NOTE: THIS BLOG POST HAS BEEN UPDATED (4:11 p.m.)
Bill Daughtridge, a member of the UNC system's Board of Governors, is now working as senior policy advisor for House Speaker Thom Tillis.
It's an unusual arrangement, since members of the UNC board aren't supposed to work for the legislature, which oversees its budget.
But in this case, Daughtridge is not drawing a salary, said Jordan Shaw, a Tillis spokesman.
"He is helping us out on a volunteer basis and we're very appreciative," Shaw said. "No cost to the taxpayers."
Still, the UNC system's lawyer isn't yet totally comfortable with the arrangement. General Counsel Laura Luger said she's waiting for a written opinion she's expecting soon from an attorney with the General Assembly.
"One of the things wer're guided by is not simply a conflict but the perception of a conflict," she said. "I'm conservative about potential conflicts."
The UNC system code says no member of the General Assembly "or officer or employee of the state or of any constituent institution" may serve on the UNC board.
The code does not distinguish between paying and non-paying jobs.
Daughtridge is a former state legislator himself, having served three terms in the N.C. House representing Nash County.
Before becoming senior policy advisor, Daughtridge briefly served as interim chief of staff while Tillis transitioned into the post.
Daughtridge is a 1975 graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, where he was a Morehead Scholar.
Adam F. Falk, a Chapel Hill native who came to UNC-CH as a Morehead Scholar and graduated in 1987, has been named the 17th president of Williams College, a liberal arts institution in Massachusetts.
