Carolina Journal Radio No. 855: Leadership shakeup for UNC system

The University of North Carolina System’s controversial chairman has resigned from that post. Harry Smith’s decision shakes up the university’s Board of Governors as that board deals with other leadership issues. That includes the search for a new system president and for a new chancellor at the flagship campus in Chapel Hill. Rick Henderson, Carolina Journal editor-in-chief, assesses UNC’s leadership challenges. Sarah Lawrence College political scientist Samuel Abrams unleashed a wave of criticism when he decided to write in the New York Times about the lack of ideological diversity on college campuses. Abrams traveled to Raleigh this year to discuss the controversy during a speech for the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal. Abrams shared themes from that presentation with Carolina Journal Radio. State lawmakers agree N.C. counties should replace voting machines that lack a paper record. Disagreement remains about when. Counties have asked for another extension of a deadline to make the change. The extension would extend past the 2020 elections. You’ll hear highlights from legislative debate about that proposal. The controversial N.C. House vote to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of the state budget bill has led to a war of words between the chamber’s top Democrat and Republican. You’ll learn why House Minority Leader Darren Jackson, D-Wake, labeled his Republican counterparts “liars.” You’ll hear the response from House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, about Jackson’s partisan motives. Some politicians, including Cooper, want to move toward greater use of electric vehicles. Forcing the change could lead to unintended negative environmental consequences. That’s the conclusion from Donald van der Vaart, John Locke Foundation senior fellow. Van der Vaart explains how a large increase in electric vehicle use could affect other energy resources.