ASU Faculty Senate Sees Spellings Error

Jane Stancill in the Raleigh News&Observer today:

Appalachian State University’s Faculty Senate has expressed “serious reservations” about the appointment of Margaret Spellings as president of the UNC system.

A resolution by the ASU Faculty Senate passed this week 27-0 with four abstentions. The lengthy resolution also cited concerns about the secretive nature of the presidential search and a lack of faculty input in the process.

The resolution was blunt in its assessment of Spellings, the former U.S. education secretary under President George W. Bush, saying that Spellings “has a record of pursuing policies that are contrary to the very idea and integrity of public higher education.”

It cited “intolerant remarks and actions against the LGBT community” and Spellings’ federal accountability efforts closely tied to standardized testing – No Child Left Behind and her commission on higher education. The resolution also raised questions about Spellings’ service on the board of the Apollo Group, the parent company of the for-profit University of Phoenix, which has been investigated for its recruiting practices. Spellings has also been head of an advisory board for Ceannate, a private company that services student loans....