Month: February 2022

Paul Fulton Suggestions for Good Governance

Posted on

In our February 2, 2022 webinar, Winston-Salem businessman and former Board of Governors member Mr. Paul Fulton provided suggestions for how the UNC system governing bodies can provide stability and leadership that empowers not distracts. Some of his suggestions:

  • Ensure that the diversity of the Board of Governors and Board of Trustees matches the diversity of North Carolina and our universities.
  • De-politicize the selection process:
    • Distribute responsibility for appointing board members more broadly.
    • Restore the governor’s previously stripped appointing ability.
    • Perhaps adopt a law that would require minority party representation.
  • Appoint qualified board members who:
    • Fit with the universities’ needs 
    • Understand that their duty and loyalty is to the institution that the board represents not to the institution or elected official that appoints board members.
    • Perform their duties according to governance best practices.  Their role is to shape policy, not micromanage, nor get involved in day-to-day operations.

Video transcript of Mr. Paul Fulton – Winston-Salem businessman and former Board of Governors member:

I’m a firm believer that our university is the state’s greatest asset. I know a lot of other people that would agree with that. But today, as you’ve heard, a little bit already, our university tells

a very complicated story with world class highs. (We’ve certainly had a number of those.) We also have some dominating headline lows. And in recent years, the turmoil has risen sharply.

The UNC system has had its reputation tarnished. Good leaders have left our campuses and our campus has been upended and distracted. So, to me, it leaves us with one really central question, how can the UNC system provide stability and leadership that empowers not distracts the leaders of our campus level where the real work is really being done?

Put differently, how can we improve governance?

The two basic issues or problems facing our university regarding governance. Number one is over politicization of our governing boards. Number two, the selection process for our government boards and the two are definitely connected.

So here are a few suggestions from these prominent leaders. First, from Don Flow, a prominent Winston Salem business man and leader, and I quote Don, “For decades,

The UNC system has achieved excellence because of great leaders, but good leaders need an environment and a structure that supports them. They need a governance structure that enables visionary planning as well as bold action.” 

Flow continues, “We must look at the selection process. If it is not depoliticized, the UNC system will be significantly and permanently diminished.”

Former Board of Governors Chair Lou Bissette said, “This is a diverse state, but we do not have a diverse board. Of the board’s 24 members today, only two live west of Charlotte,” and Lou is very sensitive about that coming from Asheville. Only three are persons of color. Only five are women and only one Democrat. And that simply is not representative of our state.

Former Governor Jim Martin said that just as we need diversity of thought among professors, we also need diversity on the governing board. Governor Martin proposed that we again adopt a law and that is a law that would require minority party representation on governing boards.

And as Senator Burr and Erskine Bowles stated, we should debate among all of us how to improve the makeup of the board, overseeing the UNC schools, ensuring bipartisan representation, which should be a good first step towards fostering stability.

Bissette and others had authority for appointing board members should be distributed more broadly. In the past, including the governor, most folks thought it was healthy.

Bissette and Belle Wheelan, who you’ll hear from in a minute and Chancellor Moeser already introduced, Belle Wheelan the President and CEO of the agency that accredits all 16 UNC institutions both pointed out that a board member’s duties is to the institution that it represents. It’s not to the institution that appoints its members and no micromanagement.

Wheelan, Flow and former Bank of America CEO Hugh McColl said board members are to shape policy. They’re not there to manage day to day operations. When a board intervenes in management, it drives away executive talent, and we all know that, Don Flow was quoted to say that, “any board that engages in operational details will always undermine the president.” Again, something we all know.

Our goal here is to elevate the discussion of governance. The best outcome we could have would be for a commission to study these proposals and others and make recommendations to the governor and the Legislature.

Hugh McColl said recently, “it is time for state leaders to step in and improve a governance situation that has become fundamentally unsustainable.”

Thank you, it’s a pleasure being here today.

Visit our YouTube channel for more content from our University Governance Webinar.

Eric Johnson: #CarolinaLove

Posted on

What do you value/love about Carolina?

My love for Carolina is in the same category as my love for America: a set of impossibly idealistic aspirations, rarely achieved but always worth striving toward. I think it’s an absolute miracle that a deeply impoverished southern state built this place, sustained it for two centuries, and continues to support it today. It’s miraculous that any society has managed to build and celebrate institutions purpose-built to question orthodoxy and encourage free thinking. “There is a vast educational culture in this country, unlike anything else in the world,” writes Marilynne Robinson. “It emerged from a glorious sense of the possible and explored and enhanced the possible through the spread of learning.”

What do you value/love that?

That’s what I feel when I walk across campus at Carolina — a glorious sense of the possible. Public universities, Robinson says, ”are a tribute and an invitation to the young, who can and should make the world new, out of the unmapped and unbounded resource of their minds.” That invitation is still very much open, and not just to the young.

Politics and University Governance

Posted on

While politics have been a factor in university governance in the past, the level of overreach UNC is experiencing is unprecedented.  We asked Former Chancellor Holden Thorp, Chancellor Emeritus James Moeser, and SACSCOC President Belle Wheelan to share their perspectives on how politics in university governance has changed over time.  Check out their responses about politics in the accompanying videos. The Coalition will examine the impact current unprecedented governance overreach in future posts.

Coalition for Carolina: How are politics impacting higher education governance around the country?

Dr. Holden Thorp: Well, we have a whole lot of incidents around the country of boards becoming more intrusive into higher education. And, mostly it relates to how conservative politics would prefer to see higher education carry out their work. And, this really comes down to the fact that there has been, over the last about 50 years or so, an effort by the political right to change facts when they need to change them to suit their political goals.

Coalition for Carolina: How did university governance work in the past?

Dr. James Moeser: I was thinking back about my time when I was chancellor from 2000 to 2008 and one of the things I realized is that I never knew quite exactly what particular party a particular board member subscribed to, or whether he or she was a member of a party.  I remember once a conversation with one of my best board chairs, Tim Burnett. And, I said to him, “Tim I thought you were a Republican.”  He said,” whatever gave you that idea?  I’m not a Republican.” I’m not sure exactly what Tim’s party affiliation was, if he had one, but, the point is that with both trustees and Board of Governors members, I was more concerned about their affiliation with an institution or a region of the state…. I was never concerned about their political affiliation.  That is to say that governance in North Carolina was essentially nonpartisan.  And now today it’s very partisan and very political and that’s a corruption, in my view. And, I think it’s something we are determined to change.

Coalition for Carolina: How have politics and university governance changed over time?

Dr. Belle Wheelan: It is true that for years our boards have been political whether the Democrats were in charge or the Republicans were in charge. It just appears that of recent, not just at UNC, but all across the country, there is a shift in the ideology of board members of what should be done, and what shouldn’t be done at that then puts them on the other side, if you will, of what the administration may propose. And, so you end up with policies that look very different than what we are accustomed to seeing because there is a change in philosophy.

Visit our YouTube channel for more content from our University Governance Webinar.

What Does It Mean to Love Carolina?

Posted on

By Mimi Chapman

“He loves Carolina.”  “She really loves Carolina.” “Of course, they love Carolina.” Referencing generous alums, trusted advisors, sports coaches, legislators, recent graduates, trustees’ past and present, the “loving Carolina” moniker is applied to so many. Everyone it seems “loves Carolina.”  I don’t doubt it, but such catch phrases are often a kind of code. At this moment in the University’s history when there is so much right, so much still to do, within a governance structure that is fraught, “loving Carolina” is a code worth dissecting.

Having moved across the country years ago, I am not deeply connected to my Texas undergraduate campus. But if someone were to ask me if I loved the place, if I had a meaningful psychological connection to it, I would probably say yes.  I had professors that challenged me, read transformational books, and had important experiences that set me on my professional path. What’s more, I love who I was during my college days enthusiastic and curious about most everything, football games and formals, plays and poetry, studying abroad, new techniques in the darkroom, and chasing the moon down rural country lanes with the top down. That place gave me those memories and so I love it. But I know next to nothing about the day-to-day reality of that campus now, what it takes to run it, what the tensions are among students, faculty, and the administration.  My love is based solely in memory. 

That is not to say all Carolina alums “love Carolina” because of their memories. Some can see their time in Chapel Hill as part of a long-running river that changes the landscape and is changed by that landscape in return. Others devote time and treasure to the place in hopes that they can preserve or return the campus to some former version of itself.  Others “love Carolina” because it is struggling with hard historical questions and working to live up to ideals of equity and inclusion. Some “love Carolina” for more specific reasons. UNC Health Care saved life or limb. A campus discovery or innovation added value to their business. Maybe their community was helped by the incredible state-wide work in which many of our schools engage. Perhaps they’ve become used to having their favorite artists – Martha Graham, Alvin Ailey, Joshua Bell, or Yo Yo Ma – routinely show up at Carolina Performing Arts. Faculty love Carolina’s “low stone walls” culture that leads to robust cross disciplinarity, committed students, prize winning colleagues.  In some ways, we all love Carolina, but, perhaps we love different Carolinas and not all loves have room for everything that happens on our campus.  

When I go beyond the “loving Carolina” code, I believe that I am being told to trust people who “love Carolina” without question. “Loving Carolina” protects people from critique whether their decision-making is transparent or opaque, deceptive, or straight-forward, wise or misguided. But in a culture of diverse interests and conflicting values, trust based on handshakes and coded language is failing. It’s time to look under the hood.  A love for a winning sports team may be rooted in values like loyalty and submitting one’s desires for the good of the team. A love for a faculty fellowship program may be more about scholarship that thrives through autonomy and solitude. Gratitude, second chances, repaying a priceless debt characterizes a Carolina love rooted in care at UNC Hospitals. Some students love the Carolina of the blue cup and others love the fight for justice. There are Carolina parents who are astounded by the opportunities that come to their children who choose this campus. Some, like me, love all of it and others only part.

This Valentine’s day it’s time to go beyond the platitudes and the coded language. Let’s show that we love Carolina by being honest with ourselves and others about what we value about this place. And let’s talk about it. Such a dialogue could provide an opportunity to bring our governing boards, faculty, staff, students, and administration into more productive dialogue and alignment. 

A RIGHT TURN: HAS GOP INFLUENCED HOW THE UNC SYSTEM IS LED?

Posted on

Our title is copied from the title of a series recently published in the Charlotte Observer and News & Observer. The series introduction reads as follows:

“Have corrosive tensions between conservative leadership and more liberal campus cultures, along with a run of bad press, done enough to actually damage the University of North Carolina System’s traditionally stellar quality during a decade of Republican control? Are some groups of people being left behind? Read this series of special commentary from the opinion staff at The Charlotte Observer and The News & Observer.”

We’ve read each piece in the series and they are very well worth your time to read if you’re concerned about what’s happening with governance of the UNC system. Several of our followers on social media have asked if we can reprint the pieces in their entirety since they require a subscription to view. Unfortunately, we don’t have permission to reprint that content, however we have shared a few of our takeaways below.

Note: One reader on Twitter asked why more republicans were not quoted in the pieces. Here is the response from Ned Barnett, the lead journalist of the series:

“We sought comment from the chair of the UNC Board of Governors, the chair of the UNC-CH Board of Trustees and House speaker Tim Moore. None responded. We asked UNC Board of Governors member Leo Daughtry to comment, he declined to comment.”

Part 1: Has a decade of Republican maneuvering really harmed the UNC System? | Opinion 

  • UNC board of governors members are political appointees who then go on to appoint like-minded board of trustee members. The appointment and selection processes are, therefore, political.
  • In the wake of a demoralized faculty, declining faculty salaries, and a series of embarrassing episodes that make national headlines, the UNC System president, Peter Hans, believes the fundamentals of the UNC system are strong.

Part 2: Across the UNC System, signs of Republican influence | Opinion 

Instances of GOP influence and impact on UNC system on multiple campuses is examined. Campuses highlighted include NC State, East Carolina, Fayetteville State, NC Central, Western Carolina. Topics cover covid, campus life, chancellors, the current chaos and more.

Part 3: NC has cut spending on higher education — at the expense of everyone else | Opinion 

A compelling piece by Paige Masten on waning state investment in higher education.

  • State investment in higher education decreased 13% between 2008 and 2020
  • The expense from the disinvestment was passed on to students and parents
  • Campuses have been forced to seek private funds to meet needs – both Carolina and NC State just finished billion-dollar campaigns. (We know from what happened with Nikole Hannah-Jones that private funds can come with strings.)
  • Faculty pay has fallen behind that of peers

Part 4: Who is UNC-Chapel Hill truly for? Just the university of (some) people? | Opinion 

This piece details the challenges in preparing students from rural NC and other diverse backgrounds for the academic rigor that Carolina provides. The writer makes a case for adequately funding all of public education and providing the additional resources these students need to succeed.

Chart: NC appropriations for full-time college students decreased more than national average 

The referenced chart shows the trend in per student funding between 2008 and 2020. Here is a quote from the piece: “

“Per-student appropriations for higher education in North Carolina decreased by 13% between 2008 and 2020, when adjusted for inflation. The U.S. average in that same time period was just a 2% decrease.”

Webinar Recording: How University Governance Impacts UNC

Posted on

On February 2, 2022 UNC-CH Chancellor Emeritus James Moeser moderated a panel discussion on university governance. Topics included shared governance, university governance practices, current governance challenges, governance board overreach, and how accreditation issues are impacted by governing decisions.

Featured speakers were:
– Paul Fulton – Former dean of the Kenan-Flagler Business School and former member of BOG and BOT
– Dr. Holden Thorp – Editor-in-Chief at Science Family of Journals, former UNC Chancellor
– Dr. Belle Wheelan – President of Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). SACSCOC oversees accreditation for over 800 southern colleges and universities.

Copy the link below and paste it in your browser to access the webinar recording:

https://zoom.us/rec/share/9D0L_d7eLfUiYUk12TC57lE5Ej9rVFbv8E6cz6yfBJyInLvRwn-H8eu5FR0cUswr.bPHUIG12_AxXQp7J?startTime=1643833856000

PLEASE ENTER PASSCODE:

gF%V=4$+