UNC Board of Governors
Change could be coming to the UNC Board of Governors. Will it matter?
The UNC Board of Governors would change under a bill revised this week in the state House — as would the process for appointing members. But will adding members to the UNC System’s governing board — and the process by which they are appointed — make a substantive difference? The new version of Senate Bill […]
As state spending talks resume, UNC System leaders praise Senate budget
House and Senate budget conferees will be back at work after the Memorial Day holiday trying to find common ground and finalize a $29.8 billion state spending plan. Based on last week’s meeting of the UNC System Board of Governors, it’s clear there is a preference among the state’s higher education leaders for the Senate’s […]
Architect of bill mandating history and civics course surprised by resistance
When House Bill 96 was filed back in February, it didn’t initially get a lot of attention. In a legislative season when higher education related-bills proposed the elimination of academic tenure, massive changes to the of the powers of political appointees, and how state universities and colleges are accredited, a bill mandating one 3-credit hour […]
New bill targets tenure, calls for scrutiny of research at UNC System campuses, community colleges
Faculty tenure at UNC System universities and community colleges would end under a new bill filed Tuesday. House Bill 715 would “prospectively eliminate academic tenure and establish uniform contracting procedure for faculty at constituent institutions and community colleges.” The bill, filed by Rep. David Willis (R-Union), would make all faculty members at UNC System universities […]
Former Vice President Mike Pence to appear at UNC-Chapel Hill
Former Vice President Mike Pence will speak at UNC-Chapel Hill’s Carolina Student Union’s Great Hall April 26. The event, organized by conservative group Young America’s Foundation and the North Carolina College Republicans, is titled “Saving America from the Woke Left.” Young America’s Foundation is the national conservative group that brought conservative writer and podcaster Ben […]
UNC System faculty, staff bristle as legislature targets Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts
When the General Assembly’s Joint Legislative Commission on Government Operations sent a recent detailed request to the UNC System seeking information about any Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) training programs employed by the system and its 17 campuses, Professor Jelani Favors wasn’t surprised.
General Assembly asking for info on DEI at UNC campuses as GOP targets diversity efforts
This week the N.C. General Assembly’s Joint Legislative Commission on Government Operations requested documents related to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) training programs through the UNC System and all of its 17 campuses. The request, according to a Tuesday letter from Derrick Welch, director of Senate Majority Staff Government Operations, is part of the […]
New names for UNC Board of Governors are familiar political faces
The North Carolina Senate is poised to add two former Republican legislators to the UNC Board of Governors — a body long criticized as overly partisan, top-heavy with lobbyists and former GOP lawmakers and lacking in diversity. The Senate’s Select Committee on Nominations met briefly Tuesday morning to consider six names for the board — […]
‘Good, serious ideas’: Commission on university governance talks transparency, amplifying student voices
Should students and faculty have more prominent voices on boards of trustees at UNC System schools? Should the system’s board of governors elect members geographically, be more transparent and open to public input? And will any of these suggestions matter to a Republican dominated legislature resistant to such changes? These were a few of the questions members of the Governor’s Commission on the Governance of Public Universities in North Carolina tackled in its third public listening session on Monday. The session, held at the Charlotte Area Chamber of Commerce, drew a sparse but vocal crowd – typical of the listening sessions held so far.
The month ahead in Higher Ed
Mark your calendars for these higher education related meetings, listening sessions and events over the next month: Wednesday, March 8 “The Politics of the Marvel Cinematic Universe” – a panel discussion promoting the new book in which more than 25 scholars examine the way the phenomenally successful Marvel superhero films go beyond mere thrills, delivering […]
“An inherent conflict of interests”: Governors’ commission members talk lobbyists, diversity in UNC System governance
This week members of the Governor’s Commission on the Governance of Public Universities in North Carolina continued their series of listening sessions, meeting to hear from the public in Asheville. At their Tuesday meeting, the second of six planned sessions, members took on questions of diversity on the board and the thorny issue of whether […]
Campus workers union to rally, deliver demands to UNC Board of Governors
The UNC Board of Governors will hold a full day of committee meetings Wednesday – and they’ll have a few guests. UNC System workers of UE Local 150, the North Carolina Public Service Workers Union, will hold rallies both at the UNC-Chapel Hill campus and at the UNC System office in downtown Raleigh. Among their […]