Another one bites the dust

Republican-appointed boards of trustees continue their streak of running off university chancellors

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Before I get to my real subject, I just have pass this bit along. I received a press release this morning titled “Shannon Bray Found Innocent, Resumes Campaign for Governor.” Who knew? According to a statement from Bray, a Libertarian, “Last Friday, I was the defendant in two bench trials here in Wake County. One trial concerned the assault charges against me, and as I predicted a couple of months ago, I was found innocent of every count. The other trial dealt with various marijuana-related offenses and on advice of counsel, I copped a plea to misdemeanor possession and all the other charges were dropped.” Damn. Glad he’s back on track.

Well, back to our bleak world of dystopian politics where Republicans continue their streak of running off competent university administrators. This time, it’s UNC’s Chancellor Kevin M. Guskiewicz. Guskiewicz has taken a job at Michigan State University. He has served four years and followed Carol Folt who also left after conflicts with Board of Trustees.

When news of his consideration for the job broke a few weeks ago, Guskiewicz released a statement saying, “If I were fortunate to be selected as the next president, I would only accept the role if I were given the opportunity to lead (MSU) without undue interference; instead, leading in a trusted partnership with the trustees, faculty, and staff." That’s the equivalent of subtweeting the UNC Board of Trustees.

UNC, the flagship of the university system, joins three other schools who are looking for new chancellors. UNC-Asheville, Winston-Salem State, and North Carolina A&T are all in the hunt for new leaders. Fayetteville State University got a new controversial chancellor in September 2022 and East Carolina replaced their chancellor in 2021 after three years of controversy, board intervention, and declining enrollment.

All of this turnover is surely giving top candidates for these jobs pause. The vaunted UNC system has been in turmoil since Republicans took control of the state legislature in 2011 and began to insert their ideological beliefs into university governance. They began by firing UNC President Tom Ross because he was a registered Democrat. They then hired former Bush Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings who left in frustration with the Board of Governors micromanaging the system. There’s been churn instead of stability throughout the system since Republicans took over.

The root of the problem is an attempt by Republicans to remake the university system into some sort of conservative experiment. The main qualification for any UNC leadership position is fealty to conservative ideology. Boards of trustees micromanage individual schools and the Board of Governors insists on interfering with the day-to-day operation of the system. Not many people with stellar resumes want to take orders from a bunch of ideologues who think public universities need to adhere to free market extremism.

Apparently, UNC President Peter Hans is considering making former Pat McCrory budget director Lee Roberts the interim chancellor. While Roberts is clearly a smart guy, he’s the epitome of how Republicans see the public sector. With the exception of serving on the UNC Board of Governors for two years, Roberts has no background in higher education and is a product of private schools, including Duke. He won’t be welcome at basketball games, that’s for sure. In GOP world, though, the ability to make money is the ultimate qualification. Rich people can do anything. Just ask Elon Musk.

It took fifty years to build the UNC system into a national educational powerhouse. It will take a while to dismantle it, but Republicans are trying. The schools can rest on the laurels of current faculty for a bit longer, but attrition will eventually expose the problems Republicans have caused. They have made sure that top talent is staying away.

Our schools have been more defined by controversy than accomplishments since Republicans took over. At the same time, the GOP legislature keeps cutting funding to university programs, squeezing efficiencies out students and faculty. Guskiewicz’s comment about board interference lets the academic world know that UNC’s micromanaging Board of Trustees will make a demanding job even more difficult and frustrating.