What's going on with ECU's Chancellor?

by Tom Campbell, Producer and Moderator, NC SPIN, November 6, 2018.

Carolina Journal published a story Monday that ECU Chancellor Cecil Staton was resigning effective January 1. They report multiple sources have confirmed this action, one even claiming to have seen his resignation letter.

Staton, in a radio interview with Patrick Johnson that same afternoon categorically denied he was leaving. " I have not offered my resignation and anyone who says otherwise is playing fast and loose with the facts," Staton said.

Rick Henderson, editor-in-chief for Carolina Journal and long known for making sure his team gets facts right before publishing stories, says they are sticking by their story.

So what's going on? Somebody is lying and at this moment we don't understand what we know about this story. But we strongly suspect that this is a result of power politics within the UNC Board of Governors. There is no hiding the fact that Staton and BOG chair Harry Smith have been cross-legged  ever since Smith tried to tie the university into a student housing project and Staton opposed it.

Evidently powerful people wanted Staton to resign as Margaret Spellings finally agreed to do. Staton doesn't appear willing to go as easily.

Our governance system for our Universities is a mess. There are factions within the board, with legislators and with the administration. The Board of Governors was designed to set policy for our 16 campus system, not get involved in the personnel and administration  of the universities.

These factions have already demonstrated they can get rid of the system President.We lost a good person in Margaret Spellings.  Now it appears powerful politicians want to force out individual chancellors.

Where does it end and when does it change?