UNC is a place where experts in particular fields impart their knowledge to others in an institutionalized manner.
But while professors are already tremendously useful in the classroom, professors could benefit the public good by making extra efforts to impart their knowledge in public dialogues, and they shouldn’t be afraid to be outspoken.
Many already do and should be emulated.
When Silent Sam was painted during the summer, the conversation surrounded the origins of both the Confederacy and the monument.
Many who were not experts weighed in on the issue, often with uninformed opinions about the history of the statue.
Luckily, history professor Harry Watson was willing to share his expertise on the issue.
Even those who disagreed with Watson would still be hard-pressed to undermine the factual accuracy of his arguments.
And Dana Thompson Dorsey, a professor in the UNC School of Education, recently used her platform to illuminate serious problems with a bill being considered in the N.C. General Assembly that could worsen the school-to-prison pipeline.
Watson and Dorsey did the public great service by inserting their highly informed perspectives into the public dialogue.
