A Question for the Board of Trustees

For anybody who knows Bob Wineburg, they know he is never one to hold his tongue when he believes there is something that needs to be said. This does not make him the easiest of people to be around and has certainly earned him a solid set of enemies.

I have not always agreed with him, but I have to say that I admire him profoundly - to stand up, to speak out, to call a spade a spade isn't meant to make others comfortable. It never has an it never will. There is no comfort to be had right now and to seek it is a disservice to the UNCG community - students, staff, faculty, and the citizens of Greensboro alike.

As such, I share Dr. Wineburg's missive to the Board of Trustees and desperately hope that it is not met by the same stone wall we have seen before.

"Dear Members of the Board of Trustees: 

I have had the distinct honor of sharing my views with you and President Ross throughout the worst mess UNCG has faced since I have been here. Sadly, we faculty have suffered through the most egregious administrative behavior I have witnessed in 34.5 years at UNCG. Thank God for free speech! I could not hold in how badly I felt for the victims of a truth worse than a horror story.

I believe as stewards of this once incredible university, some sort of statement about regret is in order from some level of leadership here. I don't expect one from Chancellor Brady, nor the administrators whom I believe knew this was a "house cleaning" from the get-go, nor any of you. Your leadership, especially giving Chancellor Brady a golden parachute when she truly deserved to be fired, was sort of Orwellian-like, in that "All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others."

But I need to go on record suggesting you consider doing what we ask our students to do when they plagiarize, aren't honest taking  a test, and the like. We give them a second chance if they make a good faith effort not to repeat such behavior. We don't use a one strike and you are out policy; they are human and can learn from their actions. Good teachers are firm but gentle. The gut of this university is its teachers, something lost in this saga. In reality, you are all are here to make sure we do our jobs the best we can. That slipped away. 

I am not so foolish to think that you don't carry a large burden of always steering this large ship, and even more so when things of this nature happen. You look before you leap and err on the side of caution as you should. I think you did your best in putting lipstick on sow of a situation. I know it is hard to call a skunk a skunk especially when the herd of independent minds is calling it a lily.  

But some of you backed Chancellor Brady, and I was wondering how you are going to rectify what the  News and Record said about some of you:   "some UNCG trustees’ assurances that the university would be vindicated once the “full story” was revealed ring hollow."

The University was not vindicated and I was wondering, as our leaders, how you you are going to employ the Golden Rule? Or will it be Silence is Golden?

Thank you for your time once again."

It is time to answer.