Campus Concerns
NC has what is arguably the best system of public higher education in the country, yet (for the fifth year running) there wasn't a single NC public university on the Chronicle of Higher Education's 2015 "Great Colleges to Work For." (Kudos to Wake Tech for making some of the earlier lists for 2 year institutions, but the absence of NCCC system schools in recent rankings only reinforces the concerns raised here).
This of course stands in sharp contrast with the great work that NC staff and faculty have done to make many UNC schools among the most highly ranked institutions -- from a student's perspective.
What drives this gap? As I have argued elsewhere in this blog, there is a sense in which the UNC system is (one of) the best in the country despite the problematic policies and laws of the NC legislature and the UNC Board of Governors. There is a sense in which UNC staff, faculty, and administrators have insulated the University from the destructive effects of ill-conceived policy and law. This is why, for example, North Carolina citizens should be very concerned about the forced removal of Thomas Ross from the presidency of the system, why Board of Governors interference in the selection of campus Chancellors should be a concern, and why Board of Governors interference in research and service activities of faculty on the campuses should be a concern.
But that is another story. This one is primarily about the lack of enthusiasm for working at UNC institutions.
Some faculty and staff will likely say that salary issues are at stake. No doubt this is true -- at least for those who think of their public institution employment primarily as a matter of personal self-promotion. I think most faculty and staff in NC, and indeed across the country, are far more concerned with the public service mission of their schools. Of course salary issues could be taken as an indicator of respect for faculty, and thus a dimension of declining support for institutional missions, but I suspect that it is the systematic downward pressure on access, affordability, intellectual excellence, and campus autonomy that plays a far more important role in demoralization.
It will be a welcome day indeed when the outstanding reputation of UNC schools for providing a high quality education for their students is matched by the outstanding reputation of UNC schools as great places to work. Then we will know that the hard work of staff and faculty is supported by governing bodies committed to maintaining – rather than undermining – all of the great things that public higher education can do for this state.
This of course stands in sharp contrast with the great work that NC staff and faculty have done to make many UNC schools among the most highly ranked institutions -- from a student's perspective.
What drives this gap? As I have argued elsewhere in this blog, there is a sense in which the UNC system is (one of) the best in the country despite the problematic policies and laws of the NC legislature and the UNC Board of Governors. There is a sense in which UNC staff, faculty, and administrators have insulated the University from the destructive effects of ill-conceived policy and law. This is why, for example, North Carolina citizens should be very concerned about the forced removal of Thomas Ross from the presidency of the system, why Board of Governors interference in the selection of campus Chancellors should be a concern, and why Board of Governors interference in research and service activities of faculty on the campuses should be a concern.
But that is another story. This one is primarily about the lack of enthusiasm for working at UNC institutions.
Some faculty and staff will likely say that salary issues are at stake. No doubt this is true -- at least for those who think of their public institution employment primarily as a matter of personal self-promotion. I think most faculty and staff in NC, and indeed across the country, are far more concerned with the public service mission of their schools. Of course salary issues could be taken as an indicator of respect for faculty, and thus a dimension of declining support for institutional missions, but I suspect that it is the systematic downward pressure on access, affordability, intellectual excellence, and campus autonomy that plays a far more important role in demoralization.
It will be a welcome day indeed when the outstanding reputation of UNC schools for providing a high quality education for their students is matched by the outstanding reputation of UNC schools as great places to work. Then we will know that the hard work of staff and faculty is supported by governing bodies committed to maintaining – rather than undermining – all of the great things that public higher education can do for this state.
