The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) governing council voted unanimously to condemn the UNC System on Thursday.
In April, the AAUP released a report from a Special Committee on violations of Governance, Academic Freedom and Institutional Racism within the UNC System. That report focused on all campuses within the UNC System and read “The University of North Carolina system is in trouble, and not the kind of trouble that record enrollments or good rankings can fix.”
Among the examples of actions threatening academic freedom and reflecting systemic racism, the national committee mentioned the treatment of former prospective UNC faculty member Nikole Hannah-Jones and the administration’s handling of the confederate monument Silent Sam.
Faculty in the UNC chapter of the AAUP supported the Special Committee report. In its joint resolution this week, the AAUP governing council wrote it “resoundingly condemns the University of North Carolina System Board of Governors and System Office.”
The governing council cited several of the UNC Board of Governors and UNC System actions in its joint resolution, like the 2015 closure of three of the system’s university-based policy centers, the non-reappointment of Eric Muller to the UNC Press board and the adoption of the 2017 North Carolina state “Free Speech” legislation on UNC System campuses.
The organization’s resolution also cites the racial makeup of the UNC System.
“Whereas the UNC Board of Governors and System Office,” reads the resolution, “the racial composition of which is disproportionately white, have fostered a culture of exclusion, marked by a lack of transparency and inclusion in decision-making, that has prevented faculty members of color from moving into positions of leadership and authority, chilled the climate for academic freedom, represented a constant threat of political interference, and perpetuated institutional racism.”
The AAUP governing board continued by saying actions of the UNC Board of Governors and the UNC System Office contribute to continued institutional racism.
“The UNC board of governors and system office have taken actions with regard to the system’s minority serving institutions to reduce budgets,” the resolution reads, “defer maintenance, maintain low salaries, and increase the workloads of faculty members of color at these institutions, thereby further sustaining institutional racism in the UNC system.”
Political interference was also cited within the resolution with the AAUP governing council saying the UNC Board of Governors and System Office “share ultimate responsibility for overreach and mismanagement by boards of trustees and administrations across various institutions in the system.”
President of the UNC AAUP Chapter Michael Palm, who spoke to Chapelboro in May about the special committee report, said that overreach is felt on campus.
“The Republican takeover of the North Carolina State Government in 2010, ushered in what the report calls a new era of political interference,” Palm said. “We have been dealing with the effects of that takeover for the past decade at UNC Chapel Hill, and at campuses throughout the UNC System.”
To read the full resolution from the AAUP governing council, click here.
Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our biweekly newsletter.
Comments on Chapelboro are moderated according to our Community Guidelines