Aswani Volety, Chancellor, University of North Carolina Wilmington

In an interview with Invest:, Aswani Volety, chancellor of the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW), discussed enrollment growth, plans for a medical school, community partnerships, artificial intelligence, and programs aligned with regional workforce needs. “Our goal is not to teach you what to think, but how to think,” Volety said.

What developments have shaped the university over the past year?

The past year has been good for the university. While many universities and states are experiencing enrollment declines, North Carolina is bucking that trend, and UNC Wilmington’s enrollment has grown significantly.

That growth reflects our focus on students, support services, faculty and staff engagement, a beautiful campus, and the right academic programs. Our partnerships with local industries also

provide students with internships, research opportunities, and other forms of practical experience.

The UNC Board of Governors approved us to plan a medical school, and we are now considering the next steps. We also broke ground on Hammerhead Hall, a 540-bed residence hall, and commissioned the Research Vessel Osprey for our Center for Marine Science.

UNCW is North Carolina’s coastal university, and marine science is one of our greatest strengths. The Osprey will be approximately 75 to 78 feet long and will become the largest state-owned research vessel in North Carolina. For reference, it is roughly the size of a blue whale.

We also hired a new provost and a new chief of staff. Academically, we graduated the first cohort from our accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. It is a four-semester program that takes 15 months to complete for individuals who already have a bachelor’s degree and want to transition into nursing.

How is UNCW responding to regional workforce needs?

As a regional public institution funded by taxpayers, we have a responsibility to support local and regional needs. We invest in programs that address workforce demand, benefit the community, and demonstrate the value of higher education to individuals, families, and the state.

We must serve traditional-age students while expanding opportunities for nontraditional learners. Demographic patterns are changing, and many people either never enrolled in college or left before completing a degree. They still need opportunities to upskill or reskill, improve their careers, and provide for their families.

Through Project Kitty Hawk, a UNC System initiative, we are creating additional pathways for nontraditional learners. Current offerings include an interdisciplinary studies degree and a workforce development degree through the Watson College of Education. We also have programs in areas such as business and engineering in the pipeline.

People cannot always put their lives on hold and return to school full-time. We need to design flexible opportunities that support them wherever they are in life.

How can the university strengthen its role as an economic engine?

Our current annual economic impact is approximately $2 billion. Students contribute through tuition and spending on and off campus, while faculty and staff support the economy through housing, purchases, and other activities.
Our first priority is maintaining enrollment strength. The planned medical school could also become a major economic engine for the region. A medical resident who remains in the area can generate approximately $500,000 in annual economic impact. A physician who remains and practices locally can generate approximately $3 million in annual impact and support 17 jobs.

When the medical school and its related activities are fully developed, the annual regional impact could reach between $1 billion and $1.5 billion.

The university also holds the Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement, reflecting how closely we work with the community. We connect regional needs with expertise on campus, but these partnerships are mutually beneficial. Students gain opportunities to work on real-world challenges, while businesses and organizations benefit from their ideas and research.

Public-private partnerships let us maximize resources and help students use classroom concepts in practical settings. Those relationships include businesses, nonprofit organizations, healthcare providers, and other community partners.

The state has also committed substantial funding for campus projects over the next two to three years — an investment approaching $100 million. That includes the renovation and expansion of Cameron Hall, renovations to Kenan Auditorium, and improvements to DeLoach Hall. Additional funding for the medical school would be above and beyond this commitment.

How are partnerships expanding the healthcare workforce pipeline?

Healthcare access is a growing challenge. The nation is aging, and the Wilmington area is attracting many residents who are 55 and older. North Carolina is projected to face significant shortages across healthcare professions, and most people already understand how difficult it can be to secure a timely medical appointment.

One local success has been supported by The Endowment, which was created after the sale of the county hospital. The endowment invested more than $22 million in UNCW, Cape Fear Community College, the Greater Wilmington Chamber of Commerce, and New Hanover County Schools (K-12 system) to expand the nursing pipeline.

Each institution uses those resources differently. The community college provides scholarships and wraparound supports for such things as housing, equipment, or childcare support for students. At UNCW, we have created a cohort-based model and also evaluate students for admission into our nursing program more holistically, considering whether they are likely to remain locally after graduation as part of our review criteria.

Students taking part in pathway programs meet together, learn about the community, get connected with the healthcare industry and local employers, gain certifications, are trained in leadership and mentoring, and receive additional supports. We also work to strengthen pathways from high school to community college or university, and then to employment in our community upon graduation. In all, these partners run over a dozen pathway programs designed to help local students gain interest in healthcare professions and gain the exposure necessary to help retain them locally after graduation.

We focus a great deal of attention on the development of pathway programming for k-12 and college students to expose them to healthcare-related fields, help them see themselves as a professional in this area, connect them with the community (personally and professionally), and provide them with mentoring and leadership skills to work with near peers.

The Chancellor’s comments are directed at our Coastal Community Healthcare Fellows program. This program hosts 3 chapters for pre-licensure nurses at CFCC and UNCW and also for RN-BSN students at UNCW. These students are connected with the community (personally and professionally), provided with mentoring and leadership skills to work with near peers.

Our healthcare partners include Novant Health, MedNorth Health Center, retirement communities, and other organizations throughout the county. The results are encouraging. A local health system recently reported a 103% increase in the number of nursing graduates from UNCW that they are hiring to work at their hospital.

State funding, hospital investments, scholarships, and philanthropy have all contributed. Dr. Yousry and Linda Sayed also committed $25 million to expanding education and the healthcare pipeline. These partnerships improve human health while creating economic benefits for the region.

How is artificial intelligence changing teaching and learning?

Artificial intelligence is exciting and challenging because it is evolving so quickly. It resembles the arrival of the internet, computers, or earlier technologies. It creates possibilities, but it also causes disruption.

Our responsibility is to prepare people to navigate that disruption and take advantage of what the technology offers. AI creates significant opportunities in teaching, research, and scholarship, regardless of whether someone is a faculty member, student, lawyer, or doctor.
Faculty members once entered classrooms as the primary content experts. AI can now gather information from many sources more quickly than any individual. Students also no longer come to class simply to receive information because information is readily available online.

The question is how we help students translate information into knowledge and learning. Faculty members may need to see themselves less as the sole content experts and more as people who support learning and professional growth.

Students will use AI, so assignments must evolve. Instead of simply asking for a five-page paper, faculty can require students to show how a draft changed, explain what feedback they received, defend an argument, or describe how they concluded.

We want students to use AI ethically, responsibly, and productively without weakening their critical-thinking skills. Our goal is not to teach you what to think, but how to think.

We must also invest in faculty and staff development. AI can handle some lower-order work and allow people to devote more time to higher-order thinking, creativity, and engagement. It will not eliminate the importance of human relationships. In many professions, the human element will become even more valuable.

What are UNCW’s priorities for the next several years?

We will continue developing programs that address regional workforce needs. That includes advancing the medical school, hiring faculty and staff, designing the curriculum, and developing a facility that supports technology-enabled learning.

Because we can build the curriculum from the ground up, we are not limited by how medical education has traditionally operated. We can incorporate best practices, artificial intelligence, simulations, telemedicine, and other emerging approaches from the beginning.

We are also awaiting accreditation decisions for a physician assistant studies program and a doctorate in physical therapy, and we may expand our engineering offerings.

Hospitality and resort management present another opportunity because Wilmington is a major tourism destination and one of North Carolina’s fastest-growing communities. Our role would not be to duplicate strong culinary programs elsewhere, but to teach the business side of hospitality, including supply chains, marketing, communications, and tax planning.

Financial technology, customized software, clinical research, and pharmaceuticals are also important in regional industries. We work with companies to design programs that prepare students to be career-ready. Industry representatives serve on advisory boards so that our curriculum can respond to workforce needs in a timely way.

We will also continue investing in physical infrastructure, including a welcome center, the proposed hotel and conference center, Hammerhead Hall, Cameron School of Business, DeLoach Hall, and Kenan Auditorium. Our future depends on combining strong community partnerships, relevant academic programs, and the physical infrastructure needed to support growth.