Schools outline Tomorrow goals

When the 17 UNC-system campuses were asked to respond by May with their plans to complete the goal that system President Erskine Bowles gave them in December, some campus task forces didn't think it would be possible to complete that goal.

But the individual campus responses to UNC Tomorrow, a blueprint implemented by Bowles last year that seeks to expand campus programs to meet the needs of the state for the 21st century, are now developed and open to the public at nctomorrow.org.

The goals are divided into seven different themes: Global readiness, access to college, K-12 education, economic transformation, health, environment, outreach and engagement and internal changes and barriers.

Here are some of the proposed initiatives from a few system schools:

Global Readiness

Recommendation 4.1. - UNC should prepare its students for successful professional and personal lives in the 21st century, equipping them with the tools they will need to adapt to the ever-changing world.

• Appalachian State University:

- Transform general education into "essential education," which will include more critical thinking, student research and "making local to global connections and understanding responsibilities of community membership."

- Formulate service-learning opportunities in China, India, Mexico and South Africa.

• East Carolina University:

- Revamp each major with a global readiness component.

-Enhance foreign language requirements.

• N.C. State University:

- Build upon its global competitiveness in science by creating more multidisciplinary partnerships through collaboration between industries and academic fields.

• N.C. Central University:

- Include foreign language offerings in Chinese, Arabic and various African dialects.

- Collaborate on a Peace Corps master's program between Public Health Education and the School of Education.

- Partner with Sister Cities of Durham, which helps develop cities in Tanzania, England, Russia and Japan.

• UNC-Charlotte:

- Increase the prevalence of writing across the curriculums.

- Increase opportunities for undergraduates to be innovative in their studies.

Access to college

Recommendation 4.2: UNC should increase access to higher education for all North Carolinians, particularly for underserved regions, underrepresented populations and nontraditional students.

• Appalachian State University:

- Establish the Hickory Regional Center Partnership, an effort with four-year institutions to coordinate needed program offerings in western North Carolina.

- Establish a Center for Hispanic Student Excellence.

• East Carolina University:

- Install a community college transfer center to encourage seamless transfer from two-year to four-year colleges.

• N.C. State University:

- Work to address the needs of returning veterans and new Hispanic populations.

• N.C. Central University:

- Establish outreach centers in underserved rural regions, such as Rocky Mount and Bertie County.

- Establish an Institute for Minority Males.

• UNC-Charlotte:

- Add a Spanish-speaking recruiter to its admissions staff.

- Add a residency office to serve students looking for N.C. residency tuition benefits.

Economic transformation:

Recommendation 4.4: UNC should be more engaged in the economic transformation and community development of North Carolina's regions and the state as a whole.

• Appalachian State University:

- Add a Ph.D. in rural clinical psychology.

- Add a graduate certificate in economic development for local communities in western North Carolina.

• East Carolina University:

- Establish the ECU Millennial Campus for industry, government and the university to collaborate on research, education and outreach.

- Establish the ECU Center for Municipal Management and Innovation to utilize faculty expertise for municipal planning and management in eastern North Carolina.

• N.C. State University:

- N.C. State entrepreneurship program will coordinate N.C. State's entrepreneurship both on and off campus.

- Place a branch of the Industrial Extension Service, the outreach branch of the College of Engineering, on every UNC-system campus.

• UNC-Charlotte:

- The UNC-Charlotte Urban Institute, which provides economic analysis of the university's surrounding counties, will begin measuring quality-of-life indicators in and around Charlotte.

- Enhance engineering programs to increase the region's role in energy production.

Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.