The UNC-Chapel Hill trustees have a little more time to figure out a plan for Silent Sam. Their proposal for the Confederate monument was originally due to the UNC Board of Governors on Nov. 15, but the trustees requested and were granted a later deadline.
"I think it's a fair request," Board of Governors Chair Harry Smith told reporters Friday, after a three hour-long meeting behind closed doors. "It's a lot more complex than any of us thought. I mean, you have to figure out a detailed and thorough plan, which is what we’ve asked them for, that encompasses key and critical constituents from all views and perspectives."
A new deadline has not yet been announced but Smith indicated it would be before the Board of Governors' next regularly-scheduled meeting on Dec. 14.
Silent Sam once stood at the entrance to the UNC-Chapel Hill campus but was toppled by protesters in August. It had been dedicated more than a century ago with a speech praising the nearby assault of an African-American woman.
Raises For UNC Chancellors Approved With Some Dissent
At its meeting Friday, the UNC Board of Governors also approved raises for several chancellors of the state’s public universities. The highest raise will go to Chancellor Randy Woodson of N.C. State who will be paid an additional $30,000, bringing his salary to $664,387.
Several board members voted no on the raises, including Bob Rucho, a dentist and former Republican state senator from Matthews, North Carolina.
"There's one individual that's included in this package that ... has demonstrated some unprofessional behavior, and because of that I have to vote against the entire package," Rucho said before the vote. "There are a lot of very qualified people who deserve a bonus as a reward. But because of the fact that this comes as a package, I have to vote no."
Rucho would not name the individual to whom he was referring.
