UNC Board of Governors Coverage

JOHN P. PREYER: UNC-CH's pro-democracy school is a big plus, not a minus

Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023 -- The School of Civic Life and Leadership's evolved over several years as an outgrowth of the university's ideologically diverse Program for Public Discourse and its forward-thinking Ideas in Action curriculum - led in large part by Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz himself.

PAUL FULTON: Little wonder why UNC's Guskiewicz might leave

Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023 -- Consider what's become of public education in North Carolina. UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz can be seen as a casualty of a toxic environment that has politicized public education from top to bottom.

Editorial: Budget bill fine print has big impact on UNC academic status

Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023 -- Imagine running a $6.5 billion university system -- with 240,000 undergraduate and graduate students and a staff of 47,400 including 14,283 faculty - only to discover a major revision to a critical faculty recruitment tool was secreted into 1,411 pages of state budget legislation.

ROSS DOUTHAT: Why academia in N.C. and U.S. needs GOP friends

Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023 -- Universities should use the levers of politics and money to rescue the humanities, not destroy them.

Ross Douthat, New York Times

DRAUGHON DRAWS: Speaker Moore is getting students 'fired up' on campus

Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023 -- Capitol Broadcasting Company's editorial cartoonist.

Editorial: 'A Modest Proposal' for UNC campuses safety

Sunday, Sept. 17, 2023 -- Every UNC student must demonstrate they understand gun safety know how to use a firearm. In their freshman year they must take and pass the official Concealed Carry course. A mere eight hours of instruction. Students will be able to carry weapons to confront threats.

DAVID RICE: UNC students 'deserve to believe they belong'

Monday, Aug. 7, 2023 -- If ever there was a contrast between those who want students at the University of North Carolina to represent all of North Carolina and those who don't, it was on full display recently with UNC-Chapel Hill's Board of Trustees.

DRAUGHON DRAWS: Supreme Court gives UNC an 'ivory' Bell Tower

Wednesday, July 5, 2023 -- Capitol Broadcasting Company's editorial cartoonist.

DAVID RICE: UNC Commission offers recommendations legislators should heed

Tuesday, June 27, 2023 -- A bipartisan commission appointed by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper - led by Republican former UNC President Margaret Spellings and Democratic former UNC President Tom Ross - has made recommendations to depoliticize the System that need to be considered by legislators. Despite their initial dismissals of the panel's suggestions as "DOA," legislators must seriously review the recommendations - not reflexively send them back to the governor stamped "Veto."

To deal with diversity concerns, Cooper commission suggests changes for UNC System

Appointments to the Board of Governors would change under the draft proposal to address concerns that the current board, named by the General Assembly's Republican leadership, is too white, male and Republican.

Travis Fain, WRAL state government reporter

End tenure for North Carolina professors? GOP bill would shift system to contracts

Critics call it an overreach that could threaten the UNC system's standing with accrediting agencies.

Paul Specht and Monica Casey, WRAL reporters

Many NC kids aren't reading well. How teacher colleges are racing to fix the problem

The University of North Carolina System's universities have less than four months to catch up with the 'science of reading,' and improve how they prepare prospective teachers to teach reading before the Board of Governors takes action.

Emily Walkenhorst, WRAL education reporter

NC Senate advances UNC board nominees despite diversity concerns

Four of the nominees are current board members. Two would be new additions: Former state Sen. Harry Brown, an Onslow County Republican, and Haywood White III, a well-known lawyer.

Travis Fain, WRAL state government reporter

D.G. MARTIN: UNC's 'Don't ask; Don't tell' policy

Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023 -- If UNC-Chapel Hill is to recruit the new school's faculty "across the ideological spectrum," it will have to inquire about prospective faculty members' connections, something the UNC System's Board of Governors has now prohibited.

DAVID RICE: Ross & Spellings aim to organize UNC System for success

Monday, Dec. 5, 2022 -- Two former Presidents of the UNC System who will lead a commission to assess the System's governing structure say the panel will examine models across the country and try to better define the roles of board members and organize for success.

Editorial: Cooper makes a much-needed move to fix UNC System's instability and patronage

Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2022 -- Coming up with ways to make those who lead the UNC System and its campuses more representative of the state and its needs is an important and timely mission. Rather than seeing it as a threat to legislative leaders' power, Sen. Phil Berger and others should embrace Gov. Roy Cooper's proposal. It will work to help assure North Carolina can maintain a top-notch system of public higher education.

The Wrap @NCCapitol: A big Leandro decision, a case for disability funding, and Cooper pushes on UNC governance

The week in North Carolina politics

Cooper names new commission to suggest changes for UNC System

Complaining that the Board of Governors which oversees the University of North Carolina System suffers too much political influence, Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper announced Tuesday the creation of a new commission to suggest changes.

Cooper calls for governance shift at UNC System

Complaining that the Board of Governors which oversees the University of North Carolina System suffers too much political influence, Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper announced Tuesday the creation of a new commission to suggest changes.

Travis Fain, WRAL state government reporter

Gov. Roy Cooper calls for governance shift within UNC System

Complaining that the Board of Governors which oversees the University of North Carolina System suffers too much political influence, Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper announced Tuesday the creation of a new commission to suggest changes.

MICHAEL C. BEHRENT & JAY M. SMITH: There's something VERY troubling in the UNC System

Monday, May 2, 2022 -- A major report just released by the academic profession's national organization calls attention to alarming trends in the UNC System relating to governance and academic freedom, as well as to a toxic climate of institutional racism. Because of this report, the UNC System may well face a national sanction. This would tarnish the reputation of the system, its 17 campuses and the degrees it offers. For this distinction, North Carolinians can thank years of mismanagement by the General Assembly, the Board of Governors, campus boards of trustees and dozens of spineless university administrators.

DRAUGHON DRAWS: A 'dark eye' focuses on UNC academic freedom

Monday, May 2, 2022 -- Capitol Broadcasting Company's editorial cartoonist.

Former UNC System leader, twice accused of trying to swing student housing deals, invested in apartments that sold for student housing

In 2019 a real estate foundation tied to N.C. A&T University bought an apartment complex from a company founded by Harry Smith, the former chairman of the university system's Board of Governors.

Travis Fain, WRAL state government reporter

UNC student president seeks dismissal of university board member

UNC Trustee Marty Kotis said his participation in a student presidential debate didn't violate any policy.

Bryan Anderson, WRAL state government reporter

Editorial: Fixing a lack of diversity by eliminating diversity

Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022 -- What have legislative leaders done about the perceived lack of diversity on public university campuses? They have made the campus boards - and the UNC Board itself - even LESS diverse and MORE partisan.