TO THE EDITOR:
Shame! The Daily Tar Heel contradicts itself and is irresponsible in its defense of the University.
Calling for Governor McCrory to sign a bill (S670), demanding more legislation, and inserting the legislature’s will further into the governance of the University, only exacerbates the partisan politicization of the institution.
If “democratizing” the President search process is the DTH’s goal, demanding a precedent for additional diktat is not how it is done. It is naive to believe that replacing the misguided will of the Board of Governors with the misguided will of the legislature will do anything more than further legitimize misguided governance of the University.
The UNC-system Faculty Assembly has steadfastly opposed the many ill-advised actions of the board. But as we noted in our letter to Governor McCrory urging him to veto S670, there is no possible circumstance where we would counsel a bad legislative solution to a problem that bad legislation has created.
The governance of the University needs to be de-politicized by insulating the Board of Governors from party politics. Then, perhaps, the Board of Governors can be free of partisan pressures, and consult more effectively with students, staff, faculty, administrators and citizens who seek best practices to promote the goals of public higher education.
The University of North Carolina is arguably one of the most important assets of our state, and the talents of our students are among the most significant drivers of our economy and civic life. The University is not a political commodity for the majority party of the legislature, and appointment to the Board of Governors is not a political trophy to be awarded to friends, donors and party loyalists.
By advocating for inappropriate legislative interference in the governance of the University — no matter how laudable the goal sought — the DTH merely endorses a legal precedent that is antithetical to the promotion of public higher education in this state.
Prof. Stephen Leonard
