Spellings a home-run choice for UNC president

Bill Friday, Dick Spangler, Molly Broad, Erskine Bowles and Tom Ross were all exceptional leaders of the University of North Carolina system. They came from a variety of backgrounds and brought different leadership styles to one of the most important positions in higher education in the country.

The UNC Board of Governors has hit a home run in selecting Margaret Spellings as the sixth president of the UNC system.

While some critics and the media have focused on the process for selecting Spellings, it is of much more and lasting importance to focus on the results of that search.

As the top educational leader in the country in President George W. Bush’s administration, she brings a wealth of experience and contacts to UNC that can only enhance and strengthen an already excellent system.

Some have criticized her for not having risen through the ranks of academia. Previous UNC presidents have come from business, government, foundations and nonprofits. Only one could be labeled a career educator.

President-elect Spellings, in her role as secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, initiated the Commission on the Future of Higher Education. She has been a strong and effective voice especially in the areas of accessibility, affordability and accountability – all important issues for UNC as higher education is transformed to meet today’s and tomorrow’s needs. She supports performance-based funding in higher education, a concept endorsed by Gov. Pat McCrory and likely by the Board of Governors.

Those who criticize the process have most likely never been involved in high-level searches. If they had been, they would understand why the searches need to be confidential. As a former journalism teacher and newspaper reporter, I understand why the media are adamant that searches be conducted in the open. I respectfully disagree. I commend Board of Governors Chairman John Fennebresque and the search committee for its outstanding work as they spent hundreds of hours reviewing qualified applicants from around the world and interviewing and seriously considering more than a dozen candidates. To have involved all 32 members of the board, faculty, staff and students would have indeed created a circus atmosphere. Thank goodness the majority on the Board of Governors did not succumb to the pressure to open the process.

Hypocrisy in criticism

There is a great deal of hypocrisy in some of the criticism about Spellings’ political experiences. As long as most of the past UNC presidents were liberals, Democrats, U.S. Senate candidate (twice) and others prominently encouraged to run statewide, that was OK. However, when a Republican Board of Governors chooses a highly qualified leader with a Republican background, it is not OK. Frankly, political skills rank at the top of qualities needed for an effective president in today’s changing world of higher education.

Andrew P. Kelly, director of the American Enterprise Institute’s Center on Higher Education Reform, called her a leader “who has a reputation for being unafraid to push educators and educational institutions to be transparent.”

Kati Haycock, president of the Education Trust, said, “I am a lifelong Democrat, but I adore Margaret Spellings. She came to Washington with just an intense passion about low-income students and students of color.” Robert Zemsley, member of the commission Spellings created, said, “She is one tough lady. I was much impressed with her.”

It is past time to put aside partisanship and whining about the process and give President-elect Spellings and the UNC Board of Governors the opportunity and support to lead a great university system to new heights. It is also time for those who profess to “love” the university to do the same. We are not going back to the “good old days” when a small clique of North Carolinians called the shots in public higher education.

It’s a new day for the University of North Carolina system under the leadership of Margaret Spellings!

This story was originally published November 2, 2015 at 4:59 PM with the headline "Spellings a home-run choice for UNC president."