North Carolina governor seeks more diversity on university boards

More than a year after 바카라사이트 Nikole Hannah-Jones debacle crystallised concerns over structural racial inequities at 바카라사이트 University of North Carolina, 바카라사이트 state¡¯s governor is pushing for an overhaul.

Roy Cooper, 바카라사이트 governor of North Carolina since 2017, has?announced 바카라사이트 creation?of a high-level commission to examine how 바카라사이트 state appoints members of its university governing boards and to suggest reforms to that process.

¡°In a state with many racial, ethnic, geographic, political, socio-economic and cultural backgrounds,¡± 바카라사이트 governor told a news briefing, ¡°we have an appointed university leadership that doesn¡¯t come close to?reflecting our diversity.é¢

The bipartisan study commission will be led by two former presidents of 바카라사이트 16-campus UNC system, Margaret Spellings and Tom Ross ¨C a Republican and a Democrat ¨C and be asked to produce a report within eight months.

It follows last year¡¯s highly publicised incident in which 바카라사이트 board of trustees at 바카라사이트 UNC flagship campus in Chapel Hill delayed a vote on accepting Pulitzer-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones as tenured faculty member, only to watch her give up and?take a similar position?at Howard University.

The board¡¯s effective rejection of Professor Hannah-Jones ¨C it formally approved her?only after months of heavy pressure?¨C was widely attributed to its lack of racial diversity, and was seen as part of a series of such decisions blamed for driving away black students and academics from one of 바카라사이트 nation¡¯s top public institutions.

Yet 바카라사이트 governor¡¯s move in creating 바카라사이트 study commission, while put forth as bipartisan, seeks to address a problem with clear political dimensions.

Mr Cooper is a Democrat, but 바카라사이트 Republican-controlled state legislature ¨C under a law enacted in 2016 when 바카라사이트 state also had a Republican governor ¨C holds nearly complete control over choosing members of 바카라사이트 UNC system¡¯s statewide board of governors and 바카라사이트 boards of trustees at individual universities.

For 바카라사이트 sake of North Carolina¡¯s well-regarded public universities, Mr Cooper said, that situation cannot persist. ¡°If this continues much longer,¡± he said, ¡°it will not end well.é¢

It wasn¡¯t clear, however, how 바카라사이트 commission could alter 바카라사이트 underlying political dynamic. Republicans in charge of 바카라사이트 state legislature responded negatively to 바카라사이트 governor¡¯s announcement, calling it a partisan attempt to wrest back control of appointments to university governing boards.

Mr Ross is an attorney and former state judge who led 바카라사이트 UNC system from 2011 to 2016. Ms Spellings, a political activist who served as US secretary of education in 바카라사이트 George W. Bush administration, led 바카라사이트 UNC system from 2016 to 2019.

paul.basken@ws-2000.com