UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz.
Citing reporting from the
News & Observer, the
Daily Tar Heel and Policy Watch, the AAUP chapter referenced recent revelations that UNC-Chapel Hill Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs Clayton Somers was directly involved in negotiating the Silent Sam settlement with the NC Sons of Confederate Veterans. The new information, disclosed as part of a settlement with UNC-Chapel Hill’s
Daily Tar Heel newspaper, contradicted Guskiewicz’s previous assurances to the campus community that he and the campus administration were not involved in the deal.
“The serial dishonesty displayed by the chancellor and his associates regarding the most sensitive and important matters confronting the University in recent years has eroded our confidence in UNC’s leadership,” the AAUP chapter wrote in a statement. “Transparency and faculty participation form the bedrock of effective shared governance at universities. To move the campus forward wi
February 11, 2021
In early 2019, DePaul professors Valerie Johnson and Quinetta Shelby began questioning the language and purpose of a clause in the universityâs Faculty Handbook that states âa pattern of extreme intimidation and aggression towards other members of the university committeeâ can be grounds for faculty dismissal or other repercussions.Â
The language, they argued to a faculty committee recently, provides no objective criteria for violation, leaving it ripe for abuse â particularly toward faculty of color, who are often accused of being threatening or aggressive if they are outspoken.
âIt feels like a veiled threat toward faculty of colorâ if we perceive you as aggressive, then you may stand to lose your job,â Johnson told The DePaulia, as the perception of both intimidation and aggression is widely subjective.Â
Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz said he was aware discussions were "occurring through the UNC System" prior to the Nov. 27, 2019 Silent Sam settlement, in a campus message Thursday.
“The serial dishonesty displayed by the chancellor and his associates regarding the most sensitive and important matters confronting the University in recent years has eroded our confidence in UNC's leadership,” read the statement posted Thursday.