To the UNCG-AAUP Executive Team:
Thank you for your correspondence of Dec. 4, which we have reviewed and given due consideration. Each of us shares a deep commitment to our students’ success and to the long-term viability and standing of UNCG. As ever, we’re grateful for your candor, perspective, and dedication.
But we disagree with your assessment of the academic portfolio review, a well-established and invaluable practice. The approach is not an outlier but an essential endeavor to explore key institutional opportunities, strengthen our competitive edge, and identify programs that are no longer sustainable. We’re undertaking this imperative to put the University on solid academic and financial footing for the next 10 to 20 years. Given the widely recognized headwinds facing higher education in North Carolina and across the country — including enrollment trends — it’s critical that we act promptly, deliberately, and thoughtfully.
The administration will continue inviting the UNCG community to join in the academic portfolio review process. Everyone has a voice. The Faculty Senate, as the representative body of our faculty, has provided many opportunities for dialogue and will continue to do so in January. We look forward to continuing to engage with faculty and leaders as the new calendar year begins.
While we respect the mission of the AAUP, its presence at UNCG does not have the authority of the Faculty Senate. We encourage you to work collaboratively with the Senate, the elected and formal representative body of the faculty.
The work proceeds.
Respectfully,
Franklin D. Gilliam, Jr.
Chancellor
Debbie Storrs
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor