Faculty assembly leaders are urging Governor Pat McCrory to veto legislation concerning the UNC System.

Faculty leadership for the UNC System sent a letter to Governor Pat McCrory asking him to veto a bill that would set term limits for members of the UNC Board of Governors.

The letter to the governor, which is dated for last Friday, claims the legislation “purports to correct but in reality reinforces the politicization of Board of Governors appointments.”

Senate Bill 670 imposes term limits on appointees of the 32-member board to serve no more than three four-year terms. The bill also adjusts the process for selecting a new System President; it says at least three final candidates shall be submitted to the full board. The selection of a President-elect would require a majority of votes from the entire board.

An earlier provision called for the final three candidates to be made public; it was later removed before the bill was passed.

The letter to the governor, which was first reported on by the News & Observer, says, while faculty have been critical of the board, “there is no possible circumstance in which the faculty would support laws that strengthen the legislature’s arbitrary power to dictate the composition of the board.”

The letter summarizes that “the point is that any goal ill-obtained, whether laudable or not, is merely a precedent for further abuse of power.”

WCHL asked the governor’s office for an update on McCrory’s intention regarding Senate Bill 670 but did not receive a response.