UNC System President Emeritus Bill Friday '41, right, during his student days at NC State. (Photograph courtesy of Special Collections, NCSU Libraries)
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The panelists who participated in NC State magazine’s roundtable discussion about NC State’s culture, which appeared in the autumn issue and has been the focus of media reports, have issued this letter:
To Our Fellow Alumni:
We wish to thank the many of you who responded affirmatively to the published remarks of those of us invited to gather to discuss the future of our alma mater.
We gathered freely and as devoted alumni. As you read, the discussion was totally free of rancor; it was constructive, positive commentary aimed at placing our full support behind future plans for the University. The publication of this discussion was necessary to ensure your knowledge of all that was said.
To gather freely, to speak our minds responsibly, and to publish freely what was said are the hallmarks of a great university. We thank you for your calls and your messages that affirm these fundamental duties and responsibilities and most of all, your affirmation of the freedom to be as the Constitution demands that we be.
Signed,
William Friday ’41
Suzanne Gordon ’75
Dwuan June ’90
Billy Maddalon ’90
Jim Martin
Art Padilla ’69, ’71 MS
Below is the roundtable discussion and Q&A with Chancellor Jim Woodward from the Autumn 2009 issue of NC State magazine. A pdf version is also available.
Taking a Hard Look
A conversation about NC State’s culture
Three top university officials step down in May and June, after an investigation of a former governor raises questions about a job created for his wife. The chancellor in the interim pledges to create a culture of openness and transparency. The chair of the Board of Trustees appoints a committee to review what happened. Alumni send in letters from all over the world, expressing disappointment and support and asking questions.
Time for some soul-searching.
We asked Chancellor Jim Woodward about his perceptions of the university and plans for moving forward. (See end.) We also asked a group of six people—each with a unique perspective on the events of this summer—to come together in the Park Alumni Center for a freewheeling discussion about the university’s culture, media relations, governance and more.
The participants were: William C. Friday ’41, president emeritus of the UNC System; Suzanne Gordon ’75, chief information officer of SAS and former second vice chair of the NC State Board of Trustees; Dwuan June ’90, assistant news editor at The Washington Post and former editor of Technician; Billy Maddalon ’90, co-owner of Unique Southern Properties and former chair of the Alumni Association Board of Directors; Jim Martin, a chemistry professor and former chair of the NC State Faculty Senate; and Art Padilla ’69, ’71 MS, an expert on leadership in higher education and head of NC State’s Department of Management, Innovation and Entrepreneurship. An edited transcript of their Aug. 4 conversation follows.
—Rebecca Morphis
NC State: Does what happened here recently indicate something about our culture at NC State?
Friday: [I] think what we’ve been going through is a phenomenon that has happened across the country. I mean by that, the intrusion of politics into the life of an academic enterprise. For example, in the state of Illinois this very week, the Board of Trustees there is being asked to resign. Some of them [were appointed] by a previous governor who is now in prison, and [his successor], who is going to go to prison, apparently. The whole thing shows you what politics can do when you get to tampering with the administrative structure of an institution.
I’m not alleging anything here in North Carolina. I don’t know what the true facts will turn out to be. But we do know that rigidity on this point is very critical to the life of a university. A public institution is of the public process, to be sure. We are a creature of the state. We are financed by the state. We serve the state. But that is far and away a role quite different from being in the political life of the state. [Y]ou step across the line once in any substantive way and you’re in trouble, because there’s always the second time, and a third time, and a fourth time, as Illinois is showing you right now. [There are all kinds of questions that remain to be resolved.] So that’s the role of the trustees. Their job is to maintain that posture of open, free inquiry and involvement. (more…)
The Autumn 2009 issue of NC State magazine will be mailed next week, and we’ll be posting to redandwhiteforlife.com some of the content as well as blog-exclusive items. Look for:
There will be much more, so make sure you check in throughout the week.
Athletics director Roy Clogston, UNC System president Bill Friday '41 and chair of the stadium committee Walker Martin at the groundbreaking for Carter Stadium on Dec. 14, 1964.
NC State’s Special Collections Research Center has more than 20,000 images in its online database that you can view.
Do you have an NC State photo you think might make a good photo of the day? Send it to us.
NC State has launched a Web site that has all the documents and university statements related to the 2005 hiring of Mary Easley, the wife of former Gov. Mike Easley, who is under federal investigation. The site also includes links to news reports and commentaries about the investigation and the resignation of former Chancellor James L. Oblinger.
You can find our coverage, which includes exclusive interviews with members of the NC State Board of Trustees, UNC President Emeritus Bill Friday ’41 and Chancellor Jim Woodward, by clicking “Resignation” under “Tag Cloud” in the right column.
Bill Friday ’41, president emeritus of the UNC System, spoke this week with NC State magazine after the resignations of Chancellor James L. Oblinger and Provost Larry Nielsen. Here are excerpts from the interview.
On the resignations
Any time you have the two principal administrative officers stepping aside that can’t be characterized as anything but a tragedy. . . . See, NC State has an enormous opportunity to lead North Carolina in some very critical times, and that’s why getting these two principal positions filled is a matter of real urgency.
On lessons learned
You have to reconstitute the leadership and that means the Board of Trustees itself has got to be a lot more active and more attentive to what’s happening on campus and give their time and energy to make sure we all have the strength to muster to get the job done. . . . It’s just necessary now in a time like this to take a look at ourselves and see what we can do better.
On what’s next
I want to be very clear on something. I believe NC State is a strong institution and has an enormous reservoir of academic power and leadership. And while this does hurt, we’re not the first institution to have some hurtful experiences. This will heal. This is the time when you gather strength to heal the wound and move on, and that’s what I am counting on happening now.
Bill Friday ’41, then president-elect of the UNC System, talks with the last surviving graduates of the class of 1893, Sam M. Young (1893) and W.J. Mathews (1893) during Alumni Weekend in May 1957. Mathews is the namesake of the Mathews Medal, an annual award sponsored by the Alumni Association that honors students who have shown dedication and devotion to the enhancement of the campus community. (Photograph courtesy of Special Collections, NCSU Libraries)
NC State’s Special Collections Research Center has more than 18,000 images in its online database that you can view.
Do you have an NC State photo you think might make a good photo of the day? Send it to us!
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