The BIG, Bad, BoT
Understanding the Board of Trustees at Appalachian State University
What is the BoT?
The Appalachian State University Board of Trustees is made up of 13 members, whose roles are make decisions about the university under the guide of the UNC Board of Governors (BoG). The BoG is the "authority" that controls all public universities in NC. The BoG has the power to hire and fire chancellors, among many other things.
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Now, back to the BoT. The BoT holds similar power to Chancellor Everts, but we see Everts as more of a figure-head and less of a decision-maker. The BoTs are the main decision-makers for universities and App State's BoT has not been welcoming to students, faculty and organizations. This is one of the only avenues for us to practice democracy in the institutional system of App State. The problem: it's not democratic at all!
"No Confidence" in
App State's Administration
In August of 2020, the Faculty Senate (a representative group for App State faculty) passed a resolution of "no confidence" in Chancellor Everts' administration. Faculty Senate Chair Michael Behrent explained some of the Senate's reasoning, “Over the past year, I have reached out to the chancellor, the members of the Board of Trustees, and others in university administration with the sole goal of expressing faculty anxieties and frustrations about the university’s direction. Many of these concerns predate COVID, but the pandemic has brought them to a fever pitch. Their response has been at best dismissive, at worst punitive.” Of course, Faculty Senate had very little response from App State's administration, which resulted in Behrent's video, shared below:
Listen Up, BoT
Or We'll Get LOUDER
So, how can we change this system, which is not listening to the people that it represents? We make them listen. We make sure that ignoring us means trouble.
That's where we need your help. The BoT has ignored demands from the Student Government Association, the Faculty Senate, and many other students, faculty, and organizations. Not to mention the Chancellor's inaction on calls for change.
Sometimes, this work seems too hard, the systems are too complicated and the power is held in the hands of very few. That's why we need COLLECTIVE POWER. That's why we need YOUR HELP. It's NOT impossible to change these systems, we just have to work together, find the best ways and GET LOUDER, because apparently, the administration can't hear us... yet.