Drupal 7 Warning
If you can convince your stakeholder(s) to forgo a carousel, that is always the best option, as a static hero image is much easier to implement on the front page of a Drupal site and can be just as effective (if not more). If freshness of the front page is a concern, the hero image can always be swapped out manually on a regular basis.
Should I Use a Carousel?
If you need good reasoning for yourself or your stakeholder(s), "Should I Use a Carousel?" is a really helpful site for explaining both the marketing and technical downsides to carousels.
The reality is that most of the common carousel systems for Drupal have some accessibility issues, which is something that has legal ramifications on-campus and for higher education.
Creating a Carousel
If you are more technically-minded and do not mind writing your own code for Drupal, there are some useful Web Accessibility Initiative Guidelines for Accessible Carousels that will give you much of the framework needed to create an accessible carousel system from scratch.
For More Information
For more information on carousels and slide shows and the latest campus developments, please see the Slide Shows and Carousels page of the Georgia Tech Drupal Editor's Handbook.