UNC trustees discuss fall plans, looking to ‘move forward’ from campus controversies
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Despite the ongoing controversies swirling around UNC-Chapel Hill, the campus Board of Trustees focused on plans for the fall semester at its first meeting with new members Thursday.
In his opening remarks, newly-elected Board Chair Dave Boliek said he hopes the university’s fall plans will “give parents, students and all stakeholders valuable confidence that we will be open and the Carolina experience will be alive.”
“This university must open on time and we must operate as normal as possible,” Boliek said, with full capacity in dorm rooms, classrooms and the football stadium.
Boliek said it has “not been a real easy five weeks, but we’re going to move forward.”
As UNC-CH graduates, Boliek said, each trustee learned life lessons in Chapel Hill and were taught by “tenured and non-tenured professors alike” — an apparent nod to the recent national controversy of tenure for journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones.
Boliek was one of four trustees who voted no for tenure for Hannah-Jones, who later turned down the position as Knight Chair at UNC-CH.
The meeting was the first for this set of trustees, and it came a day after the faculty met over concerns that politicians, trustees and members of the UNC System Board of Governors want to remove Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz.
There was no public discussion of Guskiewicz’s fate at Thursday’s meeting, but some trustees and BOG member David Powers expressed their general support for him and for UNC-CH.
At the end of the meeting, after returning from closed session, Boliek said the board had a constructive conversation with the chancellor regarding legal matters and other university issues. He thanked Guskiewicz and said they’re committed to working together on outstanding issues.
“We are supportive of the chancellor as we work together to move this university forward,” Boliek said.
There was also no discussion of the recent resignation of Police Chief David Perry or public discussion of recent UNC police department audits. Both Guskiewicz and Boliek declined to comment on the issue or whether more details should be released. Guskiewicz said he had no updates and Boliek said it was a personnel matter.
During the meeting, Student Body President Lamar Richards said he’s been “reflecting quite a bit” on what has happened in his first several weeks on the board, which started before other new members joined this week. He said he has seen students, faculty and staff rally in defense of academic freedom.
“We cannot and must not accept political partisanship, maneuvering or interference at our home — in our house. External influence must have no place and no say in our sacred framework of shared governance, nor in our mission of securing scholarship, excellence and innovation at Carolina — our nation’s oldest public university.”
Richards said it’s clear, now more than ever, that the community “must continuously hold leadership across our state accountable.” He reminded board members of the example it sets for North Carolina and public higher education.
Board of Trustees’ priorities
In the meeting, Boliek outlined three major areas of focus:
Reopening campus for the fall semester
Harnessing the economic power of the university to benefit all 100 counties in the state through things like the institute for converging science, business school expansion and coronavirus research
Supporting the university’s strategic plan, including promoting civil discourse among diverse groups
Boliek also noted that the board will work to make sure the faculty tenure process — including its role in it — is clear, transparent and consistent with best practices. He said UNC-CH is putting together a working group to make that happen and will issue a report that outlines the expectations.
Boliek also said the board plans to adjust the structure and work of some of the committees, which got new leaders Wednesday.
Boliek assigned John Preyer to the budget and finance committee, Allie Ray McCullen to the external relations committee and Rob Bryan to the university affairs committee.
The new members are former state senator Rob Bryan, former member of the N.C. House of Representatives Dr. Perrin Jones, DraftKings executive Malcolm Turner, businesswoman Ramsey White, real estate developer and former Board of Governors member Marty Kotis and Vinay Patel, who owns a chain of hotels in Charlotte.
Returning members are Gene Davis, Teresa Artis Neal, Ralph Meekins and Allie Ray McCullen.
In the chancellor’s remarks, Guskiewicz said he’s looking forward to hosting freshmen and sophomores in Kenan Stadium for convocation in August, as students return for a “full, in-person Carolina experience.”
He applauded the university’s efforts to keep UNC-CH affordable and accessible for North Carolinians, while staying on track to balance its budget by next summer.
UNC-CH will welcome its largest incoming class in history this fall, despite reports of decreasing undergraduate enrollment nationwide.
Fall 2021 plans
Trustees heard updates and plans from university administrators and COVID-19 experts, including Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Amy Johnson and Dr. Amir Barzin, an assistant professor at UNC Medical School who leads the university’s testing program.
The university plans to have students living in 95% of residence halls on main campus and 87% occupancy in Granville Towers. There will also be some isolation and quarantine space on campus.
Masks will be required indoors in common areas, including dining halls and classrooms, but not in dorm rooms, suites or apartments. No masks will be required outdoors while students are walking around campus or in the stands at sporting events.
Some board members, including Preyer, Kotis, White and Jones, questioned the need for masks on campus. They referenced current CDC guidance, vaccinations and the lack of masks in the ongoing board meeting. Jones also asked about what other institutions are doing and the experts’ schedule for potential changes to UNC-CH plans.
Barzin defended masks as a proven method to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and said UNC-CH is a unique environment with thousands of students returning to campus from different states and countries. He also mentioned the Delta variant of COVID-19 as a potential additional threat this fall.
Barzin said this decision on masks was made to “get the best footing we can, start with safety and then try to adapt and change as we can.”
UNC-CH will also continue its weekly testing program for unvaccinated students, particularly focused on those living on campus and taking in-person classes.
UNC-CH students won’t be required to be vaccinated, as they will be at Duke University, but they can skip COVID-19 testing if they are.
The university is asking students to report through CarolinaConnect whether they’re vaccinated, or they can decline to answer.
So far, the university has received about 21,000 reports. More than 19,000 students have said they are vaccinated, according to Johnson. About 740 students have reported they’re not vaccinated, and the others chose not to answer.
Most students will begin moving back to Chapel Hill next month, and classes start Aug. 18.
This story was originally published July 15, 2021 at 2:13 PM.
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