Martin: Diversity in the classroom and the boardroom
By Jim Martin
Even at its most refined, governance is messy. There’s no perfect process that can guarantee the right decision. The closest we can come is to make sure every voice is in the room arguing about what’s right.
Diversity of thought is a bedrock principle of this country. Nothing drives discontent more than feeling your voice is excluded from a conversation. When I came of age in a Democratic-controlled, one-party North Carolina, it’s what motivated me to enter politics. And as we successfully changed North Carolina into a vibrant two-party state, I learned the reverse; seeing your voice represented in that battle of ideas – in politics – is what gives you faith and trust in a system and an institution.
That’s why I’m concerned about one of our state’s crucial institutions: our public universities. Our universities are political battlefields. We can’t change that and we shouldn’t try. Trying to take the politics out of politics is always a bad idea. These are massive public institutions and they need political influence to channel the will of the people into their strategy and administration. No multi-billion-dollar public institution should be run solely by those who get paid by that institution.
But we’ve reached a point where the politics surrounding our universities have managed to make North Carolinians across the political spectrum believe they are excluded and ignored.
Conservatives have long believed, backed up by data, that they’re underrepresented in faculty leadership and to a lesser degree in university administration. You can argue whether universities are “hostile” towards conservatives, but it’s undeniable that university faculty – and faculty leadership – lean left. Conservatives have long understood higher education’s power in shaping societies so it’s no surprise they’re concerned these cultural and intellectual engines skew left.
But today, North Carolina progressives also look at our universities and their politically-appointed governance boards and believe – backed up by data — that these boards exclude their voices. Currently, no registered Democrat sits on the UNC System Board of Governors. That’s different than the past. Even when Democratic control of this state was absolute, registered Republicans were still appointed to university boards.
Both of these imbalances – political monopolies within Board leadership and faculty leadership – are urgent problems.
While Republicans control the state legislature, it’s proper for university boards to have a conservative majority. And with market and societal forces pushing conservative talent towards professions outside of academics, it appears inevitable that faculty leadership will skew progressive. Majority control, however, is different than majority hegemony. We must ensure there is an eloquent, empowered minority at both leadership levels.
Our universities deserve praise for how they’ve structured governance over the years, ensuring that chancellors, political board appointees, and faculty leadership all have important roles in leading the university. This diversity of professional perspectives improves decision making.
But a conservative governance board doesn’t balance out a progressive faculty. Such a set-up breeds conflict, not balance. We need diversity of thought at each level, not ideologically opposed governing bodies. The quickest correction can happen at the Board level. The majority party in Raleigh must appoint minority party members to our university boards. In fact, we should pass a new law requiring it. An ideal solution would include minority party appointments and at least some consensus appointments made jointly by the minority and majority parties.
Conservatives may argue that there’s no easy remedy for progressive domination of faculty leadership which means conservatives must fully control governance boards as a counter weight. I reject that. Conservatives cannot give up the academy! We can and must build better pipelines for young conservative talent into academia and empower conservative faculty to lead from within. Encouraging chancellors to elevate outstanding conservative faculty into leadership roles is a good place to start.
Both sides have carved out their own power base. Both believe at least part of the university excludes them, and so they cling to that power and exclude diverse thinking. Neither side should give up power. But both sides must allow for an eloquent minority that will challenge them on first principles, question the status quo, and ultimately lead to stronger decisions.
Empowering or building eloquent minorities within faculty and board leadership won’t overturn many decisions. The majority still rules in these bodies. But inclusive decision making improves public trust. A minority voice gives every North Carolinian faith that their views are being heard.
This is the people’s university and both progressives and conservatives should start acting like it.
Hunt: It’s time to reform University governance
By Jim Hunt
Every day during the 16 years I served as Governor, I saw how important the University of North Carolina system is to our state.
But today this great oak of higher education is suffering from a deep and growing disease within: too much narrow, partisan politics.
This is a Democratic and a Republican problem. Both Democrats and Republicans caused it. Democrats and Republicans must come together to fix it.
Our universities are invaluable in recruiting new businesses to North Carolina, promoting good jobs and economic growth in all our communities, fighting disease and poor health, advancing science, developing new technologies, making agriculture more productive, promoting the arts, learning from our history, understanding the world we live in and protecting our air, land and water from pollution.
Above all, our 16 universities educate, train and inspire thousands of people who become successful, productive and civic-minded citizens. The schools make North Carolina a magnet for smart, talented and dedicated people from all over the world.
That excellence is at risk today. The problem stems from how we appoint the Board of Governors – and each institution’s Board of Trustees.
The General Assembly makes all the appointments. But the legislature for too many years has been consumed by the bitterly divisive partisanship and polarization that plagues politics.
The partisan poison has spread into the University system. We must root it out.
While I don’t know exactly what the new appointment process should be, I do suggest certain principles that might apply.
First, no lobbyists should be on the Board of Governors. They have too many conflicts of interest.
Second, there should be more diversity – racial, gender, geographic and political.
Third, I personally believe the Governor should appoint one half of the members of the Board of Governors and the 16 universities’ boards of trustees. The Governor is elected statewide. He or she works every day on issues that affect the entire state. The Governor must take a broader view than legislators, who answer to their 170 districts.
The Governor can best see how the University system meshes with our public schools and community college system. The Governor’s involvement also would assure much-needed checks and balances.
Certainly, there are other good ideas that we should consider and we can begin by studying what other states do.
I don’t underestimate how hard it will be to solve this problem in these politically charged times.
But this is North Carolina!
We’ve solved tough problems before. We can do it here. For our universities’ future and for North Carolina’s future, we must do it.
James G. Martin served as Governor of North Carolina from 1985-93, following six terms in Congress. Martin began his career as an educator, earning a Ph.D. in chemistry from Princeton University and later teaching chemistry at his alma mater, Davidson College.
James B. Hunt Jr. served as Governor of North Carolina from 1977-85 and 1993-2001.
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