National faculty group condemns UNC for ‘institutional racism,’ ‘political interference’
The national organization for university faculty has “resoundingly” criticized the UNC System Board of Governors and the UNC System office for sustaining what the group called a climate of institutional racism and for violating standards of shared governance and academic freedom.
The governing council of the American Association of University Professors voted unanimously Thursday to pass a joint resolution “resoundingly” condemning the university system after a recent AAUP special committee report. The lengthy report highlighted “alarming trends” at North Carolina universities perpetuated by increased political pressure, according to the AAUP.
The faculty group concluded that political interference has damaged the state’s public universities, citing campus issues including the selection of chancellors, decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic and the tenure case for Black journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones at UNC-Chapel Hill.
‘Long-standing political interference’
This censure marks the next step in what could be lasting effects on recruitment and retention of faculty.
“This resolution represents a remarkable step forward in acknowledging and beginning to address systemic and institutional racism in the academy,” AAUP president Irene Mulvey said in a statement. “The Special Committee’s documentation of instances of broken governance, severe violations of academic freedom and patterns of institutional racism caused by long-standing political interference and cowardly top-down administrations speaks volumes about the severity of the underlying problems within UNC.”
While the investigation, which launched in September, was triggered by national controversy over Hannah-Jones’ tenure, faculty say the problem reflects deeper governance and political issues across the UNC System.
The AAUP took this “extraordinary action” to condemn the board and the system office because of the historic nature of the convergence of issues scholars face in the UNC system, according to AAUP senior program officer Anita Levy. She said this case exceeds the traditional ways to address violations of academic freedom and governance standards. The condemnation goes beyond censure and sanctions, she said.
“Unless there’s a wholesale change in the political culture, it’s going to be difficult for the system to change as well,” Levy said.
‘Relentlessly grim portrayal’
Several university leaders declined to comment on the report when it was released in April, but Kimberly van Noort, UNC System senior vice president for academic affairs, responded to it on behalf of the system in a letter shared with The N&O.
She called the report “disheartening” because it offers a “relentlessly grim portrayal of one of the nation’s strongest, most vibrant, and most productive university systems.”
Van Noort acknowledged their challenges and shortcomings but argued that the report dismisses their successes. She pointed out North Carolina’s “steady, bipartisan support of higher education” that has allowed universities to lower and freeze tuition, improve graduation rates, recruit faculty and secure raises for employees.
Faculty have called on university and system leaders to address the issues outlined in the report.
“North Carolinians need to understand that the system’s current leadership is taking the University of North Carolina down a path to authoritarianism, racial exclusiveness, and a trivialized approach to higher education,” said Michael Behrent, an Appalachian State University history professor and president of the North Carolina AAUP conference.
“This path completely breaks with the standards once held by the UNC System, as imperfect as they were,” he said.
Behrent said UNC system leaders will likely continue to “tout their support for shared governance while marginalizing legitimate faculty input, will proclaim their enthusiasm for free speech while penalizing faculty who disagree with them, and celebrating their commitment to diversity and inclusion while undercutting those who actually fight racism.”
Though he thinks this condemnation is necessary, Behrent said he fears it will make job applicants think twice about seeking employment in the UNC System.
This story was originally published June 16, 2022 at 5:57 PM with the headline "National faculty group condemns UNC for ‘institutional racism,’ ‘political interference’."
