During the summer lull, we are watching two important developments at UNC: the search for a new chancellor and the dismantling of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs.
Chancellor Search
The next chancellor will need to raise $1 billion a year, UNC Board of Trustees member Jennifer Lloyd said. “We have to be sober about that fact here: No matter how great the chancellor candidates, at the end of the day, the chancellor has a tangible deliverable goal on private giving.”
The Chancellor Search Advisory Committee met June 11 and plans to meet again in August.
Beth Moracco, Faculty Chair and member of the search committee, said, “The ambitious goal is to have someone named by the end of the calendar year.”
Many observers expect Interim Chancellor Lee Roberts to get the permanent position.
Brian Murphy at WRAL News reported, “Prominent Republican lawmakers, such as House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate leader Phil Berger — who are influential in the process that determine university funding — publicly called for Roberts to get the permanent job after his handling of campus protests in April.”
Read the WRAL article here: https://www.wral.com/story/unc-chancellor-search-fundraising/21516935/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_source=wral&utm_term=NC%20Capitol
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
The UNC System’s legal affairs division this month released guidance on the future of DEI programs at all 16 UNC campuses.
Korie Dean at The News & Observer wrote:
“The four-page document of guidance does not explicitly instruct university chancellors to eliminate DEI offices. But it clearly indicates that those offices and jobs within them are at-risk as the leaders work to make necessary changes to comply with the new system policy on ‘equality within the University of North Carolina,’ which replaced the former DEI requirements after the board’s vote in May….
“The guidance makes clear that merely changing diversity-related job titles, so as to remove their ties to DEI, is ‘insufficient’ and will not be enough to comply with the new policy. Instead, the responsibilities of employees and their job descriptions should also be altered, with a focus on ‘student success,’ to comply.”
Read Dean’s story here: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/education/article289668304.html#storylink=cpy
Read UNC’s news release on the guidance: https://www.unc.edu/posts/2024/07/15/unc-system-shares-guidance-regarding-dei/