UNC Task Force Tries to Prioritize Academic Goals

A broad plan outlining the academic future of the University is being developed by a task force created by UNC administrators.

The Academic Plan Task Force, composed of 24 faculty members, administrators, staff members and students, will draft a concise report by next fall that will guide budget decisions and allocation of resources to academic uses during the next five years.

Darryl Gless, co-chairman of the task force with Provost Robert Shelton, made a brief presentation about the group's goals and structure at Friday's Faculty Council meeting.

The task force has representatives from a number of UNC schools, programs and departments, including the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Law and the Sonja H. Stone Black Cultural Center.

Shelton said the group will make valuable recommendations for academic resource allocations.

"We want to have them identify priorities and determine where the University should be heading academically," he said.

Shelton said the task force is especially significant given the University's current and future financial state.

"We need this desperately, especially considering the budget cuts," he said.

"It is so important to have a larger template for making decisions."

Shelton said the academic plan will affect all areas of the University, even though it only details how academic resources will be allocated, because it can free up money for other areas or take it away from non-academic sources.

Since Shelton came to UNC in the fall of 2000, he said, drafting an academic plan has been one of his and Chancellor James Moeser's priorities.

Gless said the group has met four times since March 5.

Although the task force has not yet made any significant decisions, he said the members are actively involved in the planning process.

Gless said the task force will consider reports from other UNC committees and task forces and the academic plans from other universities to guide the project.

He said the documents will lead to greater efficiency within the task force.

"We're trying not to reinvent the wheel," he said.

The group, which plans to complete its recommendations by the end of the fall semester, will do much of its work after August, Gless said.

After the task force has drafted its academic plan, Shelton said, the report will be presented to several administrative review boards and finally to Moeser.

By guiding the future of academics, Shelton said, the final report will have a dramatic influence on the livelihood of UNC.

"This plan will have a tremendous impact on the entire University."

 

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.