10.15.2009 | by Chris Richter | Filed under Academics, Administration, Campus News, NC State in the News | Comments: No responses |
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…)
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07.15.2009 | by Cherry Crayton | Filed under Campus News, NC State in the News | Comments: No responses |
Some highlights from yesterday’s NC State Board of Trustees’ meeting:
- The board elected S. Lawrence Davenport ’65 as chair, Cassius S. Williams ’69 as first vice chair, Barbara H. Mulkey ’77, ’84 mse as second vice chair and Steve F. Warren ’68 as secretary. Read their bios.
- Exiting chair Bob Jordan ’54 announced a 19-person search committee for a chancellor and announced that a private search firm will help in the process. Jordan will serve as chair of the committee.
- Chancellor in the interim Jim Woodward announced the areas he would focus on during his time at NC State: growing research opportunities, the new chancellor’s residence, a new student union, and the university’s fund-raising structure.
- The new board chair, S. Lawrence Davenport ’65, announced that a five-person ad hoc committee composed of trustees will review the events that led to the resignations of Chancellor James L. Oblinger, Provost Larry Nielsen and board Chair McQueen Campbell ’93. Cassius S. Williams will serve as chair of the committee. Other members are Gayle S. Lanier ’82, Norris Tolson ’62, Jim Owens ’68, ’70 MT, ’73 PHD and Ben Jenkins ’68.
During the meeting, Davenport said this about the ad hoc committee:
“Our first action together [with the new board and officers] is to appoint an ad hoc committee to review the events of the last 9-12 months. . . . This is not an attempt to find fault or blame anyone but simply a chance to discuss and advise Chancellor Woodward on our policies and procedures in an effort to pinpoint where they failed. This committee will be coming to our full board with recommendations for changes in our process.”
(more…)
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06.30.2009 | by Cherry Crayton | Filed under Campus News, NC State in the News | Comments: No responses |
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.
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06.17.2009 | by Cherry Crayton | Filed under Campus News, NC State in the News | Comments: No responses |
Former NC State Chancellor James L. Oblinger is scheduled to appear before a federal grand jury today. In May he was subpoenaed to turn over all documents related to the hiring of Mary Easley.
“The chancellor is going, as he has said all along, to cooperate in every way with this investigation. When he was still chancellor, he directed everyone at NC State to do the same thing,” Oblinger’s lawyer, Press Millen, told WRAL-TV. “He is going there. . . with the intention of answering all of the questions of the grand jury.”
Today’s N&O has a detailed summary of the events and reactions leading up to Oblinger’s resignation on June 8, when the NC State Board of Trustees also terminated Easley’s contract:
From the moment Mary Easley’s big raise was made public last summer, NC State University’s chancellor and provost came under blistering attack, with many parents, students and others sending letters and e-mail messages questioning how they could have made such a deal.
Update: According to The N&O, Oblinger left the courthouse at about 12:15 p.m. and answered all of the grand jury’s questions.
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06.16.2009 | by Chris Richter | Filed under Campus News | Comments: No responses |
The N&O is reporting that former Provost Larry Nielsen’s pay package has been cut. Chancellor Jim Woodward says in a letter to Nielsen:
My conclusion is that key elements of the May 13, 2009 letter are invalid. Chancellor Oblinger did not have the authority to fundamentally alter the contents of the employment agreement, the June 22, 2005 letter, without first getting approval of the Board of Trustees. This approval was not given nor was it sought.
You can read the entire letter here.
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06.15.2009 | by Cherry Crayton | Filed under Campus News, NC State in the News | Comments: No responses |
This weekend The N&O ran a lengthy account of what NC State’s search for its next permanent chancellor may look like. Robert B. Jordan III ’54, chair of the NC State Board of Trustees, hopes to announce the search committee at the board’s next meeting, scheduled for July 14. Here’s what Jordan told NC State magazine last week on the topic:
On the search
We will be working very rapidly to set up a search committee. We will work with a staff person or adviser out of the UNC Board of Governors, which will be very much involved in it. We will be looking at who makes up the search committee. . . . There is a standard procedure and a format in place to be sure that as many parties as possible — faculty, all the different parts of the administration and staff — all have representation. You need to have a series of open sessions on campus and other places to let people come in. That takes a little while. . . . It’s something that will [consider] people all over the U.S. (more…)
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06.12.2009 | by Cherry Crayton | Filed under Campus News, NC State in the News | Comments: One response |
Two members of the NC State Board of Trustees — Suzanne Gordon ’75 and Robert B. Jordan III ’54 — answered questions from NC State magazine about what they might have done differently and where they go from here following the resignations of Chancellor James. L. Oblinger and Provost Larry Nielsen.
Suzanne Gordon ’75, second vice chair of the NC State Board of Trustees, answered these questions by e-mail Wednesday. She’s chief information officer and vice president of information technology at SAS.
Looking back, is there anything you think the board could have done differently?
I believe both the Board of Trustees and the university’s lawyers need to be more aware of how any action might in any way be or appear to be a violation of ethics. Retrospectively, the board could have been more aggressive in questioning the background process that led to the hire [of Mary Easley].
What steps will the board take to ensure that something like this doesn’t happen again?
This topic will be discussed at the next set of board meetings [scheduled for July 14 via phone and Sept. 11]. One idea is to appoint an ethics “watchdog” board member or committee.
How does the board plan to address concerns raised about the salary packages and the Retreat to Faculty policy?
These longer retreat packages were initiated in much better economic times. When the economy changed we definitely should have been more sensitive and downsized the retreat packages in the same way that many programs and departments at NC State have downsized financially in the current economic climate. The board definitely needs to be more involved in these types of issues and this would fall under the purview of the Academic and Affairs Committee. I believe you will see reviews of all retreat packages added to this committee’s duties. It’s something that will come up at the next set of board meetings.
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Robert B. Jordan III ’54 , chair of the NC State Board of Trustees, spoke with us Thursday afternoon. Jordan is president of Jordan Lumber and Supply and was lieutenant governor of North Carolina from 1985 to 1989. This is an edited transcript .
What are the Board of Trustees’ top priorities now?
First let me say that all this publicity has certainly bothered NC State alumni and I’m sure maybe the general public from the standpoint as to whether we’re spending money wisely. But in no way has it detracted from the fact of what this university means and what’s going on there—the training of students, the research and what Centennial Campus means to North Carolina. So the university is in real good shape in doing the things it’s doing.
What’s evolved here is that [the Board of Trustees] is looking at some of the things that should have been done differently, and what’s evolved here is a reassessment of how the Board of Trustees is going to react and how information is going to be shared. . . . I’m worried about getting our image straightened out and our procedures straightened out, but I’m really optimistic about where the university is going.
What could have been done differently?
(more…)
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06.08.2009 | by Cherry Crayton | Filed under Campus News, Faculty News | Comments: 2 responses |
The NC State Board of Trustees today voted to terminate Mary Easley’s contract. Technician has more:
“I believe we now have to move forward. I think to do so we have got to do everything we can to bring sunlight to this issue. I have therefore fully supported the BOT recommendation that we terminate our relationship with Mrs. Easley,” UNC President Erskine Bowles said in a press conference following the meeting.
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05.21.2009 | by Chris Richter | Filed under Campus News | Comments: No responses |
The NC State Board of Trustees on Wednesday chose former N.C. Lt. Gov. Robert B. Jordan III ’54 as chair. Jordan replaces McQueen Campbell ’93, who resigned May 15 after newspaper reports linked him to the hiring of former N.C. First Lady Mary Easley as director of NC State’s Millennium Seminars Series. He has denied influencing the hiring process. Jordan, president of Mt. Gilead-based Jordan Lumber and Supply Inc., will serve as chair until July 14, when the board selects new officers.
Update: Mary Easley won’t resign from her position at NC State, her attorney says.
Update #2: New BOT Chair Robert Jordan responds to news that Mary Easley won’t resign:
The ongoing distraction has obscured the university’s accomplishments and mission and detracted from our day-to-day work. We respectfully ask that she reconsider her decision for the good of the university.
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