Academic Freedom and Accreditation at UNC
[link removed]
CounterCurrent:
Don't Settle for Less
Academic Freedom and
Accreditation at UNC
CounterCurrent is the National Association of Scholars’ weekly newsletter, bringing you the biggest issues in academia and our responses to them.
[link removed]
Category: College Governance/Ideological Diversity;
Reading Time: ~4 minutes
------------------------------------------------------------
** Featured Article - Gov. Cooper’s UNC “Commission” Shows Its Hand ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
What a time to be on the side of higher education reform. We have seen multiple positive developments in the fight for liberal education over the past several weeks. The National Association of Scholars’ investigations into diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies have already made tsunami-level waves: last week, Texas Tech University dropped DEI statements ([link removed]) in faculty hiring after our own John Sailer exposed these despicable practices in the Wall Street Journal. In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis appointed an all-star team ([link removed]) of higher education reformers to turn the tides on wokeness at the New College of Florida.
Things are looking up. But with every step in the right direction, we can expect temper tantrums and roadblocks from defenders of the woke status quo. That is the current battle the University of North Carolina (UNC) Board of Trustees has found itself in after announcing a new school that—gasp!—preserves free inquiry.
Here’s what happened: In January 2023, the UNC Board of Trustees voted 12–0 to develop the School of Civic Life and Leadership ([link removed]) . The School would hire its own dean and 20+ professors from across the political spectrum to teach in areas such as history, political science, and religion. This is significant. Walk on any college campus, and you will seldom ([link removed]) find a conservative faculty member in the humanities and social sciences. Adding political litmus tests like DEI statements ensures that these departments continue to support only one set of views.
Of course, universities should already be havens of free inquiry. State universities, especially, have an obligation to uphold the First Amendment as they are funded by the public. But the politicization of the academy has been decades in the making. Undoing the effects of the years of radically left-leaning policies will take time, and it must be done with care and precision to avoid introducing other perverse incentives. The Board of Trustees recognizes this challenge.
But since the Trustees’ announcement, the situation has escalated. Belle Wheelan, president of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), threatened UNC’s accreditation status. As James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal President Jenna Robinson documented ([link removed]) :
During her presentation, Wheelan told commissioners, “UNC-Chapel Hill’s board is going to get a letter because of a news article that came out that said that the board, without input from the administration or faculty, had decided they were going to put in this new curriculum offering. Okay. Explain that, because that’s kind of not the way we do business.”
Later in the discussion, she elaborated, “We’re gonna see the committee and talk to them and help them understand it and either get them to change it, or the institution will be on warning with [SACS], I’m sure.
Losing accreditation status spells trouble for universities: they lose access to federal student loan money, which can cripple institutions. Wheelan previously ([link removed]) tried to intrude in university governance when Florida State University sought a new president (Governor DeSantis mandated that Florida universities disassociate from the accreditor as a result).
As the UNC Board of Trustees continues on with this battle, it should follow Florida’s lead: do not give in. Do not settle for less.
Neetu Arnold
Fellow
National Association of Scholars
Read the Full Article ([link removed])
For more on student loans and American higher education:
[link removed]
February 03, 2023
** UNC Board Moves to Prohibit Compelled Speech ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
John Sailer
A UNC Board resolution seeks to restrict the school's use of compelled speech in the form of "diversity statements," which often act as political litmus tests.
[link removed]
February 02, 2023
** UNC Board of Trustees Forges Path to Reform for Others to Follow ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
Peter Wood and David Randall
UNC Board of Trustees vote unanimously to establish the School of Civic Life and Leadership.
[link removed]
February 7, 2023
** Exclusive: At Texas Tech, Job Candidates Punished for “Microaggressions,” Rewarded for “Land Acknowledgement” ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
John Sailer
New FOIA documents from Texas Tech University detail how DEI evaluations and statements act as political litmus tests.
** About the NAS
------------------------------------------------------------
The National Association of Scholars, founded in 1987, emboldens reasoned scholarship and propels civil debate. We’re the leading organization of scholars and citizens committed to higher education as the catalyst of American freedom.
============================================================
Follow NAS on social media.
** Facebook ([link removed])
** Twitter ([link removed])
** YouTube ([link removed])
** Website ([link removed])
** Donate ([link removed])
| ** Join ([link removed])
| ** Renew ([link removed])
| ** Bookstore ([link removed])
Copyright © 2023 National Association of Scholars, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website, membership or donation forms, contact forms at events, or by signing open letters.
Our mailing address is:
National Association of Scholars
420 Madison Avenue
7th Floor
New York, NY 10017-2418
USA
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
.
