Hail to the Chief
UNC's Newest System President is Erskine Bowles
David Hodges
January 2006
On Jan. 1 Erskine Bowles assumed the presidency of the University of North Carolina system where he will oversee North Carolina’s 16 public universities after being unanimously elected by the Board of Governors. While many people are pleased with the BOG’s choice, Bowles’ unanimous election has led to some controversy.
The search committee conducted a nationwide review of potential candidates with the help of an executive search firm, Baker-Parker and Associates. Firm principal Jerry Baker screened 80 prospective candidates, but only five of them met face-to-face with the actual search committee.
The search committee was supposed to create a list of finalists for consideration. Instead, they unanimously appointed Bowles and declined to release the names of other serious candidates. The development led many people to ask whether other candidates were considered at all. Speculation that Bowles was the favorite was so strong that in August the BOG Chairman, Brad Wilson, felt compelled to state publicly that the search was “wide open.”
The decision not to disclose names of other serious candidates was because it would be “unfair…[because] Bowles had unanimous support from the committee,” Wilson said. But how would disclosure be unfair? Supposedly, it would be unfair to Erskine Bowles. He was their man from day one, and they wanted to make sure nothing would interfere with his selection.
These events smell awfully familiar. In fact, they are reminiscent of the John Edwards appointment as director of the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity. Their similarities: both are prominent Democrats, both fell short in recent elections, and both are alums of UNC. Edwards, to his credit, is at least a former United States Senator; a claim that Bowles cannot make because he lost that bid twice—once in 2002 and again in 2004.
When he takes office, Bowles’ salary will be $425,000 per year; $125,000 more than Molly Broad received. He intends to donate this raise in pay to need-based student aid funds that will be identified later. This begs another question. If he is donating the raise in its entirety, why have the pay increase at all?
Not too long ago Mary Anne Fox was the chancellor of North Carolina State University. Her departure for higher pay in sunny San Diego, Calif., in spring 2004 sent our lawmakers into a frenzy. They hiked chancellor salaries 7.5% across the board, in spite of North Carolina’s state budget running in the red. These salary increases were juxtaposed with budget cuts across the board that even UNC students became aware of.
Add to that the tuition hikes over the last few years and it is pretty easy to see why the finger pointing has begun. Why should the chancellors and this president make more and more money for doing the same job? Most of these chancellors earmarked their raises to scholarship funds like Bowles, so obviously none of them were in dire monetary need. Their willingness to donate away their raises gives it every appearance of an aggrandized effort at “keeping up with the Joneses.”
When Bowles becomes president, one of his first proposals will be to institute a textbook rental system similar to the ones already in place at schools such as Appalachian State and Western Carolina University. The problem is that it takes millions of dollars to start, and the benefits will not be seen until several years down the road. Investments, of course, are smart, and it is really too early to tell the outcomes of this plan, but caution must be used to ensure that we do not lose on our investment.
Bowles may not be aware, but many people have been renting books for a long time. Yes, places called libraries are really quite fascinating. You can borrow and read all the books you want, and they never charge you a dime.
Erskine Bowles does have a great resume. Earlier this year, Bowles was selected to assist Clinton as U.N. Special Envoy for Tsunami-Affected Countries in South Asia. Under the Clinton Administration he was the director of the Small Business Administration during one of our nation’s biggest economic booms. Obviously small businesses did well under his tutelage, but whether this was due to any ingenious designs of his is entirely up for debate.
Education is important. Education is more than important; it is our investment for the future. North Carolina, which has invested a great deal in education, has one of the most acclaimed public university systems. Parents all over the country send their kids here, and more parents wish their kids could go here.
Is Erskine Bowles the person to lead the UNC system? Is he the one to take us through an age of international globalization, through rampant grade inflation, and through the transition from a manufacturing to a service economy? Only time will tell. But after Bowles’ unanimous appointment, this paper is skeptical. A shady hiring process is not a great way to start a presidency.
Erskine, prove us wrong.