The American Association of University Professors recently released a study complaining about “political interference” by the state legislature and the University of North Carolina Board of Governors with the UNC system. Could it be that the AAUP is griping only now that the leftists aren’t getting their way?
Yes, argues Jenna Robinson in today’s Martin Center article.
Writes Robinson, “As the Martin Center predicted in October, the report is a clear hit job on people and policies that its authors don’t like. In its zeal to criticize Republicans, it misses something fundamental: Governance of public universities has always been political. The only thing that has changed is the party that’s in charge.”
In North Carolina, as in many other states, the selection of people who will run the public universities is political. The Democrats used to be in control and the AAUP was silent about their choices. Now that the Republicans have control and the deep-blue factions don’t always get their way, it’s unhappy. Too bad — that’s how politics works.
Robinson continues, “Despite criticisms and disagreements, the Republican General Assembly and Board of Governors have actually appointed members with relatively diverse viewpoints. They are arguably more diverse in viewpoint than university faculty (and certainly more diverse than the most outspoken members of the AAUP).”
The claim of “political interference” boils down to nothing more than that those who are actually accountable for the taxpayers’ money have chosen some different paths than desired by the leftists who want control over those dollars.