Daily Tar Heel University Editor Whitney Kisling sat down with James Moeser, asking him to define his chancellorship and his approach to the position. From successes to unexpected challenges, he laid out how he views the past eight years in South Building.
DTH: Looking back at the first year that you were here, when you were just accepted and you knew that you were going to come into this position, what were the kinds of things you did to prepare?
Moeser: I did a lot of reading. I read “Light on the Hill,” I read the biography of Bill Friday.
I can’t remember how many books I read. I became a student of N.C. history so that I could understand the history and tradition of the place. . It seems to me the best way to position the University for the future is to understand its past.
DTH: In your position, what kinds of things did you do as chancellor to (support the state)?
Moeser: That’s where Carolina Connects comes in. That’s where the engagement task force came in to help begin to define the engagement initiative of North Carolina.
Now, that’s where Erskine Bowles comes in with UNC Tomorrow. . I think we serve the state in a deeper, more profound way, in health care, in transformation of the economy, as one of the major research engines in the country.
Maybe the most challenging element of all is restructuring our K-12 education.
DTH: It sounds like what you’re describing for this position is someone who really understands North Carolina and how it works. What other kinds of traits make a good chancellor?