The UNC System is beginning its search to replace Molly Broad, and town
meetings will be part of the mix. George Leef went straight to the
Raleigh News & Observer with his recommendations. Leef’s ideal
candidate would (1) institute objective measurement of the educational
value that has accrued to each UNC graduate, (2) reject the notion that
diversity is a virtue, (3) stop mission creep that occurs with spending
that isn’t critical to the educational mission, and (4) demonstrate new
thinking such as alternatives to tenure.  Meantime, another system
leader – David Boren of the University of Oklahoma – is alarmed by the
prospect of shifting the funding burden from taxpayers to students and
donors. Writing on the web site of the Oklahoma Council of Public
Affairs, Leef refuted Boren’s fear that it “threatens to close the door
of opportunity” and raised a key point. “Mr. Boren fails to ponder the
ethics of taxing all citizens so that the children of wealthy families
can enjoy subsidized degrees from places like Oklahoma and Oklahoma
State.”