Introducing UNC Forward: Shaping the Future of Our University

Dear Colleagues,

 
Today we are launching UNC Forward, a university-wide conversation, aligned with Phase IV of Rowing, Not Drifting 2030, designed to help UNC navigate a rapidly changing higher education environment to transform our institution for long-term fiscal health and enrollment stability.

Higher education is undergoing significant changes. Institutions across the country are challenged by shifting student expectations, demographic trends, financial pressures, private-sector competition, societal criticism, and technological advances. At UNC, we have an opportunity to build on our strengths while identifying new ways to create value for our students, faculty, staff, and community.

UNC Forward will bring together university leaders, faculty, and staff through an Extended Cabinet Advisory Group and college- and division-level task forces to identify opportunities to: 

– Reenvision institutional priorities and the definition of who we are as a university 
– Align resources with institutional priorities to reach fiscal health and enrollment stability 
– Enhance student success 
– Strengthen operational effectiveness 

This process is grounded in a simple principle: the people closest to our work are often best positioned to help improve it.

Throughout the coming weeks, we will provide opportunities for engagement, input, and discussion. We encourage every member of the UNC community to participate.

Additional information about UNC Forward, including an overview of the process, resources, selected articles, opportunities to engage, and a place to submit questions and feedback, is available on the UNC Forward website.

Please join us for our campus-wide UNC Forward Town Hall on September 15, where we will discuss the headwinds facing higher education, our budget outlook, and the UNC Forward process. Questions will also be addressed during the Town Hall, college and division open forums, and through the FAQs available on the website.

Together, we can ensure that UNC is rowing with purpose toward a stronger, more focused, and future-ready future.
Sincerely, 


Kamel Haddad
Interim President
University of Northern Colorado