Senior Officers | Chancellor's Office Staff

  Stephen Demski

The vice chancellor for public service and continuing studies reports to the chancellor and furnishes leadership to an entrepreneurial unit that serves as a liaison between the community and the university and develops products to meet specific lifelong learning needs (e.g. professional development via online courses, interactive Web services for non-profits, conference facilities, etc.).

Because of the dynamic and ever-changing communities that the university serves, the ability to envision future directions, strategically plan and develop leaders are essential skills needed for the vice chancellor. The vice chancellor is responsible for coordinating and directing the efforts of a staff of diverse professionals who are designing services and facilitating problem solving to respond to specific strategic challenges within the scope of the university's mission.

Units reporting to the vice chancellor are:

• Community Outreach Services - COSMOS (technology outreach, WebU, database for nonprofit organizations, SpinNC.org)
• Contractual extended education (virtual university, Camp Lejeune professional development)
• UNCW-TV
• Continuing education (lifelong learning, youth programs, etc.)
• Executive Development Center (off-campus conference center)
• Public service programming (free community relations programming and activities such as the "Living Southern" lecture series and Celebrate Wilmington arts collaboration.

In addition, the vice chancellor:

• Collaborates with academic deans and departments to facilitate and originate
• Provides solutions to regional problems and responds to opportunities
• Serves as the chief fiscal officer on all entrepreneurial activities, coordinates activities with other divisions and external constituencies
• Implements and enforces university policies and regulations which pertain to areas under the division
• Coordinates, manages and disseminates demographic data on the diversified publics that are served, using the data to introduce and revise procedures and policies to facilitate university planning
• Recognizes, supports and develops the human resources within the Division for Public Service and Continuing Studies
• Advises the chancellor and the board of trustees on issues relating to the public service mission of the university.
• Participates locally, regionally and nationally in professional associations that are involved in public service, lifelong learning and the development of effective learning environments
• Works with the provost as an associate provost to enhance the development of technology mediated learning environments.
• Performs additional duties and responsibilities as directed by the chancellor.

Division for Public Service and Continuing Studies