UNC-system Board of Governors’ nominees lean Republican

The UNC-system Board of Governors will see a shift toward Republican political leaning if the nominees for the board announced Tuesday are approved by the N.C. General Assembly.

The state legislature is responsible for replacing about half of the board as the terms of 16 board members end this year.

The board is the overarching policy-making body for all 17 institutions in the UNC system.

Many of the nominees selected for the board have supported the Republican Party through donations. Currently, most of the board members are Democrats.

The process for selecting the final members is expected to begin this week.

The N.C. House and Senate committees for the UNC Board of Governors have each selected 16 nominees for final review.

The House and the Senate will each select eight of the 16 nominees to serve on the board.

Of the nominees for the board:

• Thirteen of the 16 nominees from the House committee have in recent years donated to the Republican Party or its members.

• Three nominees from the House committee have in recent years donated to the Democratic Party or its members.

• Ten of the 16 nominees from the Senate committee have previously donated to the Republican Party or its members.

• Four nominees from the Senate committee have previously donated to the Democratic Party or its members.

• The board itself is nonpartisan, but current members have made significant contributions to the Democratic Party.

• Only five of the 16 board members whose term ends this year were nominated for re-appointment.

Political parties can play a role in the selection of board members.

There are no demographic requirements for members on the board.

To become a member, a person has to submit an application to the House or Senate committees for UNC Board of Governors. The committees then select nominees to be presented to each legislative body.

The Senate will vote Thursday on the 16 nominees who were selected by the committee last week.

The House will vote next week on the nominees who were selected Tuesday.

Contact the State & National Editor at state@dailytarheel.com.