A fter years of vague cover-ups and administrators ignoring the problems that existed in the former Department of African and Afro-American Studies, Chancellor Carol Folt’s quick and decisive response to the Wainstein report this week is refreshing.
Before releasing the report to the general public, Folt had already decided to take disciplinary action — which she said will include termination for some — against nine employees.
The evidence against current employees, especially former faculty chairwoman Jan Boxill, is incriminating. Anything less than a promise to take swift action against the dozens of faculty members who failed to report the bogus paper class scheme to the proper authorities would have been pathetic.
Along with the report’s release, the University launched its new public records website — publicrecords.unc.edu — which has a live list that shows when a public records request is submitted, who submitted the request, a description of the request and how long the request will take to fill it.
This website will make sure watchdogs can keep a closer eye on the goings-on at the University and, ideally, have the ability to raise red flags about suspicious activity much earlier.
If we learned anything from Kenneth Wainstein’s exhaustive report, it’s that leaders on campus must face stricter scrutiny. The true test, then, will be whether the chancellor can follow through on her promises to ensure every faculty and staff member is reviewed annually.
The fact that Julius Nyang’oro, the chairman of the African and Afro-American studies department, was never reviewed in the almost 20 years he worked for the University is completely unacceptable.
In light of Nyang’oro’s flagrant abuse of power, the University must remain committed to ensuring there is a clear, open process for review.
Even the style of the release of the report deserves merit. It wasn’t released, like reports of years past, during a break. Students were given 48 hours notice of its release, and Folt scheduled press conferences separate from her forums with students and faculty. Later on Wednesday, Folt even hosted meetings for student-athletes and football players to air their concerns with the findings of the report.
