Will the midterms' blue wave change UNC's shade? University leaders weigh in
“Buckle up, everybody.” That was the warning from former UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Holden Thorp to his “UNC peeps” in the wake of a stunning midterm election that dramatically shifted the balance of power in North Carolina state politics towards Democrats. Since the state legislature appoints the UNC System Board of Governors and many of the members of individual campus boards of trustees, that shift could trickle down and inform who controls public higher education. As it stands, Republicans dominate the UNC System Board of Governors and the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees. That’s shown itself in myriad ways: the rejection of diversity, equity and inclusion measures, the embrace of a controversial civic life center, the energetic budget-cutting, the deals with the Trump administration, the continued questioning of tenure, and more. But conservative influence on higher education policy could become less potent in the coming years. Thorp worries that the political diversity will make it harder to get things done at UNC. According to Thorp’s analysis, “the Board of Governors (that is responsible for the UNC System) will get 6 seats out of 24 in July 2027 from the NC House, presumably Democrats. That will make it 18R-6D,” he wrote. “At
