A convergence of synergies

This fall, Carolina celebrates its 225^th birthday. Milestone anniversaries are natural times to reflect on how far we have come and where we want to go. It’s been 2½ years since I became dean and more than a year since we adopted our Synergy Unleashed tag line and launched our strategic plan, A Road Map to Boldness. Everywhere around me, I see evidence that our faculty, staff and students have taken the Synergy Unleashed message to heart. You will certainly experience it in the stories that follow.

Synergy Unleashed means forming research teams that bring diverse skills — and unique perspectives —to the project at hand. That’s how two mathematicians, a marine scientist and a religious studies scholar teamed up to work through unexpected challenges on a remote mountaintop in Nepal.

Synergy Unleashed means reimagining environmental studies to leverage our strengths not only in the natural sciences but also adding the social sciences and humanities to the equation. That’s how our curriculum in environment and ecology became E³P  –  an even more interdisciplinary program, designed to prepare our students for diverse careers in resources management and energy.

Synergy Unleashed means being an oral historian who jumps at the opportunity when a cardiologist calls to ask if your tools can improve the health of rural North Carolinians. Or implementing a pilot program that empowers global studies students to assist with community-based research programs worldwide.

Carolina has a long and storied history that we are justly proud of, but I am convinced that our greatest accomplishments lie ahead. And we have a bold road map to get there.

Best,