Last month, the Board of Governors forced UNC system president Tom Ross to step down from his position. The board met for nearly two hours in a closed session before releasing a joint statement with Ross, according to The News & Observer.
Despite the Board of Governors claiming that “this decision has nothing to do with Ross’ performance or ability to continue in the office,” the statement did not address the reason Ross was suddenly ousted. Shortly afterward, rumors went rampant in response to the decision, many concerning the role of politics in the matter.
John Fennebresque, the chairman of the board appointed by the Republican legislature, adamantly denied that this decision involved either politics or Ross’ age.
Without clear explanation of why the Board forced Ross from his job, media and political analysts have speculated that conflicting political ideology was the biggest reason. Ross is a registered democrat with a long affiliation with the party. He was hired in 2010 by a board appointed largely by democrats in the State House and Senate.
It is inevitable that the appointment of members of the Board of Governors, as well as other university officials, will become a political skirmish between parties. The structures of legislatures have cycles that election results directly affect; however, academic institutions should not let political cycles and elections interrupt their regular activities. That’s why universities need tenure as an umbrella to protect professors from political distortion.
Tenure does not mean a professor can’t be fired throughout the rest of their career. Professors can still be fired under certain conditions if they do not meet certain requirements. Tenure gives universities the best ability to explore the unknown and take innovative lead.
Conservatives love to remind you that higher education is overrun by liberals and democrats. But what conservatives are often attacking is in fact the concept of higher education. Academic research entails curiosity, exploration, experimentation and, eventually, discovery. If humans still held the mindset that the Earth was flat and we’re not allowed to question what was being taught, mankind wouldn’t have landed on planets outside of Earth.
Conservatives are passionate about individual freedom, and that’s exactly what should be granted to academics. Furthermore, it is not true that higher education has been occupied by “liberals.” The Hoover Institute of Stanford University, the University of Chicago and New York University have long traditions of hiring professors and scholars that identify as “conservative.” In academics, this is only one aspect of what scholars stand for in the realm between different schools. Overstating those political labels has little to contribute to an open-minded environment of higher education.
Terminating Ross’ contract is lawful because he is an administrator and does not have tenure. But universities are not like other institutions, such as for-profit corporations or political organizations. Universities should be freed from the ups and downs of politics and the economy, putting no pressure upon researchers. This freedom is fragile, and it needs protection.
Professors and researchers might be mocked very often that what they study does not pertain to the real world. But most of the time, their research is usually ahead of its time and incomprehensible to many. A discovery that seems unrealistic might turn out to be essentially necessary for generations to come. Who knows? For the moment, we would do best not to limit these possibilities.
