UNC: Under Wraps? Transparency Still A Major Concern

In the wake of the NCAA investigation and last year’s Wainstein Report, citizens and journalists alike have called for more transparency from officials at UNC.

How well has UNC answered the call?

Joel Curran is UNC’s Vice Chancellor for Communications and Public Affairs. He took that position shortly after Carol Folt became chancellor in 2013 – and he says UNC’s done a much better job with transparency since Folt arrived on campus.

“Perhaps we (weren’t) as strong on that prior to the arrival of Chancellor Folt,” he says. “I think what she brought was a much stronger commitment to (being) out and open, making sure that we are as transparent as possible.”

Whether or not there’s been improvement, though, not everyone is satisfied with the current state of affairs.

“(UNC) is the university of the people, so we believe that the people should have the access to the records that they want,” says Daily Tar Heel editor-in-chief Jenny Surane. “The time it takes for us to get records – and in some cases the lack of access to certain records – we just don’t believe that that’s right.”

Beyond access to records, reporters have also complained that Chancellor Folt herself is far more guarded – and far less accessible to the media – than any of her predecessors in the chancellor’s role.

Joel Curran downplays that concern. “When you start to talk about a folksy time when the chancellor was able to take callers on the porch…I think you’re going back to a rotary phone era,” he says. “It’s a different time that we’re living in, and the chancellor runs a major enterprise…

“It’s not that she doesn’t want to speak to the media, it’s that she wants to be able to have a process in place so that she can be more responsive – and I think anybody who is in a chancellor’s role who puts themselves out there as often as she does is being very responsive to the media.”

But Jenny Surane says while Folt is often available for a quote or two, staff at the DTH – and students in general – are hoping for more in the way of substance.

“We would like to know more about how the chancellor feels about different things (happening) on campus,” she says. “I think that she is in an incredible position of power and that she is a really great thought leader for students, (and) I think that a statement from Chancellor Folt that says more than just ‘we’re disappointed that the Poverty Center has closed’ would mean so much to students and really guide campus thought…

“She’s told us in the past that she leads by consensus building – and I think that’s admirable, but I do think there are some instances where the University is clearly being preyed upon, (where) she could easily make a stand and have the entire student body behind her. And certainly have the Daily Tar Heel’s editorial (staff) behind her.”

The DTH published a piece on this issue Friday morning.

Curran and Surane made their comments during the “UNC Under Fire” panel of the 2015 WCHL Community Forum.

Listen to the full panel here.

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UNC: Under Wraps? Transparency Still A Major Concern

UNC officials have publicly stated they're committed to "transparency." How well are they doing?

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