Demonstrating that rivalries do not extend much past the athletic arena, President Nan Keohane spent the past few months engaged in a successful campaign to help ensure approval of the largest bond issue in the history of North Carolina; the bonds will support the state's university system.
"President Keohane's support says a lot for the cooperative spirit that exists between private and public institutions in this state," said Leslie Bevacqua, campaign director for North Carolina Friends of Educational Opportunity.
In a sweeping victory last Tuesday, the bond referendum-which includes $2.5 billion for the UNC system and $600 million for the community college system-received approval from 73.6 percent of North Carolina voters. The success, though not unprecedented, came with more than a little help from Keohane, who sent letters to several thousand Duke alumni currently residing in the state; several newspapers also published Keohane's opinion piece in support of the referendum. "I like to hope my efforts helped," Keohane said. "It's very important for Duke to work to improve the strength and health of the economy of the state."
Keohane's letter and editorial urged North Carolinians to vote for the bond issue, taking advantage of an "unprecedented opportunity to help ensure that our children will enjoy the benefits of a strong economy and a quality of life that puts the state among the nation's top places to live and work."
Such adamant support of a potentially contentious issue is not necessarily common practice for presidents of private universities. "There are varying opinions about how much it's acceptable for a chancellor or president to be seen as involved in politics," Keohane said. "It's often difficult for people to separate who I am as president from who I am. It is often interpreted that if I care about X the University cares about X. It's difficult to separate Nan Keohane from Duke." In the past, Duke presidents such as Terry Sanford and Keith Brodie were involved politically with education issues.
Not everyone approves of Keohane using her political voice. Some recipients of her letter feel that Keohane's involvement in the referendum goes beyond what is acceptable for the president of a private university. "In the letter I sent to President Keohane I told her I thought her involvement was inappropriate because the public policy involved does not directly affect Duke University," said Raleigh resident George Leef, director of the Pope Center for Higher Education Policy and a 1977 graduate of the School of Law. "Spending funds for the public sector has no direct bearing on Duke whatsoever. If anything, it would be appropriate for the president to forbear."
Leef, a vocal opponent of the bond referendum, argued that in the long-run, the referendum will end up harming smaller, private universities in the state, which already suffer from declining enrollments. Smaller private institutions have difficulty competing with the low tuitions of the UNC system, and now, with billions of dollars of new capital making the public universities even more attractive, Leef fears that small institutions are doomed.
More often than not, however, Keohane's efforts met with optimism and gratitude. "I saw man-on-the-street interviews, as well as interviews with people who went to private institutions and said they weren't going to support the bonds. Keohane addressed those attitudes and really took them to task," said Evelyn Hawthorne, associate vice chancellor for government relations at UNC's Chapel Hill campus. She said that Keohane's involvement certainly contributed to the bond's success.
Bevacqua, too, expressed her appreciation for Keohane's efforts.
"First of all, I was very pleased she took an active role in supporting the bonds," Bevacqua said. "Her involvement was important for all education.... It really sent a message that all higher education is important."
Keohane said she chooses her involvement conscientiously. "There are occasions when you should speak out," she said, "but those should be chosen wisely and not done so often that their effect is blunted by overuse."
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