Controversy continues over proposed school at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

On Friday, a proposed resolution coming before the university’s Faculty Council argues against the creation of the School of Civic Life and Leadership. It argues there is a lack of faculty input and cost.

Late last month, the board of trustees passed a resolution to accelerate the creation of the school.

“The problem right now is you only have sometimes one message, and it's not really [a Republican] versus a [Democrat], or a woke versus conservative,” Boliek said. “It's allowing the freedom of expression and ideas and exchange of ideas."

Critics say it’s an overreach by the trustees and an effort to introduce more conservatism to what’s viewed as left-leaning academia.

Faculty push back on the idea that there isn't balance, and the resolution says the new school will take needed resources away from other areas.

In a Thursday today, some members of the Committee on Academic Freedom and Free Expression were concerned about their mission being conflated with the new school. Sam Robinson is the undergraduate vice president and a member of the committee. He says this situation calls for more communication and transparency.

“We can do better on issues of academic freedom and free expression, without necessarily having this new school,” Robinson said. “Maybe that becomes a part of it, maybe it doesn't, but at this point, I think the work that the committee is doing is setting broad and sweeping goals for what role the nation's first public university has in public discourse, and I would argue we have a big one."