EDITOR’S NOTE: Last week, a group of North Carolina business, civic, philanthropic and education leaders posted an open letter to those who govern the University of North Carolina System seeking reform of University governance. We reprint their letter here.



To those who govern the University of North Carolina:

The University of North Carolina is at a crossroads and its future is at stake.

The UNC System Board of Governors must refrain from meddling and micromanaging. It must let our leaders lead, our professors teach, and our students learn — for the good of the State of North Carolina.

The governance of our university system needs serious reform. We need less political influence and more civic responsibility.

We need a balanced and independent Board of Governors designed to outlast political transitions and comprised of members who have only one interest at heart: the success of our entire university system.

We must return to the standards of good governance that created the foundation for excellence at UNC, with appointments to the Board of Governors and campus boards of trustees shared by the Governor and the General Assembly and chosen from honorable, respected citizens.

UNC is our state’s greatest asset. It is our most crucial economic engine. We cannot afford to let politics undermine the future of higher education in North Carolina.

We are business leaders. We are community leaders. We have served as members of UNC campus boards of trustees across the entire state. We are faculty. We are alumni. We are students.

And we are voters.

The University of North Carolina is a treasure. It must be treated as such for the continuing benefit of every North Carolinian.

Notable supporters

Adam Abram

Jim Babb

Blanche Bacon

Dick Baddour

Jim Barber

Wade Barber

E. William Bates II

Phillip Berney

Dr. Robert Bilbro

Holly Blanton

Sam Bowles

Bill Bradford

David Brody

Ken Broun

Angela Bryant

Timothy Brooks Burnett

John Buress

Thomas Capps

Philip Carson

Dean Castaldo Jr.

Phillip Clay

Charles Conner Jr.

Martha Copp

Keith O. Cowan

Donald Craven

Vicki Craver

Susan Culp

Rusty Cumpston

Donald Williams “Don” Curtis

Jeff Dangl

Frank A. Daniels Jr.

Jen Daum

Scott Davison

Mary Ann Dickson

Robin Donohoe

Pepper Dowd

William Dudley

John Ellison

Fred Eshelman

Robert Eubanks

Jen Evans

Jack Evans

Jim Fain

Ray Farris

Joyce Fitzpatrick

Druscilla French

Molly Froelich

Paul Fulton

J. Alston Gardner

Bonner Gaylord

Buck Goldstein

Brian Golson

Barbara Goodmon

Jim Goodmon

Peter Grauer

Wade Hampton Hargrave Jr.

Johnny Harris

Bryan Hassel

Jack Hawn

Matthew Heyd

Fred Hutchinson

Barbara Rosser Hyde

Jim Hynes

Bob Ingram

George Johnson

Alexander Julian

Jane Kearns

Tom Kearns

Betty P. Kenan

Thomas S. Kenan III

Michael Kennedy

Jean Roberts Kitchen

Sallie Krawcheck

H. Martin Lancaster

Thomas Willis Lambeth

Kel Landis

Barb Lee

Steven Jay Lerner

Hal Levinson

Karol V. Mason

William O. McCoy

John McKinnon

Hogan Medlin

James Moeser

Kevin Monroe

Eric Munson

Aaron M. Nelson

Tom Newby

Scott F. Norberg

Bradley Opere

Willard Overlock, Jr.

Josie Patton

Becky Pardue

David Pardue

Ray Peck

Linda Perry

Roger Lee Perry Sr.

Earl Norfleet “Phil” Phillips Jr.

Edward Pleasants

Walker Poole

John A. Powell

Samuel Reeves

Michael Rierson

Alexander Robertson

Wyndham Robertson

Art Ross

Aziz Sancar

Dr. Charles A. Sanders

Aziz Sancar

Nelson Schwab III

Ed Shelton

Sallie M. Shuping-Russell

Matt Soule

Wade Smith

A. Donald Stallings

Joe Stallings

William N. Starling, Jr.

Austin Stephens

Jack Stephens

James Tanner Jr.

George Teague

John Leroy Townsend III

Robert M. Travis

Ruel Tyson

Michael P. Vandenbergh

Richard Vinroot

Terry Patrick Walton

William Walton

Julie McManus Werry

John Wester

Richard Tyrone “Stick” Williams

Caroline Williamson

Allen Wilson

Robert Watson “Bob” Winston III

Willis “Bill” Whichard

Annette Fairless Wood

Leonard Wood

Smedes York

Our supporters include many of our state’s most prominent business, civic, philanthropic, and university leaders. They have served in leadership positions at the local, state and national levels, devoting their time, talent and resources to strengthening our communities and supporting our state’s public universities.

The list includes people who know our universities well — former trustees and BoG members, former student body presidents and faculty leaders. There is not enough space to list them all here, but this represents a small sampling of the leaders who recognize the need to reform governance of our state’s university system.

Adam Abram

Jim Babb

Blanche Bacon

Dick Baddour

Jim Barber

Wade Barber

E. William Bates II

Phillip Berney

Dr. Robert Bilbro

Holly Blanton

Sam Bowles

Bill Bradford

David Brody

Ken Broun

Angela Bryant

Timothy Brooks Burnett

John Buress

Thomas Capps

Philip Carson

Dean Castaldo Jr.

Phillip Clay

Charles Conner Jr.

Martha Copp

Keith O. Cowan

Donald Craven

Vicki Craver

Susan Culp

Rusty Cumpston

Donald Williams “Don” Curtis

Jeff Dangl

Frank A. Daniels Jr.

Jen Daum

Scott Davison

Mary Ann Dickson

Robin Donohoe

Pepper Dowd

William Dudley

John Ellison

Fred Eshelman

Robert Eubanks

Jen Evans

Jack Evans

Jim Fain

Ray Farris

Joyce Fitzpatrick

Druscilla French

Molly Froelich

Paul Fulton

J. Alston Gardner

Bonner Gaylord

Buck Goldstein

Brian Golson

Barbara Goodmon

Jim Goodmon

Peter Grauer

Wade Hampton Hargrave Jr.

Johnny Harris

Bryan Hassel

Jack Hawn

Matthew Heyd

Fred Hutchinson

Barbara Rosser Hyde

Jim Hynes

Bob Ingram

George Johnson

Alexander Julian

Jane Kearns

Tom Kearns

Betty P. Kenan

Thomas S. Kenan III

Michael Kennedy

Jean Roberts Kitchen

Sallie Krawcheck

H. Martin Lancaster

Thomas Willis Lambeth

Kel Landis

Barb Lee

Steven Jay Lerner

Hal Levinson

Karol V. Mason

William O. McCoy

John McKinnon

Hogan Medlin

James Moeser

Kevin Monroe

Eric Munson

Aaron M. Nelson

Tom Newby

Scott F. Norberg

Bradley Opere

Willard Overlock, Jr.

Josie Patton

Becky Pardue

David Pardue

Ray Peck

Linda Perry

Roger Lee Perry Sr.

Earl Norfleet “Phil” Phillips Jr.

Edward Pleasants

Walker Poole

John A. Powell

Samuel Reeves

Michael Rierson

Alexander Robertson

Wyndham Robertson

Art Ross

Aziz Sancar

Dr. Charles A. Sanders

Nelson Schwab III

Ed Shelton

Sallie M. Shuping-Russell

Matt Soule

Wade Smith

A. Donald Stallings

Joe Stallings

William N. Starling, Jr.

Austin Stephens

Jack Stephens

James Tanner Jr.

George Teague

John Leroy Townsend III

Robert M. Travis

Ruel Tyson

Michael P. Vandenbergh

Richard Vinroot

Terry Patrick Walton

William Walton

Julie McManus Werry

John Wester

Richard Tyrone “Stick” Williams

Caroline Williamson

Allen Wilson

Robert Watson “Bob” Winston III

Willis “Bill” Whichard

Annette Fairless Wood

Leonard Wood

Smedes York