Dear Faculty Colleagues,
I write to welcome you back to campus for the new academic year and to provide you with an update about recent events on campus and nationally.
The Faculty Executive Committee met this summer to discuss a proposal that the Board of Governors is scheduled to consider at its next full meeting in early September. The Proposed Policy on Involvement of Centers and Institutes in Legal Actions would prohibit centers and institutes from providing legal counsel or engaging in litigation.
This morning, the Faculty Executive Committee held a special meeting and passed the following resolution:
Resolution 2017-9. On the Proposal to Bar UNC Centers and Institutes from Engaging in Legal Actions
The Faculty Executive Committee resolves:
We respectfully urge members of the UNC Board of Governors to vote “no” on the proposed change to Section 400.7 of the UNC Policy Manual entitled “Involvement of Centers and Institutes in Legal Actions.”
The complete resolution, along with a rationale for its passage, is available here on our website. The resolution has been passed to the UNC-system Faculty Assembly for appropriate action.
I am also aware that faculty are understandably concerned about recent events in Charlottesville, Virginia, and on our own campus over the past several days. The issues are extremely complex, information in the public domain is often incomplete or incorrect, and can lead to incorrect conclusions.
I thank you all for your patience as we engage with our leadership about options for addressing issues that concern our campus community. We also encourage you to work with us as we begin our regular Faculty Council and committee meeting schedules in the coming weeks.
Sincerely,
Leslie V. Parise
Chair of the Faculty
Chair, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics
