The Next Phase of Carolina’s Global Engagement
February 26, 2020
UNC Global Affairs
View of South Building on Polk Place on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Photo by Johnny Andrews/UNC-Chapel Hill)
Dear Friends,
Welcome to the new UNC Global website. I’m pleased to be sharing it with you at this exciting time, just weeks after UNC-Chapel Hill launched its new strategic plan, Carolina Next: Innovations for Public Good.
The plan is designed around eight pillars, and I’m proud to work alongside Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz and Provost Bob Blouin—as well as faculty, staff, and students across campus—on the implementation of the seventh pillar, which focuses on Carolina’s global engagement. This drives the work of the Office of the Vice Provost for Global Affairs.
I am committed to infusing our campus with a global mindset. In addition to thousands of connections that Carolina has around the world, the University is deepening and developing strategic partnerships to further innovate in global education and research. Through these partnerships, we are creating a path toward true global learning, engaging students, faculty, and the institution itself in collaborative work with peers around the world
As part of internationalizing our campus, we are expanding global opportunities for all students. At the undergraduate level, we are launching the Global Guarantee—a promise that every undergraduate student will have access to a transformative global experience while at Carolina. Concurrently, we are working to grow global opportunities for our professional and graduate students.
On this new website, you will see a global mindset in action as we infuse our academic, research, and operational activities. You’ll also see the important work that units at the FedEx Global Education Center, all part of the UNC Global family, are doing to make our University a vibrant community for global learning and innovation.
I’m inspired by our public mission and by the great students, faculty, and staff I work with every day, and I’m encouraging all of us to seek new ways to globalize educational understanding and research. I look forward to the inspiring work we will accomplish together to contribute research and creative, problem-solving ideas to the world.
With very best wishes,
Barbara J. Stephenson, PhD
Vice Provost for Global Affairs and Chief Global Officer
U.S. Ambassador (Retired)