Just in time for the holidays, a story broke about the secret gifts a few UNC Trustees have been giving their well-connected friends: improper and unfair advantages in the UNC admissions process.
In December, the publication The Assembly attained a slew of text messages through a public records request that exposed the undue influence Trustees were placing directly on UNC admissions officials to admit certain students.
These weren’t run-of-the-mill, one-time recommendations. These were persistent messages asking for admissions updates that were not available to the typical applicant, among other improper requests and inquiries from influential Trustees.
As The Assembly detailed in one instance of Board of Trustees Chair John Preyer communicating directly with university official Chris McClure:
In early April, Preyer reached out about an applicant that he said he’d received a call about. McClure told Preyer that the individual was waitlisted. He added that the applicant was “middle of the pack from [redacted]” and may have a full ride to Princeton University, though he said he would “make another run at it.”
The first part of Preyer’s response is largely redacted, but in the latter part he wrote: “… so that is hard to see as middle of pack unless there is a bunch of Asians involved?”
In May, Preyer told McClure that “a little push would be nice” after asking him to check someone’s status. The following month, he asked McClure “whether [redacted] could get a second look.”
As alumni and supporters of Carolina, we all have a deep love for the University and many of us have probably done our best to help family and friends who want to join the Carolina family. Typically, that’s writing a letter of recommendation and leaving it at that. Perhaps making a call and then wishing the aspiring student the best of luck. There’s no circumventing the process for most of us. And as it should be: that’s how we keep Carolina fair and equitable for those of all backgrounds – not just the well-connected.
Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges President Fram Virjee was contacted by the News & Observer to get his thoughts on the Trustees’ documented actions, and he made clear that Trustees should not be “getting involved in the day-to-day operations of admissions, and definitely not reviewing individual admissions decisions.”
The University of North Carolina is the people’s university. When Trustees circumvent that process to help their friends, it undermines the values at Carolina’s core. It’s time for Trustees to realize it’s their job to serve the university and its mission – not have the university serve them.