Thorp holds open house for students

Chancellor Holden Thorp took two hours out of his Monday afternoon to chat with students, covering a variety of topics from the reading list for English majors to bike paths to Carolina North.

The Student Advisory Committee to the Chancellor held the open house, where a variety of students, faculty and administrators came together to discuss issues of importance on campus.

Below are Thorp and other administrators’ answers to student questions:

Q: What is the goal of the ongoing curriculum evaluations?

A: The current curriculum was implemented in the fall of 2006. A study of 670 student participants seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of the curriculum. The students will be tracked for four years after they graduate, said Bobbi Owen, senior associate dean of undergraduate education in the College of Arts and Sciences.

But Owen said there will not be a complete revision of the curriculum in the near future.

“That’s a once-a-generation exercise and won’t happen for another 15 years,” she said.

Owen said tweaks to the current curriculum are expected.

“We discovered in November that 1,400 seniors supposed to graduate in May had not yet had a fine arts course above 200, and so we really made some changes with them and presented a variety of options.”

Owen discussed globalization as a highlight of the curriculum.

“More students are studying abroad, and more students are aware of international and global issues, and that’s an area where I think we’ve had a real success with this curriculum.”

Q: How can students be reminded to give to Haiti beyond the “honeymoon period”?

A: Thorp advised students to keep doing what they’re doing, in response to concerns from Campus Y co-president Erin Marubashi, who said she hopes student generosity and support will continue as the year goes on.

Thorp said he will make sure the link to participate in Haiti relief will remain on UNC’s Web site.

“If you need our help with fundraisers, we can do it,” Thorp said. “But you all probably have more ability to communicate than we do. I’m not on Facebook.”

Q: How can the alumni be involved in raising money for Haiti? Can UNC hold a benefit event?

A: “The University can’t raise money for anything besides the University,” Thorp said. “We have to walk a careful line.”

Thorp explained that the University is prohibited from raising money for other recipients. But the athletic department has been involved in supporting relief efforts.

Q: Who is the new University Career Services director, and how will he work with UNC?

A: As of March 1, Ray Angle will be the new director, said Chris Payne, an associate vice chancellor for student affairs and interim director of Career Services.

There will be a welcome reception at 3 p.m. Monday in Hanes Hall, and students are encouraged to share their experiences and suggest ways to strengthen career services.

Thorp said Angle is being presented with a great opportunity.

“He is going to feel very needed,” Thorp said. “My advice to him would be to be as innovative and experimental as you want to be, which is what I tell most people who come to work here.”

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.