BOG Set to Vote Again

The original resolution -- proposed in response to the controversy surrounding the UNC-Chapel Hill summer reading -- failed to pass at the board's Aug. 9 meeting by a single vote.

According to BOG rules, any resolution that did not first come out of a committee must be approved by a two-thirds majority. The final vote was 18-10.

The resolution will be considered today by the board's Educational Planning, Policies and Programs Committee.

If the committee approves the resolution, it will most likely be considered by the full board at its Sept. 13 meeting.

H.D. Reaves, chairman of the Educational Planning and Policies Committee, said he thinks some BOG members who voted against the resolution were concerned about how the board's actions would be perceived by House members as they appropriate funds to the UNC system.

The N.C. House Appropriations Committee amended its version of the state budget Aug. 7 to deny funding to UNC-CH's summer reading program if all known religions were not also taught.

The provision is not included in the Senate version of the budget.

No legislators could be reached for comment at press time.

"I think several people who voted against the resolution also stated they had nothing whatsoever against academic freedom," Reaves said. "They were concerned with tying it in directly with an action of the General Assembly while they were discussing our budget."

But UNC-CH Provost Robert Shelton said that although outside factors cannot be ignored, the BOG has a responsibility to lead the UNC system.

"I think the Board of Governors has a very special role, and these are very specially chosen people," he said. "There are politics involved -- no one should be surprised -- (but) they have to carry the mantle of the university."

Shelton emphasized the difficult balance inherent in the BOG's responsibility to represent the UNC system on various issues, both statewide and nationally. He added it was discouraging that the board's initial vote did not support academic freedom.

"We look to them for leadership on (fiscal and policy) issues," he said.

"We look to them to represent us well in Raleigh when it comes to budget issues, nationwide when it comes to policies and the standards the university holds."

The resolution, if passed, will cement the BOG's stand on academic freedom, said board Chairman Brad Wilson.

"(It's) a resolution that will highlight and reaffirm the longstanding position of the BOG on academic freedom," he said.

Wilson emphasized that the BOG's governing code already includes a section outlining the board's official support for academic freedom at system campuses. He said he recommended that the resolution be considered in committee to ensure the BOG's mission is not lost amid controversy.

"One thing that has been lost in all of the reporting since our last meeting is that our code has had for many many years a very clear and bold statement on academic freedom," he said. "It was my judgement that the best thing for us to do is to come on in, consider a resolution that ... highlights and affirms (it)."

The State & National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.