UNC-system faculty protest Ross ouster

Faculty across North Carolina have spoken out passionately against the forced resignation of UNC-system President Tom Ross in January — and now, faculty leaders are organizing concrete responses.

The system’s Faculty Assembly, which represents faculty on all 17 campuses, has drafted a resolution on Ross’ ouster. It’s now being circulated around the UNC system’s faculty senates for their support.

The resolution praises Ross’ presidency and asks the Board of Governors to explain the reasoning behind his removal, said David Zonderman, chairman of N.C. State University’s faculty senate, which voted Tuesday to endorse the resolution. Winston-Salem State University’s faculty senate followed suit on Thursday.

“Both as faculty and citizens of the state, we’d like some explanation and some sense of what’s guiding the board in its decisions,” Zonderman said. “If they won’t tell us their reasoning, how do we know where we’re going as a system?”

Zonderman said faculty concerns center on Ross’s performance as president and confusion about why he was removed.

UNC-CH’s Faculty Council will discuss the resolution later this month, said chairman Bruce Cairns.

“It is crucial that faculty across the UNC system stay engaged and involved — this is an important time for all of us,” he said in an email.

Other faculty senates have also approved the resolution, including UNC-Pembroke and UNC-Asheville, which did so unanimously.

“At UNC-A, we value open discourse,” said Dee Eggers, chairwoman of UNC-A’s faculty senate. “Changes in public policy are best arrived at through deliberative public processes.”

Scott Hicks, faculty chairman of UNC-Pembroke’s faculty senate, said faculty on UNC-P’s campus are concerned about the politicization of higher education, especially in its leadership.

“We want to play the role that faculty are supposed to play in determining curriculum and academic policy, and we’re not sure that’s happening when these kinds of leadership changes are occurring,” Hicks said.

Faculty members have also rallied around other initiatives, including an online petition with hundreds of signatures disapproving of Ross’ ouster, said Jim Peacock, one of the organizers and an anthropology professor at UNC-CH.

“I’m sure you’ve been in class and heard a professor say, ‘I don’t want a one-word answer; you have to explain your reasoning,’” Zonderman said. “That’s what university education is all about, explaining your reasons. So to have our own Board of Governors, our own leaders, give no reasons strikes faculty as odd.”

state@dailytarheel.com

CORRECTION: Due to a reporting error, a previous version of this story misattributed a quote from David Zonderman to Bruce Cairns. Zonderman said it was odd for the Board of Governors to give no reason for Tom Ross' ousting. The story has been updated to reflect this change. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for the error.