DURHAM -- Explosive student growth, a building boom and a torrent of new funding have gilded his first five years as chancellor at N.C. Central University, James Ammons said during a fall convocation on campus Friday morning.
"Together we have accomplished great things," Ammons told the hundreds of students, faculty, staff and guests assembled for the event.
Enrollment has increased by 58 percent since the academic year 2000-2001, to nearly 8,700 students this year, he said. The state's allocation for the school has risen by 78 percent to $105 million. Central has built nearly 700,000 square feet on campus in his tenure. That included expanding the law school, and B.N. Duke Auditorium, as well as building graduate student apartments and renovating residence halls.
Ammons focused on this year's incoming class, which will graduate in 2010, the university's centennial year.
"There is more we must do to prepare our students for the new economy that's ever-changing," he said.
Tobacco is no longer a leading industry for the state, and many textile plants have closed. Companies have sent manufacturing, call-centers and other functions overseas.
Retention and graduation are two ways to help students succeed.
"We have to first retain them and make sure they graduate on time," he said.
Ammons wants to raise the six-year graduation rate to 48 percent by 2010. The current rate is nearly 45 percent, which is slightly below the UNC-wide average.
Ammons said the class entering in 2004 had a retention rate of nearly 76 percent, which is below the UNC system-wide average of 78.5 percent. By 2010, he said, he wants that rate to be 85 percent.
To retain students, he said, everyone in the university must help. Residential life, for example, must provide attractive, comfortable residence halls.
"The comptroller and financial aid office needs to make sure students can focus on their assignments, not paying rent or figuring out how to pay for their next meal," he said.
Other future plans include a study and long-term plan for campus parking, he said.
"There is an immediate need to define a campus-wide parking plan," he said.
Before Ammons' address, Mukhtar Raqib, president of the student government, said the convocation is the symbolic start of the academic year. He encouraged students to step outside their comfort zone, get involved with the community, and network with fellow students.
"The more we come together, the more we can achieve as a whole," he said. "Always remember, we are here to achieve and excel academically."
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5 comments:
James Ammons is a class act and a first-rate leader. He learned from the best and now he is bringing clear results in enrollment, research, graduate education, and fundraising for NCCU.
Ammons is one of Dr. Fred Humphries' brightest proteges. I'm a FAMUan and I find it much more pleasant to read NCCU's news than FAMU news. Under Ammons' leadership, NCCU is becoming everything that FAMU used to be.
James Ammons is a great leader. I knew him in undergraduate school at FAMU, and it was evident that he would do great and wonderful things in his life. He was a leader THEN and smart as a whip. He was personable and a likable young man in every way. He had (and has) a pleasant demeanor and a wonderful academic bearing. NCCU's gain was, obviously, FAMU's loss. He learned well under the mentorship of Dr. Fred Humphries and has made everyone associated with FAMU very proud of him. I remember seeing his undergraduate transcript (once) when he was a senior, about to graduate. He did not have a single "B." Every grade, from his freshman year throughout his academic term at FAMU, was an "A." He knew what he was doing and he was not afraid of being the tremendous scholar that allows him to lead NCCU. Under his leadership and vision, the school has made tremendous progress, and all Rattlers are all so very proud of him.
Dr. Ammons is a firs-rate scholar and a fine gentleman/scholar. Too bad we can't woo him back to the university, one that CVB has damn near destroyed with her evil, wicked, mean-spirited actions. I'm sure that when and/or if Dr. Ammons reads academic chronicles and learns of the mess that FAMU is in, he shakes his head, but remembers when Big Fred was running things and the tremendous pride everyone had in being associated with the school. Not So Anymore. CVB has damn near killed everyone's joy. When she sees the crowd at this year's Homecoming festivities, she will probably want to claim that she had something to do with the numbers. After all, everyone knows that the woman cares more about numbers than she does about people. March 2007 can't get here fast enough.
It is exciting to see NCCU rapidly approaching the 10,000-student mark under Ammons' leadership. It will be quite an accomplishment to have yet another public HBCU reach this level. The only two single-campus, public HBCUs that have this status currently are Texas Southern and FAMU.
When enrollment is busting at the seams, the legislature cannot deny you more money to grow. Unsurprisingly, NCCU's legislative appropriations have grown by leaps and bounds under Ammons' tenure.
Keep up the great work, Mr. Chancellor!
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