Ten former members of the UNC Board of Governors have accused the sitting board of practicing bad governance.
The bipartisan group of former members signed onto an opinion piece published on the nonprofit Higher Education Works website. In it, they criticize the board for a lack of political independence. The current members are almost all Republican but have had several internal conflicts.
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The past members accused their successors of mishandling the search for a new chancellor to lead Western Carolina University.
Sitting member Tom Fetzer unilaterally hired an outside firm to run a background check on President Margaret Spelling's candidate pick. That candidate later dropped out.
In their letter, the former board members wrote that "micromanagement has no place in good governance" and the state and its students "deserve better."