Carolina's Arrogance
Posted on Oct. 1, 1991Sadly, our University does not universally enjoy the affection, respect, and high regard that you and most Carolina alumni have for the nation’s First State University. While there may be little we can do to overcome the notion that we are “arrogant” or “elitist,” it is important that we try and equally important that we understand why some may view our alma mater less adoringly than do we.
Any reader who is the “first born” in their family, may realize that there is oftentimes a natural resentment from younger siblings that comes to those who are “first.” Carolina is the oldest public university, not just in the State of North Carolina but in all the 50 states. Of course, age does not distinguish quality. While we had nothing to do with being the first, we should help assure that Carolina is always striving to be the “best.” By seeking and achieving excellence, UNC can better serve our state, region, and nation.
Besides age, geography helps to fuel this notion of “arrogant” and “elitist.” Within the UNC System, our campus more than others was responsible for the development of our community. Most other UNC System campuses were developed after their community was established and enjoyed its own identity. Furthermore, there is a real strength of support from within these communities for their local institutions public or private. For example, UNC-Charlotte and North Carolina State University draw upon the considerable resources of Charlotte and Raleigh. Many Carolina alumni provide strong support to their local, hometown institutions. Carolina lacks the same advantages of local support because, for the most part, Chapel Hill and UNC are one, and our mission is to serve our entire state.
Consideration must also be given to the contribution increasingly competitive admissions has made to the perception that Carolina is “elitist.” During the seven years — 1984-1990, 62,330 applicants were denied admission to Carolina (15,378 of those denied admission were from North Carolina). In 1984, 83 percent of the North Carolina applicants were admitted, while by 1988 only 57 percent of the North Carolina applicants were admitted. During that same five year period the percentage of the freshman class finishing in the top 10 percent of their high school class increased from 61 percent to 77 percent. The cumulative affect of significant numbers of youngsters wanting to attend Carolina and being denied admission and the significant increase in the academic records of those who do attend encourages a perception that Carolina must be “elitist.”
And, then there is the growing success of our overall athletic program. Sine 1980, Carolina has won 15 national championships, two more than the rest of the ACC has won combined. In addition, Carolina has won 67 ACC championships during the same period. The 1982 NCAA National Basketball Championship, and the highly visible and greatly successful fund drive for the Smith Center and the Koury Natatorium became symbols of this success. We also can proudly claim an enviable record of educating and graduating our “student” athletes and running a large, competitive program that has been free of scandal or NCAA sanctions.
Just maybe this perceived “arrogance” reflects discomfort with or a lack of understanding of the “research university.” To many a “research” university signals a diminished commitment to undergraduate education and to public service. Certainly, the explosion of research funding at Carolina from $8.7 million in 1970 to $123.8 million in 1990 has significantly affected the focus of the University and perhaps the perceptions of our many constituencies. Too few understand the link between research and the improved quality of teaching or the many contributions such research makes to improving the quality of life in North Carolina, the South, and the nation.
Being a “first born,” the absence of a large metropolitan community of support, managing a more competitive admissions process, experiencing notable athletic success, and absorbing the explosion of the research university — taken together these forces may have encouraged many — even some of our friends — to view Carolina as “arrogant” and “elitist.” And sometimes our “quiet confidence” may be perceived as “arrogant.”
Clearly, Carolina does much, much more than is widely acknowledged, understood, and appreciated to reach out to help all of North Carolina’s public and private institutions of higher education. The phenomenal successes of the Research Triangle Park, the AHEC Program, the Math Science Network, and the Institute of Government are just a few such examples.
As higher education receives greater scrutiny from a skeptical public and as competition for scarce public dollars increases, Carolina cannot, should not fail to reaffirm our strong, continuing commitment to undergraduate education and to addressing North Carolina’s and the nation’s formidable agenda (e.g. environmental quality, public school education, social services, economic development, infant mortality etc.).
The University can do more to better convey the nature of our interests and the extent of our contributions. And Carolina alumni can also help. We must be informed. We should stay involved. And proudly — though not arrogantly — individually and collectively in our professions, in our personal lives, and working with our alma mater, we should continue to find ways to enhance the quality of life for all.
Yours at Carolina,
Douglas S. Dibbert ’70
