“Professional Experience not Partisan Politics” is the mantra flashing on former Board of Trustees member Brad Briner’s website. Yet as he and other former BOT member Dave Boliek leave an unsavory legacy in their resignation from the board to begin working for the state, the partisan strategy is as clear as day. The rising issue of centralized power between our universities and government doesn’t dissipate when they resign, nor do the conflicts of interest and experience issues fade.
When you choose to transition from the BOT to state office, the blueprint to de-liberalize and defund the “wokeness” that was drawn on the BOT becomes built-in state positions. More importantly, the impartiality crucial to financial operations becomes tainted when campaigns for office are based on partisanship.
“No member of the General Assembly or officer or employee of the State or any constituent institution of The University of North Carolina or spouse of any such member, officer or employee shall be eligible for election or appointment as a member of the Board of Trustees.”
In simpler terms, individuals are unable to simultaneously hold state office and serve on the BOT. The diction used in the bylaw is important here. A role in state government is held to the same restriction that a role in a “constituent institution” would provoke. It equates the intimacy of working within the UNC System to state government and the abuse of authority as considerable across both systems.
There is too great a potential to assign power to someone with incentives that would conflict with their objective duties. You cannot work on the BOT and facilitate educational governance policies and practices while simultaneously controlling state legislation. There is a separation of powers, but it’s dysfunctional.
Dual influence over both systems creates credibility concerns for Boliek’s auditor agenda that he affirmed in the large majority of his campaigning. A cornerstone of his strategy is targeting diversity, equity and inclusion. His attitude as auditor resembles that of a prosecutor, rejecting his former opponent Republican Jack Clark’s sentiment that it requires the independence of a judge.
Defunding DEI, a motion made by Boliek during a May 2024 BOT meeting, was sold to students as an effort for “more unity and togetherness, more dialogue, more diversity of thought.” Yet Boliek and Briner’s transition to state power permits the General Assembly to assign another Republican constituent to their voids. The only unity they seek is their own. We are diminishing local institutional autonomy and witnessing supermajority.
The BOT is intended to advise and promote the sound development of UNC, yet in recent years it has become the frontline of political policy execution. The issue of centralizing power or conflict of interest doesn’t subside when Briner or Boliek step down and assemble into state office — it becomes more apparent.
State auditors examine how state funds are spent at universities. The independence and impartiality crucial to auditing is now at Boliek’s discretion, where he can eliminate principles of the left.
