UNC Faculty Council Votes Against Resolutions Involving Faculty Athletics Committee

Everything seemed to feel a little bit different about the faculty council meeting on Friday.

It was the first meeting in the new location in Kerr Hall in the Eshelman School of Pharmacy. And the meeting was being conducted in the absence of Faculty Chair Bruce Cairns, who suffered a heart attack at the UNC Wellness Center on September 18.

Chancellor Carol Folt said during her opening remarks that Carins was at home recovering.

“I saw Bruce in the hospital, while he was still in the ICU,” she says. “He’s been texting a lot, that’s a good sign. All of you who know Bruce know that texting a lot is good, and I’m going to tell you there’s some pretty long text in there too.

“He is absolutely himself, caring only about other people, caring only about what needs to happen and how he can be useful.”

After the update on Dr. Cairns, a familiar topic of debate at faculty council meetings resurfaced, overseeing student-athletes.

Two resolutions were voted on that had been proposed at earlier meetings by Professor Jay Smith, one of the most vocal faculty members in the wake of the academic scandal who co-wrote Cheated with UNC whistleblower Mary Willingham.

One resolution called for the creation of a task force to examine the implications of impending changes in college sports, including autonomy for the five power conferences, increased scholarships, and threats to non-revenue sports.

The Faculty Executive Committee reviewed the resolution and proposed a substitute that would call for launching a “campus discussion on the academic implication of the changes coming to college sport” rather than creating a task force required to bring recommendations for change.

Professor Andy Dobelstein represents the retired faculty, and he spoke in favor of adding fresh eyes to the oversight of athletics.

“I must say that the general mood of the retired faculty, particularly when the Wainstein report came out,” he says, “was hurt, hurt, shock.”

Dobelstein added many faculty knew there was a lot of slack in the system and wanted an independent mechanism in place.

The substitute resolution passed by a vote of 51 – 11.

The other proposed resolution called for an amendment to ensure that a majority of the elected members of the Faculty Athletic Committee were from the College of Arts and Sciences. A presentation from University Governance Committee Chair Professor Vin Steponaitis showed that over the last 10 years at least 50 percent of the Faculty Athletics Committee were already from the College of Arts and Sciences.

The committee opposed the resolution and it was then voted down by the council.

The final vote of the day drew unanimous support, the faculty council let out a resounding ‘Aye’ when voting for a resolution fully endorsing the academic integrity of Professor Neel Ahuja, who had came under fire for his ‘Literature of 9/11’ course that quickly drew national attention earlier this month.