New leader believes that NCCU can fly

Nelms raises the bar at his installation

DURHAM -- Upon being officially installed as N.C. Central University's 10th leader Friday, Charlie Nelms proudly displayed the university medallion, held aloft the ceremonial mace and then let loose an avalanche of promises and declarations aimed at raising standards on campus.

More money will be raised. More doctoral programs will be created. An ombudsman's office will soon start mediating employee disputes. And students have no choice but to excel in the classroom, Nelms insisted.

"Too many of our students are entering one door and exiting another, leaving with a great deal of debt but no degree," he said, a reference to lagging retention and graduation rates that the university has recently made a priority. "If you don't have graduation as your destination, you may want to consider transferring to an institution with lower expectations."

Nelms was recruited to NCCU from Indiana University, where he was a vice president. He has previously led two midsize regional public universities in the Midwest, so being the boss is nothing new. Still, the 61-year-old son of Arkansas farmers spoke with the exuberance of a young man when discussing NCCU's future. When he pressed faculty to take more ownership over the education of their students, murmurs of approval rippled through the crowd.

"I've been in higher education long enough to know that vision without focus is an illusion," Nelms said.

Thus, he offered a few specifics:

* NCCU cannot exist on current funding alone. To that end, Nelms is adding staff to the development office and announced three donations totaling $5 million, much of which will be used for scholarships.

* NCCU will create three new doctoral programs in the next six years -- in biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences, library and information science, and communication disorders. In those fields, NCCU has well-regarded faculty already, and there is a demonstrated need in the marketplace for more professionals.

"These programs will be delivered at the highest levels of quality," Nelms said. "We need not concede these areas of need to other institutions."

* NCCU's community service requirement will be overhauled to work more closely with nearby schools.

Faculty Chairman George Wilson called Nelms "a breath of fresh air."

"He doesn't make promises he can't keep," said Wilson, a criminal justice professor.

Nelms has been in constant motion since starting work in August. He has hired several new administrators, mandated service training for all employees and is figuring out how and where the university should grow.

Jim Phillips, chairman of the Board of Governors of the UNC system -- of which NCCU is a member -- said Nelms has made an impression more quickly than any other new chancellor he can recall in his 10 years of governance.

"Chancellor Nelms has already begun to make his mark on N.C. Central University," Phillips said. "He has already shown what kind of leader he's going to be."

While his initial reception has been positive, Nelms' efforts to expand NCCU's boundaries may bring an end to the love feast. He is advocating an expansion plan that would require NCCU to buy up at least 136 homes in neighborhoods close to campus, and many residents are concerned. Some see him as an outsider with a tin ear for the deep pride and passion locals have for both the university and their neighborhoods. Sweeping change will be too disruptive, they say, and the university's master planning process is moving too quickly.

University trustees may vote as early as next week on the plan.