ELIZABETH CITY – Randy Ramsey is just settling in as Chair of the UNC Board of Governors. But he deserves credit for wanting to rein in at least one rogue board member for launching personal investigations outside the board’s processes.
Ramsey is also co-chair of the committee overseeing the search for yet another UNC System President.1 He no doubt understands how intrusive actions by individual board members could shrink the applicant pool for one of the premier jobs in American higher education.
And given recent antics by members of the Board of Governors, who would apply?
After a meeting of the board’s Governance Committee Thursday in Elizabeth City, Ramsey told reporters the board should consider “consequences” against board member Tom Fetzer.
“I don’t think it’s appropriate for any board member to operate outside the board regardless if you’re the chair or a member of the board or whomever,” he said. “We all have governance policies in place, and we should follow those policies. We certainly should consider consequences.”
It’s clear, though, that Fetzer likes to operate on his own.
- He first shared confidential applicant information with an attorney outside the search last year for a new chancellor at Western Carolina University, aborting the search process.
- Then he hired the same attorney to conduct an independent investigation of former Interim Chancellor Dan Gerlach at East Carolina University, even though the UNC System had already hired an international law firm to conduct the investigation.2
Ramsey told reporters the Governance Committee will have “serious discussions on that matter.”
He said board members need to operate as a unit, with a singular voice and a singular mission going forward that didn’t happen in the Gerlach investigation, The News & Observer reported.3
None of this is to excuse Gerlach’s behavior, for which he has accepted sole responsibility.4
But this and other board members’ behavior is clearly outside the bounds of good governance of our public universities – board members’ role is to set broad policy, not hire their own investigators to dissect the University’s entrails.
We are encouraged that Ramsey appears to get that. He and the board seem to want to turn a new page.5
If that happens, it is encouraging for the prospect of attracting a rich applicant pool for President of the UNC System.
1 https://www.northcarolina.edu/presidentialsearch.
2 http://pulse.ncpolicywatch.org/2019/10/29/two-chancellor-searches-two-controversies-one-interesting-concidence/.
3 https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/education/article237362234.html.
4 http://www.reflector.com/News/2019/10/27/Gerlach-resigns-from-ECU-post.html.
5https://www.laurinburgexchange.com/news/31079/unc-system-board-hoping-to-put-recent-controversies-behind-it.
Donald Mathews says
Gerlach’s behavior was not suspect–unless it is verboten that a university administrator to fraternize with students.