University of North Carolina Asheville - Archive Yearbook (Asheville, NC)

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Dr. Highsmith: The Center of Power OvS y the nature of government, in whatever shape it may take, there must be an official who holds the final authority in his hands. The name does not matter. He might be called king . Or president . At UNC-A, he is called chancellor . And his is the power. The Chancellor of UNC-A is Dr. William E. Highsmith. Most students at UNC-A know the name. Only a few probably know his job functions. Admittedly ignorant, I asked Chancellor Highsmith what these functions are. The Chancellor acts as the executive head of the institution. It is his responsibility to know the laws applying to higher education, to know the code of the University of North Carolina System, to identi- fy the needs of both the University and the surrounding community, to develop programs and pro- vide the resources necessary for their successful implementation, and to assess both the academic and non-academic needs of the students. One of the Chancellor ' s main concerns at this time is the much discussed Five Year Plan. The Plan will provide for opportunities for graduate and under-graduate degrees in such fields as Health (Clinical and Technological), Physical Education, Environmental Studies and Music. Approval of the Plan, or the accepted part, is expected by the end of 1975. The Chancellor, qualifying his state- ment to the utmost, stated: I think we are going to be approved to go into all of these programs, eventually. I don ' t know exactly which ones they ' re going to want us to go into first, because that will depend upon the needs and also on the resources we already have. As the interview concluded, the Chancellor stressed his availability for consultation on matters of policy, If something comes along, and you ' re puzzled about it, and you ' re getting mixed statements, and confused about what ' s going on, come see me. If I can straighten it out, I will. This IS the man to talk to. His is the power. 15

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haracterized by intellects that quest across the reaches of the mind in pursuit of elusive concepts; marked by intense eyes that perceive mysteries in seemingly simple things: endowed with nimble tongues that repeat these mysteries to willing ears, and hands which can move chalk across slate to inscribe symbols of wisdom: these are the sages of the kingdom of UNC-A. Upon these instructors falls the task of bringing light to the souls and minds of their wards. Leading their charges through rituals of learning, these men and women attempt to transmute the ignorant into the knowledgeable. Some succeed in the task of breathing life into the clay-like figures before them, while others dilute the life force with excessive vice or virtue and merely turn clay into mud. It is this faculty, despite all fizzles and failures, from which comes the spark that ignites the flame of reason; that feeds the flames of thought in the minds of the students. There- fore, these are the people who are the heart of the kingdom. It is they who provide the life force for all academic programs.

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UNC A 75 ' % Onomic5 . FACULTY SENATE 16