More diversity could fix the UNC Board of Governors

Two news stories last week expressed the gulf between the University of North Carolina Board of Governors and the university system it controls, but does not represent.

The first of the stories, both reported by The News & Observer’s Kate Murphy, focused on the board’s lack of diversity. The second reported on the board’s outlandish agreement with the North Carolina division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. The board approved giving the group up to $2.5 million to transport, restore and presumably display elsewhere the statue of a Confederate soldier that protesters toppled on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus in August of 2018.

The board’s decision on the statue known as Silent Sam settled a lawsuit brought by the Sons of Confederate Veterans. The group sought custody of the bronze statue that had stood at an entrance to the Chapel Hill campus since 1913 and has spent more than year in secret storage. The money for Silent Sam’s second life will come from the interest earnings of the UNC system’s endowment. It won’t be paid for with taxpayer money.

Diversity lacking

A sensible and balanced board could have saved the endowment a huge expense by paying a couple hundred dollars to have the symbol of insurrection in defense of slavery hauled off for recycling. But this is not a sensible and balanced board. It is a Republican group dominated by white, middle-aged or older men who owe their seats to their fealty to Republican legislative leaders.

Just how out-of-kilter the board is was described by Murphy’s story on the board’s lack of diversity. Of its 26 members, 21 are men and 19 of the 21 are white. There are only five women on the board and only three African-Americans. The story notes the discrepancy between the board and the demographics of the UNC system’s campuses: “White men make up 73% of the board but only 25% of students. There are three black board members (11.5%), while 20% of students are black.”

The board’s demographics reflect the Republican legislative leaders who appoint its members. The Republican majorities that control the state House and Senate do not include a single African-American. Women are underrepresented in both the parties in a 170-member General Assembly that is only 26 percent female.

No outreach

Rather than attempt reach out to the underrepresented, Republican leaders have consolidated their power through gerrymandering, voter suppression and filling the Board of Governors mostly with people who look and think like themselves. Indeed it was the legislature’s lack of regard for other views, particularly those of African-Americans, that led to the Silent Sam protests and the latest fiasco about the statue’s future. A 2015 state law blocked the removal of Confederate monuments without permission from the N.C. Historical Commission. That set up a standoff over taking down Silent Sam even though UNC-CH leaders favored removing it. After waiting more than a year for a resolution, frustrated opponents of the statue took action on their own.

Leadership that includes a diversity of backgrounds and perspectives better reflects the state and is better at reaching decisions that are broadly supported. The embarrassment, bitterness and now the cost of the Silent Sam imbroglio illustrates the hazards of leaders who see — and don’t see — alike.

There’s little hope that Republican legislative leaders are going to welcome other views. But if Democrats win control of the legislature in 2020, they should make changing how the Board of Governors is constituted a top priority.

This story was originally published December 1, 2019 at 12:00 AM with the headline "More diversity could fix the UNC Board of Governors."