TO THE EDITOR:
Administrators at UNC have a dirty little secret.
They insist that the proposed new minor in Western studies has come from UNC faculty members and not from the donors.
Why, then, did administrators accept several thousand dollars from Art Pope and John William Pope and pay this money last summer to members of the faculty committee who developed the proposal?
Many members of the faculty spent countless hours in the extensive curriculum revision process from 2001-03 with no monetary compensation.
They participated out of a sense of obligation and service to the greater good.
And interestingly, none of the faculty committees that participated in that massive review - or student surveys - came up with a recommendation for more courses in Western studies.
It seems clear that money is driving the proposal, not the other way around.
Is it ethical to allow individuals to fund the development of a proposal that will directly benefit those same individuals?
