Anthropology professor Rudi Colloredo-Mansfeld, who was invited to address the committee, called for a larger faculty role in advising the administration on supporting student-athletes’ academic interests.
“We need a committee to be the direct place to defend studies,” Colloredo-Mansfeld said.
Joy Renner, chairwoman of the Faculty Athletics Committee, said that this year her committee is going back and examining in depth what circumstances lead to the paper class scandal.
“There is no filter on issues — we have documented minutes, and we will be able to go back to the sources who said it,” she said.
Women’s studies professor Silvia Tomaskova expressed concern that even though undergraduate faculty have the most direct contact with student-athletes, they can’t create significant change.
One of the points of concern was the fact that only three out of the nine members of the athletic committee are from the College of Arts and Sciences.
“Having people who aren’t teaching undergrad creates different perspectives,” Renner said. “There are nine people who have different perspectives.”
Law professor Michael Gerhardt said, following Kenneth Wainstein’s report on years of academic fraud, UNC needs to rebuild trust in its administration.
