CHAPEL HILL – Interim Chancellor Kevin M. Guskiewicz describes his priorities for UNC Chapel Hill very concisely.

“At Carolina, I talk about us really needing to be strategic, bold and student-focused,” Guskiewicz, who established himself as an academic researching sports concussions, says in the accompanying video.

He points to Blueprint for Next, the university’s strategic plan, and two of its central pillars: Of the Public, For the Public; and Innovation Made Fundamental. 

“We can’t say we’re going to be great at everything,” he says. “We’re just encouraging faculty … to think about that Blueprint for Next, and identifying how we’re going to be strategic and identifying where we want to really focus.

“And to be bold – to put some, as I tell people, audacious ideas out there. You might say, ‘I think we could never do that,’ and I’m like, ‘Prove us wrong – we’re gonna do it.’

“And then always to end with being student-focused. That’s why we’re here, and we always have to return back to that,” he says.