Margaret Spellings to be Next President of UNC

Margaret Spellings has been chosen as the next president of the University of North Carolina (UNC) system by the North Carolina Board of Governors, the main governing body of the Board of Education.

The position, currently held by President Thomas Ross, involves the supervision of the 16 college campuses and the North Carolina School of Math and Science in the UNC System Schools. The roles of a president are not limited to only UNC at Chapel Hill, but extend to all universities within the system and their 220,000 total students.

Following a period of deliberation, the North Carolina Board of Governors chose Margaret Spellings as the next President due to her experience as Secretary of Education under former president George W. Bush.

The process drew criticism for withholding information about the process from the public. Indeed, Spellings’ was not revealed as a contender until the week of the announcement.

Born in Ann Arbor Michigan, Spellings received her undergraduate degree from the University of Houston. It was here that she began her work in education as part of a reform committee under the governor of Texas.

George W. Bush nominated Spellings to serve as the Secretary of Education in 2004. Under him, she supported the “No Child Left Behind” policy. Most of Spellings’ efforts were intended to reform post-secondary education in the United States.

In the past, Spellings acted as director of the Apollo Group - an organization that oversees several for-profit educational institutions. Currently Spellings a chair on the board of a student debt collection agency.

Spellings approaches reform in an unflinching manner, saying “It's time we turn this elephant around and upside down and take a look at it.” She has consistently stood by her work, even when asked to testify before the House Education and Labor Committee in 2007 accused of negligence.

Though Spellings has only been president-elect for a matter of weeks, she has already caused controversy.

“I think she was chosen entirely to play into the pockets and politics of the conservative leaders in North Carolina, because she is likely to condone the downward spiral in which NC public education is headed,” former Chapel Hill student Sunny Osment said.

Days after her nomination of Secretary of Education, Spellings wrote a highly contentious letter to the Public Broadcasting System asking that they be more careful in their broadcasting. Referring to an episode of Postcards from Buster that depicted a same-sex couple, Spellings wrote, “Many parents would not want their young children exposed to the lifestyles portrayed in the episode.”

Her description of homosexuality as a “lifestyle” and her blatantly homophobic remarks incited fear in the LBTQ community. Protesters at a recent Board of Governors meeting chanted “No justice, no peace.” following a queer students exclamations. Described as “shockingly anti-gay” by protesters, there is a widespread movement against Spellings in the LGBTQ community.

“It's important that we have someone who represents our interests...each of us have our own disastrous experiences with getting too little financial [aid] or having unhappy or disinterested professors who aren't paid enough. Every decision made by the BOG, the NC Legislature, and our System President affects us,” Osment said.

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