Newspapers / University of North Carolina … / April 4, 1985, edition 1 / Page 7
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Thursday, April 4,1985/THE BLUE BANNER/7 New chancellor shares plans and impressions Interview by Penny Kramp i CHAMCHUJOR DAVID BROHi doos robe hat to march In the Install atlon procession, staff photo by Penny Kramp Newly installed Chancel lor David Brown talked recently to the Banner about his feelings con cerning UNCA's present and his hopes for the univer sity’s future. Brown, 49, holds a mas ter's degree and doctorate in economics from Prince ton University. He former ly served as president of Transylvania University and executive vice-presi dent for academic affairs at Miami University. He and his wife, Lin, have two children, Alison and Dirk. During the seven nonths you have been at UNCA, wittt has made the greatest i^resslon on yoa? I think one of the things I’ve been most Impressed with has been the quality of faculty and students. That is one of the reasons I came to UNCA. Miat has been the most surprising discovery you have made about the stu dent population? By and large, we have a rather remarkable student body; remarkable in the sense, it is so diversi fied. One of biggest sur prises was when we formed the Chancellor's Collo quium. We went through 80 applications and came up with 37 people. I expected that the ma jority of those students would be between the ages of 18 and 21, and would have the normal profile of a normal college student. And there are people in the colloquium who meet that profile. But I am also finding people who have bachelor's degrees; finding people who have run rodeos; peo ple who run companies and conference centers. I am finding that our student body is a group from which I can leam so much. What- makes UNCA unique coBpared to the colleges at which you previously tam^t? This is one of the most age diverse student bodies in the country. We are by far the oldest under graduate student body in the state. One of the interesting things that I just dis covered about the campus in the last two weeks is that we have a higher per centage of graduate stu dents on campus than they have at North Carolina State University. If you count the pairs of legs around campus, you will discover that 18 per cent of the people that take at least one class on this campus are graduate students. That percentage at Greensboro and Chapel Hill is about 25 percent and we are third in the state. Why do you think older students are attracted to UNCA? I think it is mainly be cause we don't have resi- - dence halls. Another reason is a large number of students start elsewhere and then come here. They go away think ing they're going to find someting better than the university that has become familiar to them; and they find out it is not better and it is both easier and less expensive to come back here. You nentloned the lack of residence halls. Would you like to see UNCA expand In the future? I would like to see us move in the next 10 years from 500 residence hall beds to about 1500 resi dence hall beds. My own conviction is that educational research shows students leam most on campus. I think it would be to the advantage I of all students, both those in residence and those commuting, to have a fuller campus life. Connected to that is the amount of students that are needed to support ex tras, like a new library, an indoor recreation cen ter, and a language lab. We need a greater justi fication and greater fi nancial ability to provide these kinds of services. Hov wach of a problem Is the budget? Does UNCA. need more nethods of raising nooey? The answer to that is yes. We have substantial funding for our base budget from the state. Where UNCA needs to in crease its effort is in the area of physical faci lities, private donations, and foundation grants. The dollars that are generated by private donations and foundation grants are rarely a large portion of the budget. If we are doing very well, we are talkinjg maybe 10 to 15 percent of the budget. It's that icing on the cake that allows a uni versity to have an en hanced respect for itself. You have certainly been In the news a great deal this year with the HdJevltt hiring and the Ed Harris resignation. Have these been a source of frustra tion for you? Whenever a chancellor of over 20 years leaves, no matter who follows, things are going to have to be done differently. The change plays on people's anxieties and they tend to read tones of voice as having meaning. I guess I look at Ed Harris' resignation as one of the fallouts. I was very surprised by that. I don't know why Ed left. He may have thought the new chancellor could change his life for the better, or a new opportunity may have just come along. The McDevitt affair has caused some frustration in as much as there has been that nagging feeling of "How could I have done that differently?" We got a lot of bad press but Wayne has been very good. The hardest part of Mon day morning quarterbacking is we have to learn we can't replay things. Hhen did you know you wanted to be a chancellor? I had a sense I would enjoy holding a major position 20 years ago. I didn't want to make a move before ny children were in high school. I felt it was unfair to disrupt both our kids so I didn't really consider any positions until my daughter gradu ated from high school. What does the installation cereoKmy mean to you? The installation is a wonderful opportunity for the university to have attention focused on it. Dave Brown is only a vehicle for that focus, in the sense that we're using my personhood as a means of achieving university continued on page 8 THE HOUSE OF PIZZA RESTAURANT 807 Nerrijnon Ave. Open 11 AN — 7 Days 258-2400 253-9175 Across from Houser Shoes SDecializinq in Great Pizzas, famous Steak Subs. SpaQhett{. Lasaqna. Manicotti, Siciliano, Cannelloni, Veal and Eggplant Panvigiana, G\^ros, Greek Salad. Antipasto Salad, Salad Bar, and Chef Salads. m noA Bring Student I.D. for 10% off pizza purchase Come Out Of Your Shell And Into Ours. . EXECUTIVE NAUTILUS FITNESS/CONDITIONING CENTER OF ASHEVILLE Student Discounts • Totally Supervised Program 9 Kenilworth Knolt Asheville Circuit Courts Asheville, N.C. 28805 704/ 253-3635 PEPSI TH6 CHOIciE OF A NEW GEN0^ATION.
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April 4, 1985, edition 1
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