Chancellor's Office

The Future is Calling: Reaffirming the Bronco Legacy

Installation Address
James A. Anderson, Chancellor
Friday, April 3, 2009   

To President Erskine Bowles and members of the UNC Board of Governors; members of the Fayetteville State University Board of Trustees; my fellow chancellors in the UNC system; my fellow presidents and chancellors from other distinguished institutions; elected officials; members of the Fort Bragg community and the Fayetteville community; friends and family members from across the country; and most of all to my Bronco family, the faculty, staff, students, and alumni of FSU: I am deeply grateful for your presence today and for your expression of support for me and this wonderful university.

At the outset, without hesitation or qualification, let me state that today is not about me, rather it is a celebration of all that is grand and glorious about this institution and the UNC system and those who have served and who continue to serve both missions. Life’s journey can often be rewarding, perplexing, and difficult but something is responsible for my presence here in this city, at this university, at this point in time. That something is a Being and a Force far greater than you and me. I am deeply indebted to and can never repay two individuals who took a chance on adopting a 10 year old boy who had been abandoned by his birth parents to live a life of insecurity on the unforgiving streets of Washington, D.C. The late William and Avor Anderson, a loving Christian couple, took me into their home and into their life and made my success their only priority. It is ironic that while my first 18 years were spent in Washington, D.C. my parents were from Greenville, NC and LaGrange, NC respectively. So, indirectly I have returned home to represent them, the Anderson descendents, the Hill family and the Carter family.

Much of the credit for my presence here today also belongs to the support and tolerance from my wife Nancy, the first lady of FSU, her family, the women who served as my surrogate mothers over the years: Consuela Najera, Eathel McDaniel, Marilyn Gray and Moms Pankey; my daughters: Arie, Amina and Jennifer, my grandsons: James, Justice and Brandon, and my son-in-law, Paul.  I would also be remiss if I did not include the years of support since my college days of my two best friends Cyril Crocker and his family, and Terry Stewart.

Finally, I am also the product of two other families: Villanova University, where my educational, moral and political values were solidified, and North Carolina State University where I grew as a man and a leader under the tutelage of Chancellor Larry Monteith who exhibited his faith in me by bringing me into the Wolfpack family, Provost Kermit Hall, Provost Phil Stiles, and then Provost Jim Oblinger who is now Chancellor.

I would also like to thank the Installation Committee for their commitment to make this a special day for me, for you, and the university. They are the real unsung heroes who willingly gave their time at the expense of many personal commitments. Would all who served on this committee please stand?

What would the hallowed ground of this university be without the vision, passion, persistence, and dedication of those leaders who have preceded me as Chancellor? From November 29, 1867 until today 10 men and women have been called upon to exhibit servant leadership at the helm of Fayetteville State University. During their tenure there were never enough resources, yet they found a way, whether by collaboration or instigation to survive and to thrive. Please join me in welcoming the former FSU Chancellors who are here with us today (or who have sent a representative) and let’s thank them for their leadership and contributions to this university and community.

I hope that one of the hallmarks of my tenure at Fayetteville State University will be absolute clarity about our mission and our strategic priorities. That mission is to provide students with the highest quality learning experiences that will produce global citizens and leaders as change agents for shaping the future of the state and the nation. Most two-and-four year institutions recognize that their mission statements must change in response to the demands of the 21st century. We are no longer preparing students to simply obtain college degrees but to procure competitive degrees that reflect success in and across academic disciplines and the presence of 21st century competencies. We recognize that "The Future is Calling" and we must be ready to respond. As such, I have asked for FSU’s commitment to six strategic priorities:

• FSU will be a university of choice in North Carolina and the nation and will garner a reputation for innovation and excellence in teaching, learning, research and technology.
• FSU will be a leader in the economic transformation of the southeastern region of North Carolina.
• FSU will be an intellectual and cultural center that sustains a climate of excellence.
• FSU will distinguish itself in the preparation of leaders in all disciplinary fields and co-curricular programs. Our students will achieve and compete in the global economy.
• FSU will increase access to education in North Carolina through expanded partnerships and collaborative efforts.
• FSU will demonstrate fiscal integrity and resourcefulness and will develop a blueprint for economic sustainability.

Concerning our mission and our priorities, I am the pilot of the new revolutionary aircraft for the 21st Century, the FSU QSST (Quiet Supersonic Transport) and this jet plane is getting ready to taxi out to the runway. This is the last call for all who are boarding otherwise we assume that you are planning to stay at the gate where your image will get smaller and smaller until you become a dot in a few minutes as the FSU QSST flies away to the future and to the galaxy greatness. Star date 4.3.2009.

The Future is Calling……All Aboard!

So, where are we headed at FSU? We are moving from an identity as a collection of mini-groups and mini-cultures that represent many traditions and varied goals to a more unified sense of identity. FSU is on the cusp of becoming a culture of integrity, excellence, engagement, commitment, and innovation. As we evolve we must stay attentive to the needs of our students, our faculty, our community partners, and to the global marketplace. We must reflect periodically on how we handle our most precious commodity: KNOWLEDGE. Knowledge is the central currency of the business that we engage in at FSU - it is our identity. How does the FSU community use that knowledge to enable our students to become learned and responsible global citizens? A major responsibility of a president or chancellor is to support the efforts of those who manage the knowledge economy on their respective campuses. This task however becomes increasingly difficult due to the dynamic and rapidly-changing nature of knowledge. Knowledge is growing exponentially, as are the ways in which knowledge is conveyed.

At times I feel overwhelmed by the unending stream of information online via the web and email, on CNN, in print, on television and the radio, and as I participate in teleconferences and videoconferences. But then I stop and think about our students - they live in a world of expanded information inputs that also involve texting, blogging, Facebook, MySpace, and other forms of social networking. It is no wonder that they have that glazed-over look in their eyes when we make reference to them about something as mundane as how it was "when we were in college". My friends, I completed my doctoral dissertation on a typewriter - something most of our students have never seen.

The message is clear as we operate in this technologically advanced knowledge-driven economy. Students have to develop the ability to sort through and analyze streams of information in their pursuit of knowledge. In essence, we must prepare our students with thinking skills that are up to the tasks their future will demand. It should be obvious that teaching and learning will also change in response to these dynamics. As the Borg often said in the Star Trek series "Resistance is Futile". The term "Google" has become the password of the knowledge economy.

My personal journey through the educational pipeline from kindergarten until today has changed my life, opening new vistas that I never imagined, shaping who I am. I have never been to Egypt but education has allowed me to explore the mysteries of the Pyramids. Psychology has revealed to me the complexities of the mind and our emotions. Higher education is a call that I have enthusiastically and willingly answered. I have found my niche and have never wanted to do anything else except to be the lead singer and front man for the Temptations. It’s not too late though. If Chancellor Holden Thorpe can play the electric guitar and organ at Chapel Hill basketball games and other student events, surely at my own installation I can sing "My Girl".

Senior officers at colleges and universities need to make difficult choices and trade-offs so that our institutions will grow, thrive and excel- not just for the next five years- but for the next 100. There is no wiggle room on this one. The unprecedented challenges that confront us are too significant. I have a passionate belief in the greatness of human beings when they are allowed to self-actualize. My good friend and colleague, Larry Keen, who serves as the president of Fayetteville Tech Community College captured this belief in these words:”Only a few times in one’s lifetime do we have the opportunity to be truly transformational. We have to give people in our institutions the freedom to dream”. This message resonates with that of President Barak Obama who states “we must have the audacity to hope” that dreams can become a reality.

No dreams are more important to us than those of our beloved students. The pact that we make with students when they arrive at our doorstep extends far beyond words. That agreement represents a solemn oath that means that their development and our excellence as an institution are inextricably bound to one another. I ask the members of the FSU community and our supporters: In a world that seems to become more precarious every day how will we be judged if we do not deliver on our promise to support student achievement and success? Our mandate is very clear - it is reflected in the mission statement that I alluded to earlier. Read it every day if you must. It is also couched in our vision, our priorities and, most importantly, it is part of the proud Bronco legacy.

I am deeply grateful for the advice, counsel, and sound judgment that is exhibited by our Board of Trustees in support of the strategic direction of the university. I am proud of the efforts to date of my executive team and cabinet who continue to manage effectively in difficult times because of their commitment to excellence and to FSU. I am proud of the national recognitions that we have received in the arts, in terms of academic scholarship and accreditations. This and much more is due to the contributions made by the faculty, staff and students of FSU.

Before I was introduced today you witnessed another example of the creative energy and talent of the FSU Choir. It was I who requested a blended rendition of two of my favorite songs: "Home" and "Over the Rainbow". Why? First, in a strange and ethereal yet comfortable way I feel that returning to North Carolina equates to coming home. During my eleven years in Raleigh and at NC State University I simply fell in love with the state and the region. Second, when I accepted the position of Chancellor at Fayetteville State University I positioned myself and the university on the front side of a rainbow. Rainbows portend hope, promise and a belief in obtaining the unobtainable. I had a sense, which has now been confirmed, of the immense effort that will be needed to simply rise to the highest level of the arc in that rainbow before one can begin the descent to the other side.

But I have a belief in those who call the city of Fayetteville home, who call Cumberland County home, who call North Carolina home, and who call Fayetteville State University home. Over the rainbow is our destiny, the realization of our vision, the confirmation of our legacy. Join me in this journey. I will not fail you, we will not fail each other and we will continue to establish Fayetteville State University as one of the great institutions in this nation.

BRONCO PRIDE FOREVER