10.19.2009 | by Cherry Crayton | Filed under NC State in the News | Comments: One response |
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
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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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09.18.2009 | by Chris Richter | Filed under Alumni Association News, Alumni News, NC State in the News, Red & White for Life blog | Comments: No responses |
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:
- A roundtable discussion about NC State’s culture with former UNC System president Bill Friday ’41, former Board of Trustees member Suzanne Gordon ’75, organizational leadership expert and management professor Art Padilla ’69, ’71 MS, former Alumni Association president Billy Maddalon ’90, former Faculty Senate chair Jim Martin and assistant news editor for The Washington Post Dwuan June ’90.
- Photographs from freelance photographer David Evans ’84, whose work has appeared in National Geographic and who helped start the National Geographic Channel.
- Q&As with an alumnus who helped design the Lonnie Poole Golf Course and another who spent a year in Afghanistan helping soldiers get a college education.
There will be much more, so make sure you check in throughout the week.
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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.
——————————————————————————–
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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