Two months in, Chancellor Carol Folt begins to pave her way at UNC

Chancellor Carol Folt doesn’t want to tell people what the University needs to change. Instead, she wants to listen to what stake-holders believe needs to be done.

In her second month on the job, Folt’s priority is to hear from students and faculty, which she believes will help her meet the challenges that surround her chancellorship.

Even with three ongoing federal investigations into the University’s handling of sexual assault cases, questions about the relationship between academics and athletics and budget uncertainty, Folt is confident in her ability to juggle it all.

“There are many issues that every school faces,” she said. “And I come to Carolina excited to work on them.”

Folt, who started her position July 1, previously served as interim president at Dartmouth College. She has spent her time since then meeting with students, faculty, Board of Governors members and legislators, and she has more talks in store.

“Already, Provost (Jim) Dean and I have a great plan to go around to all of the schools and see what individual schools see as their opportunities and challenges,” she said.

James Moeser, who served as chancellor from 2000 to 2008, said it is important to listen to as many students and faculty members as possible rather than immediately implement a platform.

“In Folt’s case, it’s a totally new institution,and in Dean’s case it’s an institution he knows as a dean,” he said. “They’ve both come into very new and different situations. There’s a lot to learn, in the first weeks it’s a matter of learning about the different parts.”

Sallie Shuping-Russell, a member of the UNC Board of Trustees since 2007, said she is confident in Folt’s strategy.

“This year is more a year of listening, and next year is more a year of acting,” she said.

Tackling a familiar issue

Much of what Folt will listen to could involve the University’s treatment of sexual assault cases — a subject that Folt is no stranger to. The federal probes into UNC include an investigation by the U.S. Department of Education to decide whether the University underreported sexual assault cases on campus.

At Dartmouth, a similar federal complaint was filed to look into mishandling of sexual assault.

“Safety on campus, freedom from bias, hazing and sexual assault couldn’t be more important to me,” Folt said.

Folt said she looks forward to hearing the recommendations that UNC’s sexual assault task force will present to her.

“I don’t think anyone expects that with a snap of the fingers, a task force and some actions are going to change this,” Folt said.

“But the more we talk about it, the more ideas we have and the more we talk to students, the better chance we have to combat this.

”Christi Hurt, interim Title IX coordinator and chairwoman of the task force, said she doesn’t think Folt’s newness to campus will be a hurdle.

“It might be a challenge to take time for all these voices to be heard, but it’s a tremendous opportunity,” Hurt said.

Terri Phoenix, director of the LGBTQ Center and a member of the task force, hopes Folt will not shy away from addressing mistakes.

“Chancellor Thorp was very willing to own the places where our University was not living up to expectations,” Phoenixsaid. “He was very willing to say, ‘We need to do better.’ I would hope Chancellor Folt would bring that similar level of being reflective.”

Examining athletics

Former Chancellor Holden Thorp has admitted he wasn’t equipped to handle big-time athletics when he started. For Folt, Dartmouth is a Division I school, but non-scholarship, so questions have been raised about her preparation, too.

But Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham, who is a member of Folt’s cabinet, said her learning curve shouldn’t be too large because she still led a school with a big athletics presence.

“There’s a lot of dialogue about the governing structure, but she’s familiar with that and that discussion,” he said. “She has a year of experience at the NCAA level at the Ivy League.”

There are still some pending investigations related to athletics at UNC, including one by the State Bureau of Investigation into the department now known as African and African American and Diaspora Studies.

Wayne Lee, chairman of the department of peace, war and defense, said Folt must decide whether to and how to change the relationship between athletics and the University.

“The impression exists, rightly or wrongly, that the dog is being wagged by the tail,” Lee said. “We should take a leadership role in saying that cannot be the case.”

Jean DeSaix, a biology professor who serves on the faculty executive committee, said the new administration must be transparent.

“There’s a suspicion that has bubbled forth about things that go on,” DeSaix said.

“Even when people are doing their very best to fix things, that word doesn’t get out and there’s still suspicion.”

Playing politics

Coming from a private institution, Folt must adapt to working with a state legislature on advocating for UNC’s budget during a time of unprecedented cuts. UNC-CH will absorb a 5.5 percent cut of $28 million this year, and UNC-system students could see in-state or out-of-state tuition hikes this year. Moeser said creating personal relationships with policy makers is critical.

“It’s a lot easier to sit downand advocate for the University if you’ve established a relationship,” he said. “They’re more apt to listen to you.”

Folt said she planned to cultivate the political relationships necessary to advocate for state funding. She met with Gov. Pat McCrory and state legislators on her second day as chancellor.

“In some ways the chancellor of Chapel Hill has a very enviable position,” she said. “This state, with its long tradition and its belief in the importance of public university, really values it.”

“When I go to the state house to talk to people, people are happy to talk to me.”

Despite the challenges ahead, Folt said she is inspired by the shared desire for improvement at UNC.

“It’s an institution that doesn’t want to hold itself to average standards,” she said.

“I’m sincerely impressed with the people who say, ‘We want to hold ourselves to higher standards.’”

university@dailytarheel.com