Spending on What?

I enjoy the graduation ceremony for the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. As the graduates march in to Carmichael to the cheers of parents and friends, accompanied by the stately tones of a brass band, it provides an opportunity to reflect not only on the accomplishments of each stellar class, of the talented students who have taught me so much, but also that they are joining a mighty stream of public health professionals committed to advancing the health of populations here and afar.

What better statement of the mission of UNC as a center of research, scholarship, and creativity?

Emerging from Carmichael, I overlooked soon to be expensively renovated athletics fields which project a different and troubling reflection on the UNC mission.  $25 million will be spent on an indoor football training facility, with more anticipated millions for creating two outdoor fields, one with natural turf and the other artificial, as well as an upgrade of the soccer stadium. It’s not clear to me how the rationale–to create a great recruiting advantage—advances the mission of the university.

Indeed, the brain scrambling sport of football damages the capacity of players to engage in scholarship, research, and creativity, in any case. These renovations are reported to use private donations and I endorse the principle of respecting donor intent, but expenditures should always raise the question of what those funds are not being used for. I am sure that an indoor football practice facility will not be a recruiting advantage for aspiring historians, English majors, physicists, or for sure, public health students.

Imagine–tuition scholarships, research fellowships, summer travel stipends that send students all over the world to learn and contribute in field placements–that could result from leadership that more thoughtfully weighed and supported investments to truly advance the mission of this great university.

 

— Lew Margolis