Dear Faculty Colleagues,
I hope everyone is safe following the wind and rain of Hurricane Florence. While Chapel Hill missed the worst of it, many parts of our state were not as lucky and have been adversely affected. Anyone interested in helping should click here to see how to support the recovery efforts.
The new academic year has had a tumultuous start with the toppling of the Confederate statue and continued unrest. Please see my message to faculty from September 5, 2018 where I encouraged all of you to become involved in the historic opportunity for our campus to formulate a plan for the “disposition” of the statue. Of course, the surrounding issues go well beyond this statue and Carolina, and extend to our entire nation. We must engage in ongoing conversations about equity, safety, meaning and morality in order to move forward.
Last year at this time, Faculty Council passed Resolution 2017-10, which requested “the removal of Silent Sam from McCorkle Place” and urged our university and state leaders “to work together to make this move possible.” Earlier this month, the Faculty Executive Committee voted unanimously to send a new resolution to Faculty Council for consideration, one that expresses support for the chancellor’s position that the statue not be returned to the university’s “front door.” This resolution will be discussed at the first Faculty Council meeting of the year, now scheduled for October 12, due to the hurricane.
As always, please know that I am here to listen to your concerns. While I try to respond to you as quickly as possible, do keep in mind that you can always contact our office at facgov@unc.edu with questions or suggestions. I look forward to all that we will accomplish together this year.
Sincerely,
Leslie V. Parise
Chair of the Faculty
Professor and Chair of Biochemistry and Biophysics
