FEC promotes University's stances on ethics

On Monday, the Faculty Executive Committee voted unanimously to endorse the Ethics and Integrity Working Group report, which was released Feb. 4.

After beginning the meeting with a 45-minute closed session to discuss personnel issues and a brief discussion led by Provost Jim Dean regarding basketball tickets and his take on “The Big Short,” the group delved into the working group’s report.

Faculty Chairperson Bruce Cairns said the committee needed to support the efforts of the working group, whose report said the University should raise awareness about reporting ethical violations. A vote by the committee confirmed Cairns’ sentiment.

Cairns said faculty need to act soon to help make sure the working group’s recommendations are carried out, and shared governance between the faculty and the administration is necessary. Committee member Michael Gerhardt agreed faculty need to play a role in implementation.

“The hope and the expectation is that it would be in the faculty’s hands,” Gerhardt said.

Dean expressed his approval of everyone’s efforts.

“I appreciate the thoughtfulness that went into all of this, and I appreciate the outcome,” Dean said.

The committee touched on the hiring of the new dean of the School of Education, because the final candidate was interviewed Monday.

Dean said all three candidates were very good, and the University was lucky to be in the business of hiring.

The committee also discussed its progress in addressing the concerns raised by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges in a letter about UNC’s accreditation earlier this academic year.

Dean said the way UNC is interpreting the letters shows it has met the concerns and is up to standards.

“We’ve done all the things we’ve said we’re going to do, and they’re making a big difference,” Dean said.

Joe Ferrell, secretary of the faculty, raised concerns that many faculty seats are open on various committees.

“People are not clamoring to serve on the (Faculty) Athletics Committee,” Ferrell said.

The final topic discussed by the committee was the implementation of chief integrity officers to monitor the academic environments in schools.

“(It’s an) open, transparent process to ensure nobody’s above the law,” Cairns said.

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