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The current situation within our university system appears strikingly familiar to the proverb we heard as children. For want of a nail the shoe was lost, for want of a shoe the horse was lost, for want of a horse the knight was lost, for want of a knight the battle was lost. So it was a kingdom was lost – all for want of a nail.
What started as a few raised eyebrows over the hiring and compensation of former first lady Mary Easley has turned into a major crisis in our university system. Following those initial questions we saw the N.C. State provost resign, followed shortly by the resignation of the chancellor. The generous severance packages given these two raised questions about other “retreat” packages for public university administrators, yielding subsequent revelations of millions of dollars in payouts. That path led to the uncovering of massive growth in the number and compensation of administrators within the university system within the past five years. And it all started with a few raised eyebrows.
We need to praise the investigative reporting of The News & Observer of Raleigh and others as a shining example of the value of a strong Fourth Estate. But we question why our news media should have been the ones to tell us this news. Either responsible people within our university system did not know or did not report this information. Neither excuse is acceptable. The damage done to our university system is immeasurable.
To his credit UNC system President Erskine Bowles recognized the growing crisis and stood tall in accepting responsibility. While some argue he should have known and fixed the problems earlier, they agree it is refreshing to see a leader be accountable. As he said, “the buck stops here.”
With his great love for our state and our universities, coupled with his sterling record of success in business, who better than Erskine Bowles to take the reins of our public universities? He came to this job with a reputation as a no-nonsense executive who brought order, discipline and efficiency to the chaotic Clinton White House. Present evidence would not demonstrate he has done the same at UNC.
From the early days of his tenure Bowles preached the elimination of layers of bureaucracy, even cutting administrators from the General Administration. But nobody wanted to hear his admonitions and our legislators kept glowing, by steadily increasing state revenues; grant monies kept flowing, largely federal money; private contributors kept crowing; so our universities kept growing – some say growing out of control.
Bowles needs to conduct a top to bottom evaluation of our universities, to include where they get and spend dollars, how well they are delivering education to our citizens, whether they should be involved in other endeavors like golf courses and hotels, and how we can better govern this huge public university system.
Our universities are invaluable to this state. Not only have they educated our people but they have been the springboard to economic growth, better health and an improved way of life. We can ill afford a bloated, ineffective, irresponsible and unaccountable university system. We believe President Bowles will not waste this crisis, using it as a springboard for a better university system. The task is critical to North Carolina's future well-being.
Tom Campbell is former assistant state Treasurer and is creator/host of NC SPIN, a weekly statewide television discussion of N.C. issues. Contact him at www.ncspin.com.
