UNC’s leadership needs fresh blood. And with the departure of two high-level administrators, now is the opportunity.
Jean Folkerts, dean of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, and associate provost and chief diversity officer Archie Ervin are stepping down from their respective posts.
What one can expect to ensue is a process that’s prevalent in higher education — the nationwide search. Business school dean Jim Dean has already committed to lead one in order to replace Folkerts.
Lest the University run the risk of becoming too insular, it’s time to cast a wide net and make a concerted effort to cull an outside candidate. Chancellor Holden Thorp has stressed innovation incessantly — if current search methods are too narrow and conventional (as Thorp suggested himself earlier in March), then new ones are in order.
Since 2008, UNC has conducted three nationwide searches — for Chancellor, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and Provost. Each search enlisted the help of consulting firms that specialize in finding qualified candidates.
And each resulted in ?internal picks.
In the provost search, Bruce Carney was chosen in spite of not being in the candidate pool.
To be fair, Holden Thorp, Karen Gil and Bruce Carney were qualified candidates. But they lack the unique perspective that only outsiders can offer.
These searches cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. They are worth the money, if their result is an administration that is as qualified as it is diverse in perspectives and backgrounds.
