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My fear is that my alma mater is at risk to slide into ncst mediocrity in the next few years... which may be the intent of this state legislature enabled by the current Trump administration's attack on academia.
Tracking UNC’s School of Civic Life and Leadership
- Thread starter EyeballKid
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Texas A&M has effectively been turned into a degree mill, for all but STEM, and a DoD research center (hypersonic big booms, Los Alamos, biotech, etc). It was an intentional monetization and water down project, accelerated under Abbott. Early 2000s former President Robert Gates, a staunch conservative and former Sec of Defense, had an ambitious plan to elevate A&M into the top 10 public universities. It was working. Everything after Gates has been the antithesis of his plan, and symbolic of the malicious and ignorance-as-a-feature turn of modern “conservatism”.
I’m concerned about UNC, along similar lines, particularly with the animus the BOT has for the modern historical reputation of UNC.
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UNC is a top 5 public university and recognized as a public Ivy . Some here may not be aware, but UNC receives twice as many out of state applicants as in state applicants each year.
I am hoping UNC's national reputation is not diminished to that of just another ncst over the next 4 years...
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I think most folks recognize that about UNC. But those gaudy stats are in no way protective against the DeSantis and Abbott style war on higher education, unfortunately. In an age of right wing race to the bottom, nothing is a sacred cow, particularly when a brand’s economic might owes much to logos and laundry.
Mulberry Heel
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Yep. UNC has indeed been recognized as a Public Ivy for decades, and its national academic reputation has been sterling since at least the 1940s. In his famous book Inside USA, a witty and perceptive narrative of reporter John Gunther's travels through all 48 states during and right after World War Two, Gunther in his chapter on North Carolina wrote that NC has "a splendid university at Chapel Hill which is a kind of intellectual capital for the whole South." He goes on to add that "the [University of North Carolina] is not only the single most noteworthy thing in the state; it is one of the best of all American universities...Chapel Hill really fulfills the function of a true university in giving a spirited and pointed leadership to the whole community." UNC President Frank P. Graham told Gunther that "Members of my faculty can say anything they please...and what I hope is that the boys and girls who come here will always have an inner commitment to freedom of the mind."
The problem for conservatives is that along with UNC's sterling academic reputation UNC has also had an historic reputation as a liberal and progressive university, which is why Jesse Helms hated the school so and often fulminated about it in his nightly editorials on WRAL in the sixties. And that liberal reputation, proudly developed over many decades, is precisely what our current legislature and state GOP would love to kill if they can. Those who care about UNC are right to be deeply concerned about its future as the GOP's war on education, liberalism, academic freedom, and critical thinking just continues to escalate.
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Indeed !
And I couldn't agree more that UNC is " the single most noteworthy thing in the state" followed by the Research Triangle, the Triad, Charlotte, and Asheville .
the rest of the state ? East of I-95 is Alabama and west of I-77 is Mississippi.
Our "sister school"( ? ) UVA is treasured and promoted by the state of Virginia. I just wish the mouthing breathing knuckle draggers in our state legislature could recognize, appreciate, and protect our priceless gem.
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Please send help for nycfan and me.
donbosco
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UNC System Board of Governors and their Alma Maters from 2023. (Floyd Murphy is the current chair)
Randy Ramsey _ Chair - NONE
Wendy Floyd Murphy - Vice Chair - UNCW
Secretary: Pearl Burris-Floyd - UNC
MEMBERS
Dr. Lee Barnes — ASU & dook & Fielding Graduate University
Kellie Hunt Blue - Pembroke
Kirk J. Bradley - UGa & dook
Harry Brown - Campbell
C. Philip Byers - ASU & WCU & NCSU
Swadesh Chatterjee - NCSU
Jimmy D. Clark - NCSU
Carolyn Coward - Tenn & UNC Law
Gene Davis - UNC & UNC Law
Joel Ford - NCA&T
John Fraley - UNC
Estefany Gordillo-Rivas - WCU Student
Reginald Ronald Holley - UNC
Mark Holton - UNC & UNC Law
Terry Hutchens - NCSU & WFU Law
J. Alex Mitchell - NCSU
Sonja Phillips Nichols - FLA A&M
Art Pope - UNC & dook
Lee H. Roberts - dook
Temple Sloan - U of WY
Woody White - Southern College(TN) & UT Law
Michael Williford - UNC & NCCU Law
https://www.northcarolina.edu/apps/camp ... hp?id=8377
Randy Ramsey _ Chair - NONE
Wendy Floyd Murphy - Vice Chair - UNCW
Secretary: Pearl Burris-Floyd - UNC
MEMBERS
Dr. Lee Barnes — ASU & dook & Fielding Graduate University
Kellie Hunt Blue - Pembroke
Kirk J. Bradley - UGa & dook
Harry Brown - Campbell
C. Philip Byers - ASU & WCU & NCSU
Swadesh Chatterjee - NCSU
Jimmy D. Clark - NCSU
Carolyn Coward - Tenn & UNC Law
Gene Davis - UNC & UNC Law
Joel Ford - NCA&T
John Fraley - UNC
Estefany Gordillo-Rivas - WCU Student
Reginald Ronald Holley - UNC
Mark Holton - UNC & UNC Law
Terry Hutchens - NCSU & WFU Law
J. Alex Mitchell - NCSU
Sonja Phillips Nichols - FLA A&M
Art Pope - UNC & dook
Lee H. Roberts - dook
Temple Sloan - U of WY
Woody White - Southern College(TN) & UT Law
Michael Williford - UNC & NCCU Law
https://www.northcarolina.edu/apps/camp ... hp?id=8377
There’s an awful lot of Arkansas and South Carolina between I-77 and I-95.
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Y’all chose to live there.
donbosco
Inconceivable Member
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UNC-Chapel Hill Investigates the School of Civic Life and Leadership
Chancellor Lee Roberts said that the university is reviewing the school after faculty and administrative turnover in the past year.
www.theassemblync.com
UNC-Chapel Hill Investigates the School of Civic Life and Leadership
Chancellor Lee Roberts said that the university is reviewing the school after faculty and administrative turnover in the past year.by Matt HartmanSeptember 10, 2025
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is bringing in outside counsel to investigate its controversial School of Civic Life and Leadership after months of faculty turmoil.
Chancellor Lee Roberts said at a faculty council meeting on September 5 that the university is conducting the probe into the school, also called SCiLL. Paul Newton, the university’s general counsel, confirmed on Wednesday that a review is underway.
“Early this summer, Jed Atkins, Dean of the School of Civic Life and Leadership, asked the university to conduct a thorough process and policy review,” Newton said in a statement to The Assembly. “The university agreed that an independent review by outside counsel was necessary, and the investigation is ongoing.”
The university did not provide more details about what is being investigated or the timeline.
Roberts revealed that the review is happening after historian Harry Watson asked him to comment on a Chronicle of Higher Education story about the recent firing of the school’s associate dean, David Decosimo. (Decosimo remains on faculty but is no longer in an administrative role.)
The story is just the latest in a series of controversies surrounding personnel matters at the school.
“This kind of coverage is obviously troubling,” Roberts said. “It’s not what anybody would want.
In the same faculty council meeting, Newton promised that his office would “cut through the noise” to find out what’s happening at the school, which began offering classes last fall. The school says its goal is to foster free speech and encourage civil discourse. Critics say its founding was a Republican attempt to force the university to hire more conservatives.
THE ASSEMBLY IS LIKELY FIREWALLED SO I'M GOING TO POST THE ENTIRE ARTICLE.
CONTINUED NEXT PAGE.
donbosco
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“Our faculty and I are grateful that the university agreed to undertake a careful review of all relevant matters,” Atkins said in a statement to The Assembly on Wednesday.
Nine SCiLL faculty members left the school in the past year, in addition to Decosimo losing his administrative position. It now has 20 faculty.
Decosimo announced his firing on X last week. While he reiterated his support for the movement to launch civics programs like SCiLL, he said that reform “must be built on merit, courage, & principle, not nepotism, ideology, & secret handshakes.”
“Demanding loyalty oaths & unquestioning docility while selecting for personal connections & membership in certain networks is even worse,” Decosimo added.
Decosimo’s claims echo those of Inger Brodey, who also served as an associate dean in SCiLL before resigning in March and also criticizing Atkins. She told The Daily Tar Heel that the school had “lost sight of its mission” and was marked by “improprieties, slander, vindictiveness and manipulation.”
Both Decosimo and Brodey declined to comment for this article.
Atkins faced similar criticism from faculty last year over his approach to hiring and the direction he was taking the school.
Atkins’ defenders have argued the opposite. Dustin Sebell, a SCiLL professor hired last year, said in a March email that a hiring search this year only became contentious because then-Provost Chris Clemens tried to cancel it “in retaliation for the Dean’s refusal to commit to offering one of his friends a joint appointment outside of normal rules and procedures.”
Clemens unexpectedly resigned from his position a few weeks later. He also declined to comment for this article.
“The university has already publicly stated: ‘SCiLL’s faculty searches honored all university rules and procedures. Applicants were advanced on the basis of merit and fit with the advertised positions,’” Sebell wrote in a statement to The Assembly. “It remains to be seen whether anyone at UNC violated university rules and procedures in the course of trying to stop the searches.”
At last week’s faculty council meeting, Newton downplayed the turnover.
“The reality is, you’re going to expect some turbulence with a start-up like this, whether it’s private sector, public sector—particularly one that started with some controversy,” he said.
“The school is bigger than some turbulence at this point in time,” he added. “I think we’ll be able to move beyond it.”
Roberts emphasized that the school is still a strategic priority. “We’re going to do our best to fulfill the original vision and mission of the School of Civic Life and Leadership,” he said.
Matt Hartman is a higher education reporter at The Assembly. He’s also written for The New Republic, The Ringer, Jacobin, and other outlets. Contact him at matt@theassemblync.com.
www.theassemblync.com
Nine SCiLL faculty members left the school in the past year, in addition to Decosimo losing his administrative position. It now has 20 faculty.
Decosimo announced his firing on X last week. While he reiterated his support for the movement to launch civics programs like SCiLL, he said that reform “must be built on merit, courage, & principle, not nepotism, ideology, & secret handshakes.”
“Demanding loyalty oaths & unquestioning docility while selecting for personal connections & membership in certain networks is even worse,” Decosimo added.
Decosimo’s claims echo those of Inger Brodey, who also served as an associate dean in SCiLL before resigning in March and also criticizing Atkins. She told The Daily Tar Heel that the school had “lost sight of its mission” and was marked by “improprieties, slander, vindictiveness and manipulation.”
Both Decosimo and Brodey declined to comment for this article.
Atkins faced similar criticism from faculty last year over his approach to hiring and the direction he was taking the school.
Atkins’ defenders have argued the opposite. Dustin Sebell, a SCiLL professor hired last year, said in a March email that a hiring search this year only became contentious because then-Provost Chris Clemens tried to cancel it “in retaliation for the Dean’s refusal to commit to offering one of his friends a joint appointment outside of normal rules and procedures.”
Clemens unexpectedly resigned from his position a few weeks later. He also declined to comment for this article.
“The university has already publicly stated: ‘SCiLL’s faculty searches honored all university rules and procedures. Applicants were advanced on the basis of merit and fit with the advertised positions,’” Sebell wrote in a statement to The Assembly. “It remains to be seen whether anyone at UNC violated university rules and procedures in the course of trying to stop the searches.”
At last week’s faculty council meeting, Newton downplayed the turnover.
“The reality is, you’re going to expect some turbulence with a start-up like this, whether it’s private sector, public sector—particularly one that started with some controversy,” he said.
“The school is bigger than some turbulence at this point in time,” he added. “I think we’ll be able to move beyond it.”
Roberts emphasized that the school is still a strategic priority. “We’re going to do our best to fulfill the original vision and mission of the School of Civic Life and Leadership,” he said.
Matt Hartman is a higher education reporter at The Assembly. He’s also written for The New Republic, The Ringer, Jacobin, and other outlets. Contact him at matt@theassemblync.com.
UNC-Chapel Hill Investigates the School of Civic Life and Leadership
Chancellor Lee Roberts said that the university is reviewing the school after faculty and administrative turnover in the past year.
www.theassemblync.com
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I am no Univ expert..But it seems likely this new Snowflake dept was put together "overnight" without normal Facutly involvement Not suprised it has imploded“Our faculty and I are grateful that the university agreed to undertake a careful review of all relevant matters,” Atkins said in a statement to The Assembly on Wednesday.
Nine SCiLL faculty members left the school in the past year, in addition to Decosimo losing his administrative position. It now has 20 faculty.
Decosimo announced his firing on X last week. While he reiterated his support for the movement to launch civics programs like SCiLL, he said that reform “must be built on merit, courage, & principle, not nepotism, ideology, & secret handshakes.”
“Demanding loyalty oaths & unquestioning docility while selecting for personal connections & membership in certain networks is even worse,” Decosimo added.
Decosimo’s claims echo those of Inger Brodey, who also served as an associate dean in SCiLL before resigning in March and also criticizing Atkins. She told The Daily Tar Heel that the school had “lost sight of its mission” and was marked by “improprieties, slander, vindictiveness and manipulation.”
Both Decosimo and Brodey declined to comment for this article.
Atkins faced similar criticism from faculty last year over his approach to hiring and the direction he was taking the school.
Atkins’ defenders have argued the opposite. Dustin Sebell, a SCiLL professor hired last year, said in a March email that a hiring search this year only became contentious because then-Provost Chris Clemens tried to cancel it “in retaliation for the Dean’s refusal to commit to offering one of his friends a joint appointment outside of normal rules and procedures.”
Clemens unexpectedly resigned from his position a few weeks later. He also declined to comment for this article.
“The university has already publicly stated: ‘SCiLL’s faculty searches honored all university rules and procedures. Applicants were advanced on the basis of merit and fit with the advertised positions,’” Sebell wrote in a statement to The Assembly. “It remains to be seen whether anyone at UNC violated university rules and procedures in the course of trying to stop the searches.”
At last week’s faculty council meeting, Newton downplayed the turnover.
“The reality is, you’re going to expect some turbulence with a start-up like this, whether it’s private sector, public sector—particularly one that started with some controversy,” he said.
“The school is bigger than some turbulence at this point in time,” he added. “I think we’ll be able to move beyond it.”
Roberts emphasized that the school is still a strategic priority. “We’re going to do our best to fulfill the original vision and mission of the School of Civic Life and Leadership,” he said.
Matt Hartman is a higher education reporter at The Assembly. He’s also written for The New Republic, The Ringer, Jacobin, and other outlets. Contact him at matt@theassemblync.com.
UNC-Chapel Hill Investigates the School of Civic Life and Leadership
Chancellor Lee Roberts said that the university is reviewing the school after faculty and administrative turnover in the past year.
Now this may be a stretch-but I always thought the AfAm Dept was rammed through by the BOT-and without considerable Faculty oversight.. They of course were run by a madman for many years . "Normal " depts would not have let this happen
Lets let the damn Faculty run Academic Depts
EDIT
Roberts should stick to "innovating " in Sports and stay out of Academics
Last edited:
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I bet a ton of these problems are due to the difficulty of hiring the kind of people they want given the stated criteria and mission of the unit.“Our faculty and I are grateful that the university agreed to undertake a careful review of all relevant matters,” Atkins said in a statement to The Assembly on Wednesday.
Nine SCiLL faculty members left the school in the past year, in addition to Decosimo losing his administrative position. It now has 20 faculty.
Decosimo announced his firing on X last week. While he reiterated his support for the movement to launch civics programs like SCiLL, he said that reform “must be built on merit, courage, & principle, not nepotism, ideology, & secret handshakes.”
“Demanding loyalty oaths & unquestioning docility while selecting for personal connections & membership in certain networks is even worse,” Decosimo added.
Decosimo’s claims echo those of Inger Brodey, who also served as an associate dean in SCiLL before resigning in March and also criticizing Atkins. She told The Daily Tar Heel that the school had “lost sight of its mission” and was marked by “improprieties, slander, vindictiveness and manipulation.”
Both Decosimo and Brodey declined to comment for this article.
Atkins faced similar criticism from faculty last year over his approach to hiring and the direction he was taking the school.
Atkins’ defenders have argued the opposite. Dustin Sebell, a SCiLL professor hired last year, said in a March email that a hiring search this year only became contentious because then-Provost Chris Clemens tried to cancel it “in retaliation for the Dean’s refusal to commit to offering one of his friends a joint appointment outside of normal rules and procedures.”
Clemens unexpectedly resigned from his position a few weeks later. He also declined to comment for this article.
“The university has already publicly stated: ‘SCiLL’s faculty searches honored all university rules and procedures. Applicants were advanced on the basis of merit and fit with the advertised positions,’” Sebell wrote in a statement to The Assembly. “It remains to be seen whether anyone at UNC violated university rules and procedures in the course of trying to stop the searches.”
At last week’s faculty council meeting, Newton downplayed the turnover.
“The reality is, you’re going to expect some turbulence with a start-up like this, whether it’s private sector, public sector—particularly one that started with some controversy,” he said.
“The school is bigger than some turbulence at this point in time,” he added. “I think we’ll be able to move beyond it.”
Roberts emphasized that the school is still a strategic priority. “We’re going to do our best to fulfill the original vision and mission of the School of Civic Life and Leadership,” he said.
Matt Hartman is a higher education reporter at The Assembly. He’s also written for The New Republic, The Ringer, Jacobin, and other outlets. Contact him at matt@theassemblync.com.
UNC-Chapel Hill Investigates the School of Civic Life and Leadership
Chancellor Lee Roberts said that the university is reviewing the school after faculty and administrative turnover in the past year.
UNC is a highly desirable job, and literally everyone in a field like philosophy is committed to public discourse and civility. I can only imagine how many applications they got for those positions. A couple of years ago Boise State got over 600 applicants for a single open philosophy position.
Academic searches are highly regulated. Asking about somebody's religion or politics is illegal.
So you have maybe hundreds of well qualified applying with no real ways of telling who is a conservative. It is not likely that candidates would self-identify as conservatives as it would look unprofessional to bring up politics when it has no bearing on the job.
The guy running the unit knows that he's really there to hire conservatives. So he's likely using other unofficial criteria to select conservatives. But, this is against the law and deeply upsetting to other faculty who hire all the time.
donbosco
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