Setting aside for a moment any opinion about Tom Ross’
efficacy as UNC system president, can somebody please explain to me why he has
been forced out?
Is it because of this bit of character assassination issued
by UNC’s Board of Governor’s Chairman
John Fennebresque:
“President Ross has
our complete confidence in managing an incredibly complicated system in an
area, education[1],
that is changing every day.”
Or the UNC athletics scandal as alluded to by Fennebresque
using the poetic device of repetition to ensure that people’s minds were
focused on, well, on the situtation:
“President Ross
handled that situation, managed that situation, led that situation in exemplary
fashion.”
Or because Ross indicated he was ready to go when he said:
“I wasn’t planning on
leaving in the near future…It’s not an easy thing for me because, you know, I
love it, and I would love to be here forever.”
Or is it a result of the dissatisfaction expressed by
Governor McCrory in the statement:
“Tom Ross has been a
great partner and longtime friend of my family. I want to especially thank him
for helping us build bridges of cooperation between our K-12 schools, community
colleges and universities.”
And obviously, he should not have been allowed to continue
serving as UNC System President given this statement from the Board of
Governors:
“The Board believes President Ross has served with
distinction, that his performance has been exemplary, and that he has devoted
his full energy, intellect and passion to fulfilling the duties and
responsibilities of his office. This decision has nothing to do with President
Ross’ performance or ability to continue in the office.”
The very nerve, no wonder he is being forced out. No one
should have to tolerate that type of behavior.
And, of course, we can certainly rule out politics. There’s
not really any reason to even need to bring that up, it so clearly doesn’t
play a part in this decision. At all, I mean really, why would you even ask.
There’s no possible way that politics can have played any part at all in
getting rid of someone. I mean, just because the Board can’t come up with any
reasons why they were getting rid of him doesn’t mean it’s political. You’d be off your head to think that if the
Board is so satisfied with him and he wants to stay where he is that politics
could have been sufficient to cause the call for his resignation.
In fact, just to prove that this isn’t political, I have
typed out the transcript of the press conference where Board of Governor’s
Chairman, who certainly did not look like an Alzheimer’s patient in a rocking
chair trying to recall how to use language, eloquently and powerfully expressed
all of the reasons that the board made this decision in a way that did not
appear the least bit hostile and certainly wasn’t outright stupid.
Fennebresque’s opening statement: “I want to make a few
things clear, this Board believes that Tom Ross has been a wonderful president,
fantastic work ethic, perfect integrity, worked well with our board, and,
speaking for myself, and I have some great excitement about working with him
for a minimum of a year and maybe longer. I wanted to clear something up, uhh that,
I saw from some article with a quote attributed to a member of the board, which
I am disappointed in and that is that age had nothing to do with this. Full
stop. President Ross has our complete confidence in managing an incredibly
complicated system in an area, education, that is changing every day. And I
look forward to the next year plus with my president.”
Q: So, Mr. F. You said age had nothing to do with – there is
a historical coincidence that his four preceding presidents retired, left at
65…so why?
A; It had nothing to do with the age, okay.
Q: okay why
A: I think, the board um felt like umm at the appropriate
time uh there should be a transition to a new president and (pause) well, we
had a timeline umm that we were thinking along and, and President Ross had a,
had a different timeline and that’s it.
Q: So, with respect, that doesn’t really answer the
question. You had a different timeline, what does that mean?
A: I think it answers the question. Look at the statement,
it answers the question.
Q: It seems to me there was a difference of opinion, but you
must have had a reason, but you’re not saying what the reason was.
A: Figuring out, uh trying to figure out the time for this
board to (five minute pause) work with a new leader a year from now that may bring
uh other umm assets to the, to the job. It has. Tom, has been terrific.
Q: Did the board have pressure from legislative members
A: okay there is one of me and, and 32 of us. I had
absolutely none. Okay?
Q: Have you heard of other board members…
A: No. I just know people who live in Raleigh talk about
politics. But I don’t live in Raleigh.
Q: When you talk about other assets that the next president
could bring, what are you referring to?
a. Ummm… a lot of that is, uh is, is gonna be determined by
a search committee and my experience with a search committee is zip. So, our, our
board of governors is going to, we’ve gotta do a, a job description, and, and so
it’s all new, so I, I , I , I would, I’m just, I’m just going to wait until umm
we have a ummm this organizational meeting of the search committee and try to
explain it, have 32 people weigh in on it and then give the uh, give the uh
characteristics, the traits.
Q: Mr. Ross, you said there was a difference of timeline.
What was your timeline?
A: [Ross] Well, I don’t know that I had finely determined
what one was, but you know I’ve been enjoying my work with the BOG and I think
we’ve accomplished a lot during the last four years. When I cam here I was
clear that I would not be ready to stop working at age 65. And I’m not ready to
stop working at age 65. So, I don’t know how much longer, but I was not
planning on leaving in the near future. But, I think the board did have a
different timeline and I respect their right to, and their prerogative to select
the president, and I think so what we’ve done is develop a plan that will allow
for a smooth transition and will allow the university to continue its work, and
that has to be the most important thing, we have to put the university first
and I know the board believes that I certainly do.
Q: do you think UNC-CH scandal attributed to that in any
way?
A: [Fenne…] Let me answer that. Absolutely not. In fact, I
would suggest to you that President Ross has handled that situation, managed
that situation, led that situation in exemplary fashion and I’ve been with him
all the way.
Q: If he’s done such a great job, if he’s such a wonderful
president and you don’t even have assets or a job description indicating what
you are looking for yet, why? What’s the hurry? Why do this now?
A: Um…it’s a, it’s a conversation, about, ummm.
Ummm…succession planning, transition, ummm, and as you can see from the, umm,
the document you’ll, I don’t know if you have it now, it’s 12 more months of
this leadership, maybe more. There’s no magic to the time.
Q: President Ross, did anybody on the board give you a
reason other than what’s stated?
A: [Ross] You know, we’ve had a lot of discussions about
this and I think it’s the board’s interest to begin transition and we talked
about how best to do this and this was the agreement.
Q: But no one has expressed dissatisfaction with what you’ve
done?
A: [Ross] No, no I’ve had no one express dissatisfaction
with the job you’ve done.
Q: Were there some on the board who didn’t want
A: [Ross]I don’t know the answer to that.
[Fenne] Umm.. the agreement was, umm, ummm, approved and the
joint statement was approved by all but one person on the board. And we spent a
long time talking with board members umm about it and I think that, that whatever,
31/32nds of the board is on the same page here.
Q: Does this have anything to do with politics?
A: Absolutely not. Ummm to elaborate on that umm it’s my
understanding of BOG history that people have generally left their politics at
the door. If we’re talking about politics D’s and R’s I have heard close to
nothing about D’s and R’s since I’ve been on the board which is, how long have
I been on the board? About four years. I’m about in my fourth year. It doesn’t come
up. I can’t tell you the registration of my fellow board members. They don’t
ask me about mine. It doesn’t come up.
Q: President Ross, do you believe this has anything to do
with politics?
A: [Ross] I think the board is committed to this university
and I think what we’ve accomplished in the last four years has demonstrated
that they are committed to the university and I think they’ll remain committed.
I think what’s most important for people to remember today and every day this
is the oldest public university in America and it’s one of the best public
universities if not the best public university in America it is and has been a key driver for this
state’s success for its economy for its civic leadership and all of us have a
responsibility to protect the university and I think the board is doing what
they believe is right for the university ad I certainly am here today because I
believe the university is one of our greatest asset and I have tried to give it
all I can in my time so far and I continue to give it all I can for as long as my
services are needed.
The board has both the legal right and responsibility and
the prerogative to think about transition and move in a way that they think is
best. And my job is to do the best job I can
[Fenn] this board agrees with president ross. This board
takes very seriously its responsibility to the citizens of this state and the
students, our 220,000 students. We take that very seriously, as does president
ross and our wonderful cadre of chancellors, so the board is fully engaged in
doing its very best to make sure that people, to, to not only keep improving
the best system in the country but to make sure our elected leaders realize
that this is, and our citizens, this is the most important asset that we have
for the prosperity for our citizens and we are going to make that, over and and
president ross and I have said that together and separately over and over and
over again and we’re just going to yell even louder now.
Q: Mr. Ross would you have done anything differently
A: [Ross] that’s a complex question because I’ve done so
many things that to think back over four years and say would I have done
anything differently, I suspect there are but I can’t think of them right now. I
’m proud of the work I’ve done, I think we’ve done a lot together. You know,
this has been a period of transition for the university in many ways. There has
been a dramatic change of board leadership there has been a dramatic change in
the state’s leadership and policy makers…there’s been about as bad of an economy
as we’ve had, so it’s been a challenging time to lead. I’m proud that we are
here where we are today. I think we are still the best public university in
America, I don’t think we’ve lost ground and To me, that says a lot given what
we’ve been through. I don’t, I can’t point to a single thing that I would do
different…I’m sure there are a few here and there.
[Fenne interrupting and not sounding at all desperate] I can
point to a bunch of things he’s done well!!
[Ross] I’m very proud of what we’ve done and what we’ll
continue to do, I mean, again, as the chair points out, I’m not out of here
this afternoon. I plan on being here working for the university until at least
next January.
Q: you were a big advocate for Elizabeth State
A: you know, our new chancellor there is off to a great
start and she’s working really hard, that institution has challenges there is
no doubt about that, the board has made it clear that they are excited to work
with her. I am an advocate for that institution, I am an advocate for all of
our universities…Elizabeth city state is no different and for that part of the
state it’s a very, very important institution and we need to remember that. I
think we have our challenges still ahead, we do with a lot of our institution,
it’s not been an easy time…very high on its importance to the state and I don’t
plan to change my view of that and I don’t think the board will either.
Q: [address to vice president of board] Mr. Bisset , you are
here for a reason. He’s been in the hotseat so far. He’s itemized a number of
things that President Ross has been exemplary in, he’s certainly not leaving because of his
age. And neither one of them were really able to answer the question about
whether or not politics had a factor in this…
A: [Fenne] That’s not true! I said No!
Q: You said ‘no’?
A: [Fenne] Yeah, really clearly, and it’s a short word!
Q: And that’s true as far as it relates to you, would you…
A: [Bisset] And I would say no as well. I would say no as
well. You know in every organization there comes a time when there is a
leadership transition and that’s what’s happening here and it’s... you know Tom
is not leaving tomorrow he’s gonna to be with us for at least a year, he’s gonna,
he’s gonna to consult with us after that, he’s an extremely important part of this
university, and he’s our leader and will be our leader for some time to come and
on top of that he’s a dear friend of mine and a dear friend of most of the
people on that board.
Q: Can you tell us when the decision was reached, and how it was
communicated, and how you all convened to decide this.
A: [Fenne] That’s personnel and I’m not going to talk about
personnel. What’s next.
Q: President Ross, when did you first learn that this was in
the works?
A: [Ross] We’ve, um, we’ve had conversations over the last
several days. So I think and I ‘m sure the board has given this a lot of
thought. We’ve had some healthy conversations over the last few days we’re at
the point where Tuesday morning, Monday we celebrated Martin Luther King day on
Monday and Tuesday morning I’ll be here and my staff will be here.
[Fenne, again not seeming either overly desperate or like a
person suffering from press conference related Turrets]: With the support of 32
members of the Board of Governors!
Q: Chairman, looking to the future, how soon will you start
your official search process for his successor?
A: You know what? What is it, about noon on Friday? So…I
don’t know. We’re gonna find out. So, McNeil is chair of governance and she got
some advice from the prior chair of the BOG Hannah Gauge that maybe the
processes we have in place to generally search for presidents is unnecessarily
cumbersome, complicated, and so we’re working on that, that’s not, that’s in,
in , in process, and then we’ve gotta, we’ve gotta get together and articulate
the characteristics and traits of a new president. So it’s, we’re not in a
hurry because it’s got to be the right decision because we’re five for five as
a system and we want to be six for six. Does that make sense to you?
Let me, and let me answer you about Elizabeth city state.
That’s a…I support Elizabeth City State University. It’s hard. I mean, its
enrollment has gone off the cliff, right? If effort ummm and commitment can
turn it around we’ve got that, okay.
Q: Mr. Ross you said that you’ve had these conversations
over the last several days, was there an event that precipitated those
conversations? Was there some reason that those conversations started, at say
the beginning of this week first, for example?
A: [Ross] I mean, they were…Mr. F came to see me and we
started talking about it. I think that the board was in a place where it wanted
to begin the transition
Q: Has the board met in the last week or two?
A: [Fenne] No.
Q: Well, then I should address the question to you Mr. F, is
there a precipitating event?
A: No. No.
Q: okay.
A: We are very pleased with Tom Ross’ umm efforts on behalf
of the UNC system and I don’t know what the current count is, but he’s brought
in about 9 new chancellors and we think he’s found us some great ones and we’re
excited about them, I guess in the normal course, I guess 9 is a lot in four
years…so we’re gonna…
Q: The fundamental question may be: where does the board
want to go? You know You’re talking about change and I would think that before
you can go through the procedure to terminate a new chancellor you need to
determine where you want to go. Can you give us some insight on where the board
wants to go going forward.
A: No. I’d like to clarify a couple of things, there was no
termination and he’s not the chancellor, he’s the president. And uhhh There was no precipitating event at
all, he’s been wonderful and a very close friend of, to me and to most of us.
Q: Mr. Fenne... you spoke definitively when I mentioned
politics and the role that it may or not played you said it did not play a
role. I believe earlier you said that you were one of 32 and that it had no
relationship to your considerations. Could you clarify that? What role, if any
did politics play in this decision?
A: I don’t understand. What’s the confusing part?
Q: I think you’re, you’re more recently talking about
generally and I think initially you were speaking about yourself individually.
A: That’s just me. My saying things right. I think I was
trying to tell you, I don’t know. I can’t tell you what 32 other people…they
don’t talk about it with me.
At this point, the incredibly insightful interview was
complete and Mr. Fennesomething went home, secure in the knowledge that the
money he had sacrificed for the “Public Speaking with Sarah Palin: Learning
Jobs America And” was well spent.
So, there you have it, folks. Straight from the horses mouth: there was absolutely no reason to get rid of Ross because he was the most fantastic thing since sliced bread and it was ABSOLUTELY NOT about politics. It was because Tom Ross likes Coke and the Board likes Pepsi.
[1]
For those of you who weren’t paying attention to what area he was in, I guess.
Thank goodness he clarified.
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