The Daily Tar Heel
Printing news. Raising hell. Since 1893.
Thursday, March 28, 2024 Newsletters Latest print issue

We keep you informed.

Help us keep going. Donate Today.
The Daily Tar Heel

Letter: ?AAUP demands voice in UNC governance

TO THE EDITOR:

As members of the American Association of University Professors, we write to remind the Board of Governors of the important role of shared governance throughout the UNC system. According to the AAUP, shared governance means that power is shared among three bodies: faculty, administrators and boards. The UNC General Administration has itself endorsed this position (on its website) in its statement on the “important traditional role of faculty in the governance of the academy.”

The 11,022 faculty working at 16 campuses of the University of North Carolina system have the right to be involved in all decisions at the University. The board does not own the university system. It should make decisions only with the participation of the other two pillars of governance: faculty and administrators. 

In firing Tom Ross, the president of the UNC system, the board declared its disregard for shared governance. The board can technically fire a senior administrator, but it simultaneously demonstrated its hostility and disrespect to faculty across the UNC system by doing so. Adding to this disrespect, the chairman of the board, John C. Fennebresque, declined to give any rationale for ousting Ross, and instead praised his skills as the system president.

By leaving faculty out of this important decision, the board leaves us questioning whether it is acting in the University’s best interest. How will the board restore our trust in it?

As an organization whose mission it is to “advance academic freedom and shared governance” and “ensure higher education’s contribution to the common good,” we as members of AAUP call for solidarity among faculty at all campuses and reiterate our commitment to defend one another across the system. We encourage all who value academic freedom and integrity to speak out against these recent actions that undercut the principles of the UNC system.

Prof. Altha Cravey

Geography 

Vice president, UNC AAUP

Prof. Mark Driscoll

Asian studies

President, UNC AAUP

To get the day's news and headlines in your inbox each morning, sign up for our email newsletters.