You may also like ACC Now | WakeEd | Mouthful | Techn&ology
News
Web Search powered by YAHOO!
Campus Notes
Campus Notes is your one-stop shop for news and notes related to Triangle universities and community colleges. We'll cover it all here, from policy discussions to the silly things those crazy college kids are doing. Got an idea? Request? Criticism? Let us know. eric.ferreri@newsobserver.com.
UNC's Bowles: The right leader for these times?
Submitted by eferreri on 09/20/2009 - 17:18
A UNC Chapel Hill professor is making the case for Erskine Bowles.
Walter C. Farrell, Jr., a social work professor at UNC-CH, writes in the Fayetteville Observer this weekend that Bowles, the UNC system president, has deftly handled all manner of challenge during his tenure as the head of the public university system.
Farrell, who is researching higher education leadership, writes that Bowles has dealt well with a long series of challenges during his time in the university's top job. From a series of financial and leadership problems at N.C. A & T University, to the discovery of an unsanctioned campus run by N.C. Central University, to the still-ongoing saga related to N.C. State's former chancellor, James Oblinger, and his role in the hiring of former First Lady Mike Easley - Bowles has had his hands full.
And Farrell says he's done a good job.
He writes in part:
The UNC system has been fortunate to have effective leaders during critical stages of its development: William Friday at its founding, during the volatile phase of campus desegregation, and the merger of historically black public colleges into the UNC structure; and Erskine Bowles in this era of economic uncertainty and management malfunction on UNC campuses. Both were and are the right leaders for their times.
Here's the entire column.
Want to post a comment?
In order to join the conversation, you must be a member of newsobserver.com. To register or to log in using your existing account, click here.Advertisements
Comments
Leader?
Mon, 09/21/2009 - 17:17 — SaltyDog1Is Bowles a leader? Have the N & O show his own departments budget and the administrative positions and fat he has cut with his own staff, IF he has done any. As the leader, he has to take responsibility for the mismanagement of funds and personnel. If he is such a strong leader, let him lead by making cuts in his staff. How much fat can he cut? How much time and expense do we, the taxpayers pay to fly his folks around? (Do not forget how badly he wanted the airport in Orange County) What unnecessary entertainment bills are we, the taxpayers footing? If he is such an upstanding leader, let him show it by making substantial cuts in his own department and his own staff.
If Erskine Bowles has been
Mon, 09/21/2009 - 06:20 — meltedIf Erskine Bowles has been the right man to "lead" the UNC campus system, how come A&T state university has had at least one and perhaps two bad audits by the state auditors during his tenure. A&T was called on the carpet once before Erskine Bowles came on board so he should have had an eye out for their financial performance instead of letting them fall back into old habits. He has rubberstamped everything to come across his desk instead of keeping watch on things to make sure things were being done properly. The Mary Easley scandel could have been prevented if he had made sure hiring rules were followed all the way down the line, especially with the wife of a governor. But he rubberstamped that also. Erskine Bowles is just as accountable as all of those who have resigned in the midst of that fiasco. And instead of being a real leader and periodically checking to make sure hiring at all UNC system universitites was needed, he waits until an independent study is done that shows the UNC system universities are top heavy in administrative positions. Then Erskine Bowles has the audacity to be "irked" at the university chancellors? It is Bowles who is irksome. He rubberstamps everything, sits back in his ivory tower collecting an outrageous salary for doing nothing until audits and independent studies show him as the ineffective, so called leader he is. Then he tries to deflect warrented criticism by being "irked". A good leader - NO. An effective leader - NO. We can only hope when irksome leaves someone will be chosen to head the UNC university system that has some true business sense and is not afraid to stand up to the chancellors and other officials at the universities to make sure they are doing what they are supposed to. I may be the only person in the state to believe Erskine Bowles should leave his position now but he has not proven to me he is a leader at all.
bowles
Mon, 09/21/2009 - 05:25 — bwb049right man for the job,period.
Article on UNC President Bowles in Fayetteville Observer
Mon, 09/21/2009 - 03:58 — igliigliI agree with the reader's comment made in the Fayetteville Observer. The UNC Boards of Trustees' focus should be and must be changed from sports to academics.
I'm in
Sun, 09/20/2009 - 21:43 — AgentPierceSince I'm the only N&O on-line reader to ever think kind thoughts of Erskine Bowles I'll put in my "me too" to this article.
All the problems swirling about the UNC system would be even greater under a lesser executive manager.
Hang in there EB.