Forums to Seek Ways UNC System Campuses Can Help N.C.

Posted on Aug. 29, 2007

The University of North Carolina Tomorrow Commission, a group of business, education, government and nonprofit leaders from across the state, will host 11 community listening forums in September and October to discuss how the 16 campuses making up the UNC System can best meet the state’s needs over the next 20 years.

The commission, which also will meet with regional leaders in different sectors and industries to discuss the state’s evolving challenges, will then advise the UNC System Board of Governors as it develops potential solutions.

“We want to hear from the people in every part of North Carolina about the challenges and opportunities they face in their communities, work and lives and how the University can help,” said Jim Phillips ’79, chairman of the UNC System Board of Governors who also is chairing the commission. “Our goal is to be more responsive to the needs of this state, and to do that, we need input and feedback from the citizens we are here to serve.”

Individuals are invited to attend a forum in or near their community to discuss the challenges facing North Carolina and their region. Members of the commission will be joined by UNC System President Erskine Bowles ’67 and leading scholars from UNC System campuses. Each forum will last up to three hours and will include a public comment period. Written comments also will be collected through a survey available at each forum, as well as online.

The online survey already is available. For more information about the initiative; the listening forum schedule; driving directions, which will be posted one week prior to each forum; or to share thoughts on an interactive blog, individuals can visit www.nctomorrow.org.
The schedule calls for these 11 listening forums over seven days:

• Sept. 10
  9 a.m.: Greenville (ECU — Murphy Center)
  4 p.m.: Rocky Mount (Nash Community College Business and Industry Center, Conference Room 3)
• Sept. 12
  9 a.m.: Wilmington (UNCW, Warwick Center Ballroom)
  4 p.m.: Fayetteville (FSU Seabrook Auditorium)
• Sept. 20
  4 p.m.: Elizabeth City (ECSU, K.E. White Graduate Center)
• Oct. 3
  9 a.m.: Charlotte (Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center, Room 267)
  4 p.m.: Hickory (Metro Convention Center)
• Oct. 4
  9 a.m.: Asheville (UNCA, Highsmith Union — Alumni Hall)
  4 p.m.: Sylva (Southwestern Community College — Myers Auditorium)
• Oct. 8
  4 p.m.: Greensboro (Gateway University Research Park Gymnasium, Millennium Campus)
• Oct. 10
  4 p.m.: Raleigh (NCSU, McKimmon Center Room 2C)

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