Friends of the UNCG Libraries

In November, we began a series of programs examining the topic "What is College For?"  It’s a subject that has much significance for our future, both within the academe and outside it.  We need to hear from lots of stakeholders in this enterprise, and every single citizen is a stakeholder to one degree or another.  In Rich DeMillo and Andrew Delbanco , we’re inviting speakers who are leading national figures to weigh in on the subject, and we are screening a major documentary film, Ivory Tower , which has drawn much attention, especially with regard to the rising cost of higher education. The recent program at UNCG with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and students from our iSchool program illustrated the message of Rich DeMillo earlier in the same week, that technology offers remarkable potential to bring education and learning to those who might not be able to get it in more traditional ways.  I don't usually introduce a personal perspective in these po...

The University Libraries and the Provost's Office are pleased to begin a series of programs on the subject What is College For? based on the recommendation of our new Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Dana Dunn to read a book of the same name when she interviewed at UNCG for the position last spring.  University Libraries Director of Communications and External Relations Barry Miller took the idea to heart and proposed a series of programs which were endorsed by Dean of University Libraries Rosann Bazirjian and Dunn.  The project was accelerated to further inform the strategic planning process currently being undertaken by UNCG. To begin the series, we have invited Richard A. DeMillo of Georgia Tech to speak on the topic, "New Ecosystems for Higher Education: The Road Ahead."  DeMillo is the author of the book Abelard to Apple: The Fate of American Colleges and Universities, and is Director of the Center for 21st Century Universities and Chair of Computer Science a...