Center on Law and Gov’t Voluntarily Closes

The decision of the UNC Board of Governors to close three centers across the UNC System has drawn a lot of attention over the last few days.

The Center for Poverty, Work, and Opportunity at UNC was voted to be shut down in the next twelve months by the BOG.

But another center on UNC’s campus chose to voluntarily close its doors.

Michael Gerhardt is the Samuel Ash Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Law and Director of the Center on Law and Government at UNC. He released the following statement to WCHL:

“We closed the Center for Law and Government, because there [was] never anything magical about its being called a center and because we can carry on all the same activities — sponsoring non-partisan programs teaching our students about how lawyers may contribute to public policy-making — without calling ourselves a center. The decision on whether to move forward, and under what name, will be made by the next dean of the law school.”

The other centers closed by a unanimous Board of Governor’s vote last week were the Center for Biodiversity at East Carolina; and the Institute for Civic Engagement and Social Change at NC Central University.