‘The rising generation is not happy.’ UNC chancellor vows to consult students, community
When UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz started the job 10 months ago, he made clear he thought he was up for the challenge of leading the university, saying, “easy is boring.”
He could not have predicted the difficulties he would confront between saying those words and speaking to the campus community again at his official — and mostly virtual — installation ceremony Sunday afternoon.
In his first several months as chancellor, Guskiewicz has made critical decisions about how the university should operate during the global coronavirus pandemic that threatened the lives of students, faculty and staff and the financial health of the university. He’s also responded to student protests of racial injustice that erupted on campus and across the nation this summer. He fielded local and national criticism over the Confederate monument Silent Sam and acted to remove the names of buildings tied to white supremacy.
At the event Sunday, Guskiewicz said he watched his predecessors face great challenges with great resolve, and building on their work is the “the opportunity of a lifetime.”
In his speech, Guskiewicz referenced the words that UNC-Chapel Hill’s founders wrote when the state chartered the university.
The founders called on university leaders to “consult the happiness of our rising generation,” Guskiewicz said, and he promised that Carolina will be true to those words while he’s at the helm.
“Our power as a institution does not come from stale tradition, it comes from the vision and renewable energy of our community,” he said.
“Our power does not come from old ideas, it comes from innovation, fresh ideas and action,” Guskiewicz said. “It comes from consulting the rising generation.“
As is tradition, Guskiewicz took the oath of office with his hand resting on the George Durant Bible, the oldest Bible associated with a North Carolina family. His wife Amy placed the Chancellor’s Medallion, which is engraved with the names and dates of service of the previous Carolina chancellors, around his neck. And university leaders spoke about his leadership in this moment in history. They all wore face masks on stage and sat six feet apart.
Unlike previous years there wasn’t a large crowd at the ceremony because of the pandemic. Instead, UNC students, faculty and alumni from 22 states around the country and England, Hong Kong and Singapore tuned in to the virtual event.
“The tradition is really important because we’re the nation’s first public university,” said Brent Comstock, a 2017 graduate. “It speaks to the timeless fashion of what is Carolina and that it’s more than a bunch of buildings and students and people.”
Comstock watched the ceremony from his office in Lincoln, Nebraska, where the front page of The Daily Tar Heel newspaper from the 2017 NCAA men’s basketball championship hangs on the wall along with his diploma.
Comstock said having the virtual ceremony honors tradition while recognizing Carolina’s global impact. It also speaks to the collaborative spirit of Guskiewicz’s leadership, he said.
Leading a rising generation
Guskiewicz spoke about the university’s history of great leaders, from chancellors and presidents to those “forged in protests, faculty meetings and late night debates.”
He referenced a letter from former UNC System President Bill Friday that said the university should be criticized and it has thrived because people are free to have their say.
Guskiewicz and UNC-CH have fielded consistent criticism over the past year about issues ranging from the handling of a $2.5 million settlement with a Confederate group over the Silent Sam statue to reopening campus amid the coronavirus pandemic. That includes, as Guskiewicz noted in his speech, the opinion from students in The Daily Tar Heel who wrote that his dog Charlie is better suited than he is to be chancellor.
“We’re fortunate to be at a university whose community has that fight, that passion, that willingness to voice dissent,” Guskiewicz said. “It’s a spirit that has quietly and not so quietly moved our university forward to become the leading global public research university that we are today.”
For decades, rising generations have changed the university and made it better, he said.
“And today, the rising generation is not happy,” Guskiewicz said. “They are not waiting patiently in the wings, they are not content with accepting injustice. That’s a good thing.”
He said that students and young alumni see “an American dream that’s fading” as they have a lower chance of out-earning their parents. They are navigating a global pandemic that threatens the good things in their lives. And they are seeing and experiencing racial inequity in the criminal justice system, schools, board rooms and the streets, he said.
“We have a rising generation restless for change,” Guskiewicz said, “and a storied university committed to solving the grand challenges.”
Guskiewicz said the university must be student-focused and give those students the tools, support and knowledge they need to change the status quo.
Recognizing collaborative leadership
Richard Stevens, chair of the board of trustees, said at the ceremony that University Day on Monday is a moment to reflect on history and look forward to the future.
Throughout its 227-year history, the university has persevered through wars, economic depression and a global pandemic, he said. And it will continue to do so as it faces today’s challenges, including COVID-19, an economic crisis, racial inequality and political division, he said.
“Our university’s trajectory is strong and I believe in our community’s ability to accomplish great things together,” Stevens said.
Stevens, who was chair of the chancellor search committee, said while that day in December when Guskiewicz was named chancellor feels like a lifetime ago, he remains the right leader for this moment.
“He is authentic, genuine, humble and an effective listener,” Stevens said.
He then offered a toast for the occasion.
“To North Carolina and her university,” Stevens said, “now and forever, one and inseparable.”
In video messages, Guskiewicz’s wife Amy talked about how he makes relationships that last and his love of Rolling Rock beer, which is brewed in his hometown. Former students and UNC faculty and staff members reflected on Guskiewicz’s mentorship, his research and his commitment to diversity, particularly through his involvement with Black fraternities. They said he builds incredible teams to accomplish objectives.
Mimi Chapman, chair of the faculty, is on one of those teams, the Campus & Community Advisory committee. That group is tasked with making recommendations to the chancellor about plans for the spring semester amid the pandemic. She said it is hard to imagine a more challenging moment for someone to be the chancellor of UNC-CH and thanked him for his bravery and commitment.
“We trust you to lead with honesty and transparency as we face the challenge of the pandemic, and work to address systemic racism in our midst as well as storms that we don’t yet know are coming,” Chapman said in a video message.
Reeves Moseley, student body president, said he is thankful to work with a chancellor who “values the voices of the student body and makes an effort to ensure that the thoughts and opinions of all students are taken into consideration.”
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, a UNC alumnus, said the university is defined by its commitment to educating leaders. He acknowledged that it’s a tough time for college campuses, but said he is confident the Carolina community will rise to the occasion and come out stronger.
“I know this great university will continue to adapt to meet the needs of its students and its award-winning faculty and staff while guiding a new generation of leaders for decades to come,” Cooper said in a video message.
He said Guskiewicz’s love of UNC, its people and its mission make him “the right person at the right time” to lead it.
Gift for Kenan-Flagler Business School
Guskiewicz also announced an updated $25 million donation to the Kenan-Flagler Business School from UNC alumnus Steven Bell and his wife Jackie Bell.
The new gift increases his previous donation to help pay for a new building with the intention of increasing the Undergraduate Business Program by at least 50%. The new building will be named after Bell, who said he sees this as a contribution to building the state’s economy.
“Investing in the success of UNC Kenan-Flagler is an investment in making North Carolina even stronger,” Bell said in a statement. “Graduates become better employees, employers, entrepreneurs and contributors to our state. Having one of the best business schools in the U.S. right here in Chapel Hill is a precious resource for our state and region.”
A second $25 million pledge by an anonymous donor will also go towards the new building.
Bell’s gift is part of UNC’s fundraising campaign, “For All Kind: the Campaign for Carolina,” which aims to raise $4.25 billion by December 2022. The new building is critical as degree programs are outgrowing the space in the McColl Building on campus, The News & Observer previously reported. The money will help increase enrollment, alleviate space constraints and enhance the learning environment for students, including those in the Master of Business Administration, Master of Accounting and Ph.D programs.
Construction for the new building will take about two years and renovations will take another year, with a total cost of about $150 million, according to the university.
UNC-CH will also receive $75 million from the state to expand and enhance its business school campus if it can raise $75 million in private funding by June 30, 2022, according to the university. With these two gifts, Kenan-Flagler has raised $58 million so far.
This investment allows UNC to teach more students and drive economic growth across the state, Guskiewicz said at the ceremony. He said the university will also expand the impact of the 400 startups launched here and the $14 billion annual revenue they earn.
“We will prepare our students for fulfilling careers and revitalize a state that’s reeling from a business-shattering pandemic,” Guskiewicz said.
In addition to increasing enrollment in the business school, the university is raising $1 billion in student scholarships.
Guskiewicz announced that UNC will continue to increase its enrollment each of the next four years to build its largest ever undergraduate student body. That includes bringing more first-generation, minority and rural students to Chapel Hill and expanding who is part of that rising generation, he said.
As chancellor, he intends to seek input from those students and be a servant leader, he said, and he knows that listening won’t always erase the tension.
“We’re going to have conflict here at Carolina, but we are stronger when we approach it by trying to find ways to say yes, instead of no,” Guskiewicz said. “We are stronger when the institution consults that rising generation and works to further their happiness.”
This story was originally published October 11, 2020 at 7:16 PM.
