Weekly Briefing: What happens when boards behave badly?

Two university boards tested the limits of their powers. [Weekly Briefing] What happens when university boards behave badly? [Image]( michelmond, Alamy Live News By Fernanda Zamudio-Suaréz Every couple of years this series gets a reboot. This week, the Weekly Briefing Presents: Misbehaving College Boards. It’s a timeless story you may have heard before, but never like this. ADVERTISEMENT [advertisement]( In January, Texas Southern University’s Board of Regents placed the university’s president, Austin A. Lane, on administrative leave during an investigation into admissions improprieties. That’s not terribly unusual. Here’s what is: In October, the regents had approved new bylaws to allow the governing body to “remove any professor, instructor, tutor, or other officer or employee connected with the institution.” The day Lane was placed on leave, his special assistant was fired. Before the board gave itself that new power, one member gave a speech during a public meeting, outlining how he'd been slighted by university staff members. Ronald J. Price, who was appointed in early 2019, said it was “unacceptable” that when Texas Southern hosted the Democratic presidential debate, in September, some board members had been seated in the back row. The complaints weren’t about the student experience or university research but about such perceived slights against members and their power. The board’s language and subsequent policy change show an unusual level of board micromanagement, our Lindsay Ellis said, and accreditors may pay attention. At East Carolina University, two trustees were accused of recruiting a student to run for student-body president, who votes with the Board of Trustees. Phil Lewis and Robert Moore allegedly promised to pay for the student’s campaign and hire a campaign manager if the student voted with them on certain issues, and kept the agreement quiet, according to [The News & Observer](. Lewis and Moore wrote to the University of North Carolina system board that they’d met with the student with “the best intentions of furthering the higher interests of the University.” On Wednesday, the UNC Board of Governors’ committee on university governance recommended no action against Lewis and Moore. And [on Friday]( Lewis resigned and Moore was censured during a special meeting of the board. Bribing a student to run for a campus office seems shocking, but if you’ve seen this show before, you know that [several cases]( of outside interference in student elections have emerged in recent years. So why this misbehavior among board members? Many members are appointed by their state’s current or former governor, and they act with the knowledge that they work for the chief executive in their state. Many also come from outside higher education, and are unfamiliar with university governance. In some cases, like in this episode of Misbehaving Boards, members will use their newfound power to test where they can and cannot influence college campuses. Whether boards become more powerful is a story for another episode. Stay tuned. This week’s governing-boards stories are listed below: - [2 Trustees Allegedly Schemed to Sway a Student Election. It’s Been Done Before.]( - [This University’s Board Now Has the Power to Fire Anyone — ‘Even Down to the Janitor’]( Also, if your board is behaving badly or you want to sound off on a similar issue, Lindsay is all ears. Write her: lindsay.ellis@chronicle.com. Best of the rest. [Image]( Matthew Busch for The Chronicle - In April 2019, a shooting took place in Adam Johnson’s anthropology classroom. Could his expertise help him [make sense]( of the tragedy? - [What kinds of campuses were campaign stops]( for the four leading Democratic contenders for the U.S. presidency, and what does that tell us about the race? Lagniappe. [Image] Joe Raedle / Getty Images - Learn. Some scientists say that [humans have infinite emotions](. We just have to be able to name them. Here’s a list of [78 emotions]( you may have felt but not named before. - Listen. If you’re bookish, the podcast [Literary Friction]( is for you. The hosts interview authors and give book and music recommendations (kind of like this email). Unlike other chatty podcasts, discussions are no-nonsense, so you won’t have to do much skipping ahead. - Read. Marfa, Tex., is an unlikely art capital. Its quick transformation wasn’t a welcome change for everyone. Texas Monthly [explains](. - Watch. Are you watching the Academy Awards this year? Did you see any of the movies nominated for an Oscar, and are you maybe, just maybe, not that impressed? Wesley Morris argues what’s [wrong with this year’s nominees]( for The New York Times. Thank you for reading, and have a great weekend. Cheers, –– Fernanda Subscribe Today The Chronicle’s award-winning journalism challenges conventional wisdom, holds academic leaders accountable, and empowers you to do your job better — and it’s your support that makes our work possible. [Subscribe Today]( This Week's Top Reads The Limits of Expertise [The Transformation of Adam Johnson]( A shooting happened in his classroom. Could his expertise help him make sense of it? (PREMIUM) ADVERTISEMENT [advertisement]( Paid for and Created by Rochester Institute of Technology [Nature's brilliance. RIT's ingenuity.]( Engineering students at the Rochester Institute of Technology undertook a senior design project to develop a robotic fish with simulated mobility and flexible muscles, challenging their understanding of applications to assistive technology and prosthetics. Government [When the Candidates Come to Campus]( Here’s what six months of college visits show about four leading Democrats. Paid for and Created by Victoria University of Wellington [Protecting privacy in a ‘post-privacy’ world]( In an age surrounded by evolving technology that impedes upon privacy rights, Victoria University of Wellington Law Professor, Nicole Moreham, is researching what constitutes as a private space, and how to protect it. 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