Budget cuts trim out personal touch in higher education - Kyle R.Carter, Chancellor UNC Pembroke

UNC Pembroke will likely see more retirements among critical positions in both administration and faculty ranks. We will see key faculty too young to retire looking elsewhere for employment and new, most likely less experienced junior faculty taking their places. Current administrators and faculty will shoulder the burden of additional work while we spend time and money recruiting new people. In short, the university will be a cauldron of transition, with each departure and arrival stirring the pot. Along with other chancellors and their administrative teams, I will be challenged to provide stable leadership while dealing with the upheaval in our ranks. We must focus on the long view, even while we're breaking in new staff and orienting them to our institutional culture, priorities and management styles. Perhaps there is a silver lining in all the disruption: this coming-and-going does allow us to build a leadership team and recruit strong faculty with expertise in particular fields. Of course, this optimism depends upon our return to a friendlier - or at least more stable - economic environment where outstanding performance can be rewarded and employees can once again dedicate themselves to a successful career in a place they feel secure and valued. Surely, that time is coming...