The wrong way to oppose the BoG 2015 centers and institutes sham review
We might also call this: Academic Freedom and the Self-Subversion of Good intentions In 2014 the UNC Board of Governors -- at the behest of overbearing General Assembly radicals -- undertook a review of UNC Centers and Institutes , and in February 2015 the BoG voted to shut down 3 research centers and institutes . The reaction was firm: the decision was met with vociferous protests. Many letters and comment from Chapel Hill faculty, and students, demanding that Chancellor Folt refuse to close the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity (led by Professor Nichol) were wonderfully refreshing for their commitment to academic freedom and institutional autonomy. They were also disappointingly ill-informed, politically naive, and completely devoid of any useful strategic insight. Sadly, Chapel Hill has once again proved to sister campuses around the state that the Flagship Community can indeed lead the system in paving the road to hell with good intentions. The politi...