Reflections of a Retiring Provost
Posted on May 7, 2000Each April at the GAA Board of Directors’ meeting, we recognize those whose three-year terms are expiring. We invite each to share parting reflections and provide each with mementos acknowledging their service and leadership. This year’s program concluded with parting thoughts by retiring UNC Provost Richard J. Richardson.
During our evening program, I recounted the remarkable number of UNC personnel changes that have occurred during their three years on the GAA board. When these GAA officers and directors began their board service, Dick Spangler ’54 was president of the UNC System, and UNC Chancellor Michael Hooker ’69 had just completed his 100-county tour. Wayne Jones was vice chancellor for business and finance. (After an 18-month search, Jim Ramsey became UNC’s vice chancellor for finance and administration but left after less than a year; Jack Evans is presently the interim vice chancellor for finance and administration.) Steve Birdsall was dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Jack Evans was the interim dean of the Kenan-Flagler School of Business. Judith Wegner was dean of the School of Law. Bin Burke was interim dean of the School of Education. Barbara Moran was dean of the School of Information and Library Science. Michel Ibrahim was dean of the School of Public Health, and Cynthia Freund was dean of the School of Nursing. Tom Meyer was dean of the Graduate School and vice provost for research. Jim Walters was director of the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, and Eleanor Morris ’55 was director of the Office of Scholarships and Student Aid.
Also, John Swofford ’71 was director of athletics. Dean Smith was the men’s basketball coach, Kitty Harrison was the women’s tennis coach, and Mack Brown was the football coach. Mike Roberts ’72 was the baseball coach, and Devon Brouse was the men’s golf coach.
Dick Richardson proclaimed “that in my 31 years here this is unequivocally and absolutely the most exciting time for undergraduate education.” He noted this is so because of the implementation of so many of the recommendations from the Intellectual Climate Task Force, including first-year seminars, hiring of eight full-time advisers, the first-year initiative within student housing, development of undergraduate student research opportunities, enhancement of the study abroad program, the Carolina Computing Initiative, and opening the renovated Graham Memorial as the Johnston Center for Undergraduate Excellence.
However, Richardson also noted that UNC faces the twin “code red” challenges of serious facility needs and non-competitive faculty salaries and benefits with the prospect of one-third of our faculty retiring by 2008.
It was a third challenge that Richardson identified that drew the most discussion, one that he noted “we don’t acknowledge very often. … I’ve hired and been instrumental in the recruitment of … the largest selection of administrators in the recent history of the University. The majority of the deans I have hired. The majority of vice chancellors that we have recruited. … And we have an incredible group of people that we’ve been able to bring together.
“I have to tell you that I’m really concerned about the fact that I didn’t hire a single Carolina dean. I didn’t help hire a single Carolina vice chancellor. … We don’t recruit people to lead this institution from within our own ranks. … Now I’m not apologizing for what we’ve done. The quality we’ve brought in is extraordinary. But what is it about this institution that doesn’t allow us to hire within our ranks people to lead us?
“Is there some peculiar cultural notion that in order to be good you’ve got to go to the outside and bring in? Or have we built within our culture an unfortunate characteristic that if you aspire to be an administrator, if you want to lead this institution, if you want to help as a departmental chairman, you can’t ever admit that … because that’ll kill you. It’ll kill you in the tenure process, kill you in the promotion process . … I hope the new administration … enables us to say that it’s all right to be a department chair. It’s all right to be a dean. It’s all right to be a Carolina administrator.”
As usual, the provost’s parting thoughts for our GAA board were insightful and challenging. Our Carolina culture incorporates so much that is exemplary-an unparalleled commitment to excellence, more than two centuries of devotion to service, and a community of remarkable civility. It is unlikely when Dick Richardson left Western Michigan University 31 years ago to become an assistant professor of political science at UNC that he brought with him ambitions to become a two-time department head, chair of Carolina’s Bicentennial Observance, or UNC’s chief academic officer. Our greatest tribute to his inspiring legacy of distinguished service is to heed his charge and address the immediate challenges of attaining much-needed resources for facilities and faculty salaries and benefits, and to nurture the future Dick Richardsons already on our campus. Only by doing so can we be assured that we will preserve all that is so special about our nation’s oldest public university.
Yours at Carolina,
Douglas S. Dibbert ’70
