Amid the claims of politically motivated interference via the shuttering of three left-leaning academic centers by the University of North Carolina board of governors, one issue that hasn’t been discussed much is whether the centers’ work will continue in some form.
The leaders of the Center for Biodiversity at East Carolina University think it will actually do better without official designation as a “UNC Center.” That, or they’re spinning.
In a joint statement from the center’s directors, biology department chair and the official who leads the “centers and institutes committee,” they say:
The BOG Working Group is not advocating that the activities of the Center be discontinued. Instead, the question being addressed is whether designation as a UNC Center is necessary to accomplish its mission and is the most efficient mechanism for the activities to be administered. UNC Policy 400.5[R] recognizes and allows for entities other than UNC Centers that coordinate education, research, and service activities; and these entities can be exempt from the regulations of the Policy, and it should be noted that the changes to 400.5[R] will increase the reporting requirements and subsequently the administrative burden placed on UNC Centers.
Hear that? They’ll actually escape from more bureaucracy. The center will just be redefined as an “other coordinating entity”:
Reconfiguration/restructuring will eliminate the need to comply with the reporting requirements within Policy 400.5[R], as well as the need to be assessed separately for [Southern Association of Colleges and Schools] accreditation. Thus, we see the recommendation of the BOG Working Group as a potential to decrease administrative burden on the faculty associated with the Center, allowing more resources to be used for direct support of programs.
Was this all a tempest in a teapot?
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