Dive Brief:
- Members of the University of North Carolina Board of Governors are dismayed by the body's lack of unity, as it appears a small faction is huddling together on an agenda not discussed with others and bullishly advancing it, the News & Observer reports.
- Fifteen of the 28 members signed a letter condemning UNC System President Margaret Spellings for failing to communicate with the full board her plans for a Confederate statue on campus and campus security, but other members fired back saying they weren't even shown the letter.
- Similarly, a sizable group seemed caught off guard by a broad agenda consisting of resolutions on affordability and tuition and fees, an examination of Spellings' staff, and proposals to relocate the offices out of Chapel Hill, among other things.
Dive Insight:
Navigating board relations might be the most difficult part of any college president's job. Board seats are generally political, and more often than not — especially for public campuses in the South — the ideologies of the board members may not line up with those of the president or the overall tenor of the campus. Leaders who draw the ire of the board often find themselves looking for a new job, but in siding with the board might draw the ire of the student body — the consumers who are just as capable of forcing an ouster.
Transparency and two-way communication with all stakeholders is essential, but sometimes, in the interest of getting things done, it's necessary to make judgment calls for what's best for the campus and simply ask for forgiveness later. The best leaders know which strategy to employ at which times. Ultimately, the responsibility for setting the tone on campus — whether that's around treatment of Confederate statues, handling of sexual assault cases, expectations for academic rigor, or responding to a natural disaster or other campus crisis — falls on the president.
Few will look to the board when things go wrong on campus, and when accrediting bodies issue injunctions against failed fiduciary management, more often than not, it's the president who will be held accountable. Finding ways to balance the often competing interests and navigate the political minefield that is higher ed leadership is what separates the good leaders from those whose tenures will be short-lived.