Yea I crack on the N&R quite a bit, but they’re doing a pretty good job covering the chaos surrounding the impending selection of a new UNC system president who will replace outgoing president Tom Ross. Right now speculation is Ross’ successor will be former U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings. Carolina Journal reports Gov. Pat McCrory met with a “candidate” for the president’s job, while Spellings is “widely reported to be the only candidate for the position.”

N&R’s higher education blog The Syllabus has an in depth interview with high-powered Greensboro developer Marty Kotis, the UNC Board of Governors member who has spoken out about the selection process:

Kotis said the search committee has said little to the rest of the BOG about the search and hasn’t asked for any input. Kotis said he’s bothered by what he considers a lack of transparency in the biggest decision the BOG will make.

Kotis said it’s true that the BOG voted to change the search process.

“But we didn’t realize that it was going to be abused the way that it has, that it was going to be controlled the way that it has,” Kotis said.

Adding more intrigue is SB 670,which would have required the full BOG to review three finalists for the president’s job and now sits on McCrory’s desk, with a deadline set for Oct. 30 for the governor to sign or veto. Speculation of course is board chairman John Fennebresque is rushing the selection process ahead of that deadline.

Couple of things here–first of all interesting to see McCrory and legislative leaders Sen. Phil Berger and Rep. Tim Moore not marching in lockstep on an issue. While the N&R’s Doug Clark says ‘good for them’ for intervening, doesn’t pass on the opportunity to get in a shot at Berger, noting “it’s richly ironic that Berger and Moore are complaining about a lack of transparency and procedural due process.”

Meanwhile both Triad Conservative and Daily Haymker express view on attributes the new president should possess. Sad to say, but good luck with all that.