The words we want to hear about UNC

Last month, after Florida state Senator Joe Negron was crowned as Senate president, he stood to address the lawmakers he would lead. Negron, who is a Republican, wanted to talk about education.

“Let’s make our good universities great,” he said. “Wherever you see sustainable economic development and high-wage jobs, you nearly always see top-notch universities.”

Remember when leaders here used to say that – and mean it?

Negron meant it. He proposed to the Senate that Florida spend $1 billion to invest in better university faculty, stronger graduate schools and other improvements. He said he wants Florida to get to the “next level.”

Like Virginia, he said. And North Carolina.

A lot of people still think of our universities that way. They should. Just this month, for the 15th straight year, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance rated UNC Chapel Hill as one of the best values in higher education.

But inside the system and out, people are worrying that we’re starting to live on our reputation a bit, that there’s a hollowing going on in the UNC system that eventually will catch up to us.

This is the point where we usually get into a battle of numbers. It’s where Republicans defend education funding in North Carolina by saying we spend more than most states. It’s where others say that funding has declined on a per-student basis, or that we’re getting lapped by other states.

But what everyone knows – from the governor to the legislature to chancellors – is that things have changed. Money is tighter, both in the short term and long term. Priorities are different.

To some degree, this is OK. As with every institution, there was fat to trim in the UNC system. Republicans were right to look for that and emphasize efficiencies, as Republicans are good at doing.

But strong leaders understand when it’s time to take the foot off the philosophical gas. They understand that in some places, getting lean becomes costly instead of cost-saving. That’s especially true in education, where there are different kinds of bottom lines to consider.

Negron, in his speech last month, spoke to this a little. Instead of dwelling on which degrees lead to better jobs, as some in his party do, he talked about keeping the brightest students in the state with better faculty and more scholarships.

He also chastised those who denigrate the liberal arts and the pursuit of intelligence. “It has been proven that liberal arts majors who pursue careers in business do very well,” he said.

That’s not what we’ve heard here in North Carolina, of course. A couple years back, our governor famously slapped at liberal arts courses at public universities. “If you want to take gender studies, that’s fine. Go to a private school,” Pat McCrory said, and he vowed that he would push for education funding “not based on how many butts in seats, but how many of those butts can get jobs.”

It’s understandable that a business-centric governor wants to focus on degrees that produce business-friendly skills. But great universities don’t try to limit the paths their students can take. Great universities encourage students to explore where they can be their best.

That’s how a state attracts and keeps a diversity of talent, which attracts a diversity of business, which builds a strong, lasting reputation.

Like North Carolina has, Joe Negron said.

For now.

This story was originally published January 7, 2016 at 4:43 PM with the headline "The words we want to hear about UNC."