. “I would resist the idea as seeing the humanities or the arts as something you give to medical students to make them a little more cultured, but instead as an orientation that will help them be better at what they do.”

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