My fellow staff members and constituents,
The past two years have been tumultuous: dealing with the athletic-academic scandal, Wainstein report and other issues. Our Chancellor is working to address problems created years before she arrived at UNC. It is difficult work. I personally want to thank her for being our leader and being the voice of UNC-Chapel Hill.
As Chair of the Employee Forum, it is my responsibility to speak on behalf of the staff of the University and advocate for what is best for the employees on this campus. While it is impossible to capture the complete range of reactions and opinions on recent decisions made by the Board of Governors, I have received feedback from a number of staff who are worried about the consequences of Tom Ross’s resignation and the possible closure of the School of Law’s Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity. Both decisions were made without satisfactory explanation or input from the faculty, staff and students at Carolina.
I want you to know that I am deeply concerned about these developments, and that the Employee Forum will work as a body to address the concerns I’ve outlined below. I would also like to invite you all to respond to this short, open-ended survey designed to identify the qualities that we want in our next UNC-system president.
Your input matters and is needed to let the Employee Forum know that we are accurately representing your concerns.
The Employee Forum will work to:
1. Continue to collect feedback from the staff to advise Chancellor Folt on how the Board of Governors’ actions will impact staff.
2. Join our faculty and staff colleagues from around the UNC-system to demand a reasonable explanation for the Board of Governors’ decision to force President Ross’s resignation, as well as articulate their vision for the future of the UNC-system.
3. Strongly oppose any effort by external bodies to create policies that infringe on the rights of UNC staff to express their political opinions or beliefs in accordance with the current policies prohibiting the endorsement of candidates and issues in an election using state resources. [1]
4. Collaborate with the Staff Assembly to ensure staff representation on the next UNC President hiring committee.
5. Endorse the right of our Chancellor, and her administration, to manage and oversee the intricate business of our campus.
In addition, I invite you to show your support for these initiatives or voice your concern, by attending our next Employee Forum meeting on Wednesday, March 4th 9:15 a.m.- 11:30 a.m. in the Pleasants Family Assembly Room at Wilson Library.
I hope you will join us.
Sincerely,
Charles D. Streeter
Chair, Employee Forum of UNC-Chapel Hill
One Response to “Statement on UNC System President and UNC-Chapel Hill Centers and Institutes”
Christine Greenberg
I believe it is crucial for the future stability and prosperity of our University to appoint a system president who fully understands and embraces the important/integral role staff play here at UNC. We are a very different population than we were even 10-15 years ago and we are well educated, professional and dedicated to the mission(s) of UNC. Without the proper appreciation, recognition and staff support, staff turnover will continue to be a drain on human and financial capital at UNC and I believe will hold our University back from timely accomplishments in both the near and distant future.