Faculty Executive Committee resolution shows support for poverty center

The Faculty Executive Committee has approved a resolution expressing faculty concerns over the ousting of UNC-system President Tom Ross and the recommendation to close the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity.

The resolution will be submitted to the UNC Board of Governors.

The UNC-system Faculty Assembly created the resolution, requesting that the board state its reasons for Ross’ forced resignation.

“Every (UNC system) assembly has banded together to pass this resolution,” said UNC-CH Faculty Chairman Bruce Cairns. “We are speaking on this issue as one voice.”

Cairns said the resolution sets out to create a proper relationship with the board by emphasizing shared governance and the UNC system’s involvement in decision making.

UNC-CH Chancellor Carol Folt also released a recommendation on Thursday, supporting the continuation of the Center on Poverty.

“The decision to shut down any centers should be in the hands of chancellors and the Board of Trustees,” Cairns said. “We want to express our support for the Center of Poverty.”

But some faculty members questioned whether the resolution would make a difference once presented to the board.

“If you want to accomplish your goals, you have to wedge yourself in to get to that goal,” said physics and astronomy professor Louise Dolan. “With this resolution, it sounds like we’re not doing that. We’re not speaking out as much as we should.”

Archaeology department chairman Vin Steponaitis said it is necessary to send the resolution regardless of the outcome.

“Even though we’re not expecting an answer, I think it’s really important to send a message (to the board) that this is not the way to do things,” he said. “We’re not challenging them. We’re just telling them what we think is a good idea to do.”

In the interest of time, the committee might choose not to take a vote from the Faculty Council in order to present the resolution to the board before it makes a final decision on the status of the Center on Poverty on Thursday and Friday.

During the meeting, Clare Counihan, a program coordinator at the Carolina Women’s Center, presented a proposal for improving family care at the University. The committee approved the proposal.

Counihan said improving family care would promote female involvement in the arts and sciences and retention among female faculty members and graduate students.

Her proposal included a system of simplifying family leave, spreading awareness of already existing family care resources and increasing the number of lactation rooms and changing stations in the buildings.

She said current lactation rooms are small, few and far between.

“If there are students who are attempting to go to school while being a parent, they have nowhere to go,” she said. “We want to send a message that having a child isn’t like getting the plague.”

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