Hiding the SCiLL Report
The School of Civic Life and Leadership (SCiLL) has been a headache for the University since its inception. We’ve covered SCiLL extensively – from the school’s undeniable right-wing origins and its fast-tracked approval process by the UNC Board of Trustees, to its rapid faculty turnover and accusations of mismanagement that led to an independent investigation. […]
A Note from Professor Mimi Chapman
We’ve recently written about several topics that affect UNC faculty’s ability to teach and speak freely. A new campus recording policy, a new syllabi policy and a likely new definition of academic freedom are just a few things faculty members are grappling with at the moment. The world is changing quickly. While many of us […]
Kramer: Abolishing Area Studies Centers is Wrong
The following post was submitted to The Coalition for Carolina by Dr. Lloyd Kramer. Kramer is a professor emeritus of history and former chair of the Faculty Council at UNC, Chapel Hill. UNC Should Not Close its Global Studies Centers. The recent announcement that UNC-Chapel Hill plans to close its six thriving Global Studies Centers […]
Faculty Denied Input on Syllabi Decision
Recently, we’ve seen too many instances of University leaders and governance bypassing faculty input and undermining standard decision-making protocol – from Trustees meddling in the Bill Belichick hiring process to fast-tracking the creation of the School of Civic Life and Leadership (SCiLL) without faculty input. The latest example came from the UNC System that governs […]
Carolina Rejects Trump’s Compact
Friends, We did it! Thanks to your overwhelming response to our “Reject the Trump Administration’s Compact” petition, Carolina’s leadership has expressed its opposition to signing on to the Trump administration’s so-called “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education.” At a faculty council meeting last Friday, Chancellor Lee Roberts called the compact an “infringement on academic […]
Delivered! Thank you.
Friends, Thank you again for your incredible response to our “Reject the Trump Administration’s Compact” petition. Earlier this week, we delivered the petition to members of the North Carolina General Assembly, the UNC Board of Governors and President Peter Hans and the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees and Chancellor Lee Roberts. We are encouraged by […]
1,378 Signatures and Counting!
The response to our “Reject the Trump Administration’s Compact” petition has been incredible! You’ve helped us barrel past 1,300 signatures. Thank you. How far can we go? Can we make it to 2,500 signatures? Help us get as many signatures as possible by Friday. Will you share the petition with your friends, family and social […]
Taking the Trustees to Task
Sometimes, our work of providing information and commentary on the actions of the UNC Board of Trustees feels a bit niche – hugely important and consequential for Carolina, but not always attention grabbing to the masses. That changed when former Provost Chris Clemens filed a lawsuit earlier this week against the Trustees, alleging that members […]
A Commitment to Tenure
With all the uncertainty going on in academia and higher ed at this time, it’s more important than ever that Carolina protect tenure for our talented faculty. A few weeks ago, we covered a recent Board of Trustees meeting where a tenure vote for eligible faculty was conspicuously absent from the agenda. The incident was […]
Carolina’s Accreditation – Bring Your Own Referee?
We received overwhelming response to last week’s newsletter about recent threats to the independence of Carolina’s alumni association. This week, we wanted to cover another topic that has been in the news recently but perhaps isn’t getting the attention it deserves: the overhaul of university accreditation. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on […]