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Legal Basis for Independence
As an institution of higher education chartered by the North Carolina General Assembly, Craven Community College operates as an independent entity pursuant Chapter 115D of the North Carolina General Statutes. A trustee must act independently if he or she is to discharge his or her duties as established by Sections 115D-14 and 115D-14. These sections vest in the Board of Trustees ("Board") the authority and responsibility to enter into contracts; acquire, hold, and transfer real and personal property; institute and defend legal actions and suits; and to manage and administer the college for educational purposes. In addition to these broad powers, the Board constitutes the College's local administrative governing body.
Consistent with the independence established in Chapter 115D, the State Board of Community Colleges has delegated to the Board broad powers and responsibilities indicative of an independent governing body. Specifically, "[a]ll power and authority vested by law in the State Board which relates to the internal administration, regulation, and governance of any individual college of the community college system" has been delegated to the various boards of trustees (23 North Carolina Administrative Code 01A .0103 (b)). Therefore, the independence of the College's Board is established by law and required in order to operate as a public educational institution.
Board Composition and Practice
The statutory composition of the Board helps safeguard it from domination by a minority of board members or by organizations advocating interests separate from the College's mission. The 12 voting trustees are appointed to the Board by three different levels of government: Four are elected by the Craven County Board of Commissioners, four are elected by the Craven County Board of Education, and four are appointed by the governor. The president of the student body serves as a nonvoting ex offico member.
Before taking office, each trustee must promise his or her commitment to the College and the law through an oath. The oath requires, among other things, trustees to "well and truly execute the duties of the office of Trustee of Craven Community College according to the best of [his or her] skill and ability, according to law." A trustee who was inappropriately influenced would be acting contrary to his or her legal obligations as well as a in violation of the public affirmation of support for the law and College contained in the oath.
Once appointed, a trustee's independence is protected by both College policy and law. The College and Section 115D-19 of the General Statutes establish that trustees can be removed only for cause. Appropriate cause is limited to (1) an inability to discharge the trustee's duties pursuant to law or (2) unjustifiable repeated absence from Board meetings. Thus, once appointed, a trustee does not owe any legal duty to the body or person who appointed him or her. The trustee's legal obligation is to discharge his or her fiduciary duties for benefit of the College. After appointment, trustees are also oriented to the Board's duties, including their obligation to act independently from inappropriate influence. Each trustee is given a booklet containing Chapter 115D of the General Statutes, and directed to review his or her specific responsibilities set forth in Sections 115D-12 and 14 in addition to the other sections governing the College.
Finally, the Board has been and continues to be sensitive to the possibility that external political, religious, or other types of pressure may be exerted in order to influence College policy inappropriately. This sensitivity, combined with each trustee's legal and personal obligation to the College, has helped ensure that the Board's practices are consistent with the actions of an independent policy-making body. Pursuant to its bylaws, the Board meets at least once every three months, or more often as necessary. Meetings of the Board are conducted with a quorum present and decisions are made through a vote of the majority, or greater in certain circumstances. No proxy voting by any trustee is allowed at any meeting. In the event of a tie vote, the motion or other issue upon which the vote was taken must fail. The Board acts pursuant to the legally established process, and it is the ultimate policy-making body for the College's administration operating free of undue influence.
Craven Board Chairman Donald K. Brinkley has addressed the outside influence matter in a letter to the On-site Review Committee Chair for the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. In that letter, he states that he "(has) not observed any undue or otherwise objectionable intrusion in Board or College matters by outside groups."
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