GREENVILLE – University of North Carolina leaders announced Friday the members of a “blue ribbon” panel that will examine the system’s future and how it can meet the needs of the state.
The initiative, UNC Tomorrow, was launched at last month’s Board of Governors meeting with Norma Mills, former Chief of Staff for Senate Pro Tem Marc Basnight, serving as the executive director for the study. The entire process is scheduled to take 18 months, with a report to be presented early next year.
UNC Board of Governors Chairman Jim Phillips first presented the idea to board members when took over as chairman last year. He will serve as the chairman of the panel.
The 25-member panel feature representatives from the Board of Governors, higher education insiders, and business leaders with experience in higher education.
Besides Phillips, members of the panel include:
• John Blackburn: Appalachian State Board of Trustees member, president and general manager of Linville Resorts
• Peaches Gunter Blank: Board of Governors member, former chair of NCSU Board of Trustees, businesswoman from Nashville, Tenn.
• Edward Broadwell: Board of Governors member, banking executive
• Bert Collins: Former chairman of N.C. Central Board of Trustees, director N.C. Mutual Life Insurance Co.
• Amanda Devore: Former president, UNC Association of Student Governments, federal tax consultant for Ernst and Young
• Dudley Flood: Board of Governors member, retired educator
• Hannah Gage: Board of Governors member, former chairwoman of UNC-Wilmington Board of Trustees, businesswoman
• Anita Brown-Graham: Director, Institute for Emerging Issues
• Peter Hans: Board of Governors member, former vice chair of the North Carolina Board of Community Colleges, government relations strategic advisor
• Gov. James Holshouser: Emeritus member of Board of Governors
• Brenda Killingsowrth: Chairwoman of UNC Faculty Assembly, ECU professor
• Phillip Kirk: Vice President for External Relations, Catawba College
• Maria Montano: Vice President and General Manager, WUVC Univision 40
• Marshall Pitts: Former mayor of Fayetteville
• Thomas Ross: Executive Director, Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation
• Estelle “Bunny” Sanders, Board of Governors member, mayor of Roper
• Ruth Shaw: Former president, Central Piedmont Community College, member UNC-Charlotte Board of Trustees
• Lawrence Seigler: Chairman Pitt County Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees
• J. Craig Souza: Board of Governors member, former chairman of ECU Board of Trustees, association executive
• Priscilla Taylor: Board of Governors member, retired foundation executive
• Roland Vaughn: Edenton mayor
• James Woodward: Chancellor Emeritus, University of North Carolina-Charlotte
• David Young: Board of Governors member, Buncombe County Commission member, business owner
According to UNC, ex-officio members will include representatives from the North Carolina Board of Education, the North Carolina State Board of Community Colleges, and the North Carolina Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.
“I think that is a great group,” Phillip said. “It is a diverse and well-suited group.”