Faculty Council wants a role in picking Tom Ross’ successor

After the UNC-system Board of Governors forced President Tom Ross to resign earlier this month in a surprise move, faculty members at UNC worry they won’t have a voice in picking Ross’ successor.

“The Board (of Governors) does have the right to make decisions about our future,” Provost Jim Dean said during Friday’s Faculty Council meeting.

“It’s not as if they’ve gone outside their powers or that’s against the rules. You can disagree with their decision, but it’s their right to make it.”

Ross will officially retire on Jan. 3, 2016 or when the Board of Governors’ finds a suitable replacement, whichever comes later. The board has given little information about its decision to force Ross to resign.

“This decision has nothing to do with President Ross’s performance or ability to continue in the office,” the entire Board of Governors said in a statement on its website. “The Board respects President Ross and greatly appreciates his service to the University and to the State of North Carolina.”

Many faculty members were concerned about the Board of Governors’ process for selecting a new UNC-system president.

“It’s challenging to talk about the process by which a new leader will be selected — and the values the new leader should represent — when the prior leader has been dragged off-stage moments before without an explanation,” said law professor Eric Muller.

Sociology professor Andrew Perrin said the values of the board and the system seem disconnected.

“Several of the recent actions of the Board of Governors seem to really challenge what we value in the University,” he said.

“I’m concerned that this is the latest in the number of actions by the board that seem not to respect the core value that has been true for two centuries of Carolina’s development.”

Members of the Faculty Assembly, a group of elected faculty members from the 17 UNC-system schools, might be represented in the board’s selection process.

Stephen Leonard, chairman of the UNC-system's Faculty Assembly, said three faculty members and four chancellors will be represented in the board’s leadership statement committee, which will help draft the new president’s leadership statement.

Chancellor Carol Folt said the board has yet to discuss the search and selection process, but was confident chancellors of the UNC system would have strong representation in a national search for a new president.

“When I listen to the Board of Governors, the main thing I hear is many different perspectives,” she said. “But the overwhelming perspective is investing in our universities.”

Dean said faculty members shouldn’t worry about not having a say in the Board of Governors’ selection process.

“I think we have an opportunity to help shape the search,” Dean said. “I think we have a reasonable expectation that this university is represented on the search committee.”

university@dailytarheel.com

CORRECTION: Due to a reporting error, an earlier version of this story incorrectly attributed information to a delegate on the UNC-system Faculty Assembly. Stephen Leonard, chairman of the Faculty Assembly, said three faculty members and four chancellors will be represented on the Board of Governors leadership statement committee, which will help draft the new president's leadership statement. The story has been updated to reflect this change. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for this error.