First day for new UNCA Chancellor Nancy Cable

Alexandria Bordas | The Citizen-Times

Show Caption Hide Caption UNCA chooses new chancellor UNC Asheville's new chancellor Nancy J. Cable talks about her role as the eighth chancellor at the university.

ASHEVILLE - Nancy Cable smooths down the creases of her white jacket and straightens a few errant papers on her otherwise spotless wooden desk.

Warm lighting circles the office, which is shaded heavily by trees wrapped around Phillips Hall at UNC Asheville. Everything is impeccable as Cable prepares for her first day as chancellor, a week before students are due to start fall classes.

Cable's bright and easy smile during an interview Tuesday – two days ahead of when a new crew of freshman are set to move into dorms – came in contrast to her strong, calculated handshake, implying she was ready for any task thrown her way. Cable said she is aware of the challenges ahead if she is to forge her own path in the position.

Mary K. Grant left a stamp on the university before she departed to Boston to take over as president of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the U.S. Senate, a nonprofit educational institution and specialty museum. Grant championed community engagement, service learning and campus growth.

But mostly, Cable said she is excited to be a newly converted UNCA Bulldog. She is the eighth chancellor in the school’s 91-year history.

"I want to convey what a privilege I think it is to be affiliated with this university in a strong UNC system," Cable said. "I am looking forward to working with every individual inside the campus and outside with the community and residents to advance the interests of the institution and the liberal arts."



Cable came to UNCA after working in Jacksonville, Florida, at the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, which has given over 3,800 grants totaling more than $300 million to colleges and universities, hospitals, medical schools and divinity schools across the nation.

At the foundation, Cable was the president and program officer for higher education for almost six years before being tapped by UNC System President Margaret Spellings in June for the job of chancellor at UNCA.

“I am thrilled to welcome Dr. Cable to UNC Asheville and our UNC System,” Spellings said in a statement.

“Dr. Cable will bring a nationally-recognized, highly-regarded and prestigious body of work in higher education to lead a university that also boasts these same qualities, so this choice could not be more fitting.”

Higher education has always been a special interest for her, Cable said. While attending a small liberal arts school in Ohio, she threw herself into all aspects of campus life.

She was a resident adviser, an assistant to a fine arts and history teacher, worked as an on-campus tour guide and, most importantly, Cable said she learned the value of liberal arts.

"I had the opportunity to grow in a variety of ways while I was a student," Cable said. "We need students who are highly educated in arts and sciences because it teaches them that they can do anything. It gives students a sense of character, integrity and appreciation for the values of others that is vital in all aspects of higher ed."

Cable said she loved working at foundations, but after a while, she found herself longing to be back at a campus, where she had spent many years working in a variety of leadership roles.

Her larger goals for UNCA are still being molded, Cable said, but she wants to use the decades of experience accumulated by UNCA's faculty and staff to carve out a path for herself.

Student hopes for the new chancellor

Jackson Myers chose UNCA because of the campus family-like feel, he said.

Myers said he loves that every day as he walks to class, he is bound to run into his friends.

“I couldn’t get that at the larger UNC schools,” said Jackson, 22, a senior student studying political science.

His hopes for Cable are that she treats the campus like a team – working with students and faculty and helping one another to meet goals.

Kinsey Danzis is finishing her studies as a creative writing and history student. She fell in love with Asheville and the university because of the opportunities it gives students from diverse backgrounds – which cannot be said for surrounding areas, Danzis said.

“We are an island of blue here in Asheville,” said Danzis, 21.

Danzis said she hopes that Cable will not be afraid to defend the rights of students even in the face of tumultuous times, and will be consistent in her promise to work on behalf of students.

Fellow student Lilly Augspurger agrees with Danzis, and said she wants a leader who will continue to support the diverse nature that is UNCA.

“I also want there to be a continued emphasis on liberal arts,” said Augspurger, 20, who is double majoring in creative writing and French.

Starting a new chapter

Continuing to diversify the campus is one area Cable wants to focus on, among many others, she said.

UNCA has about 3,800 undergraduate and graduate students. More than 3,000 are white and more than 90 percent are from North Carolina.

"This is important because we have a moral obligation to educate young and adult students to be effective leaders in an increasingly shrinking world demographically," Cable said. "We want to find people whose life experience is as diverse as possible, because that’s what our students will be met with when they leave here."

Cable echoes sentiments made by recently retired political science professor Dwight Mullen, who said he wants to see UNCA be more connected to the wider Asheville community.

She said she sees that as an area where the university could improve, and wants to make that a priority amid a quickly growing to do list.

"We want to see a porous relationship not just with leaders but with all citizens and communities of Asheville," Cable said. "We can share resources in appropriate ways with citizens that want to use students as interns in community development programs."

Although she expects her first year to be a whirlwind, Cable said she is hoping she will be able to enjoy the beauty and fun that Asheville has to offer.

She said she's heard on many occasions that Asheville offers some of the best craft beer in the world, but food is where Cable's real interest lies - and the outdoors.

"I can't wait to get out on the French Broad River for a float," Cable said. "But I have also heard about the strengths of the arts and crafts programs in the area. As the daughter of a cellist, I support both bluegrass and classical music."

Leading up to her first week as chancellor, Cable has already begun to meet with new students and athletes.

Cable is enthusiastic about the upcoming sporting events and said she will be out there cheering as often as possible.

As Cable stood Tuesday in the breezeway of Phillips Hall overlooking the tree covered campus, she relaxed for a few seconds and smiled to herself before being told by her assistant that she has to rush off to another meeting.

Her first year will inevitably be a test, but Cable said she isn't worried about it - her decades of experience in higher education have her feeling right at home.

"There is a spirit here that makes it a joy to be at this university," Cable said.