UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp Resigns, And I Don’t Care One Bit
By Matt Hamm
So UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp Resigns huh, so what, who cares, it doesn’t matter. Sure it matters you think, what in the heck is this guy talking about? Stay with me folks, I promise my declaration comes with reason. First I want to say, I’m not blind, of course the University has been under a ton of scrutiny. I’m not going to waste time right now going through all the violations and lack of institutional control at North Carolina, you’ve read the reports.
Dec 4, 2010; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels chancellor Holden Thorp cheers at the Dean E. Smith Center. The Tar Heels defeated Kentucky 75-73. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-US PRESSWIRE
So here’s my point, no manager or CEO or Chancellor can control everything. For those of you that have been in business management like I have for the last decade, you know what I mean. Whether you manage a convenience store, a customer service center a University, anything, you can’t control everything.
My first job in management some 11 years ago, my boss told me something I’ll never forget “Sh** rolls down hill” he said “Matt, your going to take heat for stuff you didn’t even have your hands in, stuff you couldn’t have conceivably controlled, management is a thankless job.” Great I thought, but whatever, it came with a nice pay raise so I did like anybody would do, I smiled and said “Sir, I’m your man, thank you for this opportunity, you won’t be disappointed.”
My bosses here at the Fansided Network have no control over whether I put up a post with foul language and things that go against our code of conduct. And guess what, with over 250 sites, I’m guessing if I did do such a thing, they would find out after the fact, when an angry reader, or worse yet another reported or someone we have a contract with calls and complains. Is it their fault? No way, it’s mine, but guess who would take a big part of the blame, the manager. That’s how it goes.
Sure Thorpe didn’t handle this 100% correctly, his institution proved to be way out of control and I’m sure more will come out sooner or later. Do you think he actually set up these fake classes? Was he in the car with Hansbrough and her boyfriend taking joy rides to see little Ben? Nope, more than likely, he found out after the fact.
So now what happens? UNC will bring in a replacement, he will preach control, change and will promise that it won’t happen on his or her watch. And it might not, and he or she will be hailed as the savior of the University of North Carolina. But I’m not buying it, maybe Thorpe should have came into his job the same way and put all kinds of extra controls in place, maybe. But would you? I bet not, just like me and the rest of the world, everyone thought that UNC was a glowing school, an example of how a University should be, until we found out different.
It’s easy to point at the boss and say it’s your fault, and don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying Thorpe is some sort of golden boy or anything. But I firmly believe he’s not the major culprit here. His resignation isn’t the ultimate fix that people think it is or believe it will be. What it is, is a distraction, something people can say “Good he doesn’t deserve to be the chancellor of UNC”. Maybe, but don’t think this fixes everything, this is just the beginning.