Lee Roberts told the Coalition for Carolina last week he will be fair, open-minded and nonpartisan as UNC’s interim chancellor.
In a wide-ranging 75-minute webinar, Roberts also said:
- It’s “not my perspective” that there is a “liberal bias” at Carolina.
- The role of UNC Trustees should be “guidance, advice and advocacy.” He emphasized that he reports directly to UNC System President Peter Hans.
- The controversial new School of Civic Life and Leadership will be a “tremendous asset” to UNC.
More than 200 people watched the webinar live. Dr. Mimi Chapman and Roger Perry, two of our co-founders, moderated and posed questions to Roberts. You can watch the webinar here: LINK
“A respectful exchange of ideas”
In his opening remarks, Roberts said, “By any metric, Carolina is an extremely strong institution, whether you look at enrollment, public support, research funding or the success of our students and alumni. We have a lot of momentum, and I hope that people are proud of that….
“It’s a testament to the vision that we’ve had here in North Carolina and the confidence that everyone in leadership in North Carolina, no matter their political party or their partisan affiliation, have placed in higher education…
“I also think the arguments and debates about the future of Carolina are a good thing. They show how much people care about our university, how deeply they’re invested, how much this university matters to our state and to American higher education.
“We teach our students to value a respectful exchange of ideas. And I think we’re at our best as a university when we embrace that spirit and get everyone talking around the same table.”
During the Q&A, Roberts defended his work as state budget director under Governor Pat McCrory and responded to concerns about his relationship with Art Pope, a prominent conservative and founder of the John Locke Foundation.
Roberts said he is registered as an unaffiliated voter and promised, “I’ll be nonpartisan and open-minded.”
A “liberal bias”?
Chapman asked Roberts to respond to charges that there is a “liberal bias” among faculty members.
He said, “That’s not my perspective. We have talented faculty who work hard every day to educate students on their fields of expertise inside the classroom. Are there certain discussions about political views within certain spaces outside the classroom? Of course, absolutely. That’s where our job as a global university is to ensure that this is a place where all viewpoints can be heard, considered, debated.
“We have a responsibility to our students and to the broader community to share expertise, serve as a forum for debate and consider challenging viewpoints….
“I don’t think we should be afraid of having those conversations, so long as we’re respectful of other people’s opinions and allow a diversity of viewpoints to be heard.”
He said he came to the webinar immediately following a meeting with the Committee on Academic Freedom and Free Speech. The committee, he said, is making recommendations that will be important to the campus.
Role of UNC Trustees
Perry asked Roberts to address our concern that some trustees have interfered improperly in areas such as curriculum development.
Roberts said, “the trustees are an important source of guidance and advice on the overall direction of the university. They’re also important advocates for the university” to the Board of Governors and the General Assembly.
He added, “I report to the system president, Peter Hans, as everybody knows.”
He said, “we have a somewhat complex system,” with the board of trustees, Board of Governors, the system office and the General Assembly, “but my reporting line is clear, to the system president.”
He said he is aware there is “significant anxiety” surrounding governance issues. The proper balance of governance responsibilities “is obviously not perfectly clear every day on every issue and we have to navigate our way through that.”
Roberts said he hasn’t read the report of the Governor’s Commission on the Governance of Public Universities in North Carolina.
We encourage him to read it, as the report addresses a number of governance issues and proposes thoughtful recommendations for reform.
School of Civic Life and Leadership
Our coalition believes the creation of this school is a case of trustees’ overreach. Also, faculty members dispute the claim by the trustees’ chair that the school grew out of “six years of faculty planning.” We asked Roberts to respond.
He said the school “is going to be a tremendous asset to the university and, from what I’ve seen, should be a source of pride to Carolina.”
He said, “I’ve spent time with the new dean, Jed Atkins. His academic record is unimpeachable.” Roberts called him “an exciting addition to the Carolina community.”
Roberts added, “if we look around our society, we certainly don’t see a surplus of civility and civil discourse, so I think there’s a significant need” for the school.
“To the extent there are still skeptics out there,” he said, “I urge them to get involved in the work of the school and help build it into something we’ll all be proud of.”
Advocating for Faculty
Asked by Perry about his role in advocating for the faculty and for faculty compensation, Roberts said, “nothing we do is possible without world-class faculty, and we depend on the energy and talent of our researchers and teachers, so we obviously have to stay competitive.”
He added, “faculty salaries are objectively quantifiable, and I look forward to seeing more data on where we stand.”
Perry said faculty compensation was in the top quartile 10-12 years ago “and now it’s at the bottom of the third quartile or even into the fourth quartile…. We do have a strong concern that that’s a major issue.”
Roberts said, “that kind of data is very helpful, very compelling, when it comes to advocacy.”
Other Topics
Values: Asked to describe the values he brings to his position, Roberts responded: “Eagerness to listen and learn. Fair and open-minded. Empathy and humility.”
Priorities: He said he has appointed four working groups to report by August 1 on:
- Artificial Intelligence
- Updating the campus physical master plan
- Examining applied science offerings, and
- Assessing the size of enrollment.
Role of research: He said the General Assembly, the Board of Governors and North Carolina’s congressional delegation – and the average North Carolinian – don’t have a full appreciation for the contributions that research at UNC makes to the state. He said he would seek to address that.
Our Reaction
We were gratified that the interim chancellor was willing to engage in a discussion with us, knowing that we have been critical of recent developments on campus.
He chose his words carefully, avoiding any political minefields. His answers obviously will not satisfy all of his critics. But we welcome his openness, and we look forward to continuing a constructive conversation with him about the future of Carolina.