Shannon Watkins writes for the Martin Center about politics within the UNC system.
Once upon a time, there was a happy, sleepy university system in which nobody quarreled. The Board of Governors rubberstamped whatever the President wanted, the legislature gladly handed over whatever sums the President asked for, and the State Governor smiled on from above.
But that period of comity in the governance of the University of North Carolina system is no more. In the past few months, there have been enough accusations, enough backstabbing, enough confusion, and enough drama to be worthy of a Shakespearean plot.
Remarkably, while such turmoil may appear to be a bad turn of events, it may be all for the good. Passionate debate often produces better results than somnambulistic unanimity, and the university system has been asleep for too long. …
… [A] closer look at the board’s actual actions does not indicate that they are acting from self-serving motives. Rather, it appears that they are attempting to practice “politics” in the way Aristotle defined it: the highest of the sciences that “legislates what must be done and what avoided.” In taking a more assertive role, as it has been doing lately, the board is ensuring that the university operates as it should. Board members who weigh in on questions of student safety or the purpose of a university are addressing the fundamental questions of university governance. If board members are participating in “politics” in that sense, then, yes, they are performing their duties properly.
