Chancellor Holden Thorp—beset by academic and athletic scandal in his short tenure at UNC-Chapel Hill—seems to at least have a chunk of the university’s employees in his corner.
The school’s Employee Forum, a group representing university staff, is holding a “peaceful” rally supporting the troubled chancellor this morning in front of South Building, the school’s administrative HQ.
Thorp announced Monday that he would step down from his post at the close of the 2012-13 academic year after two years of an athletic scandal that began with the school’s football program and expanded into the academic sphere.
In a statement Tuesday, the forum expressed “heartfelt dismay” at Thorp’s decision, urging UNC President Tom Ross, the UNC board of trustees and the UNC System Board of Governors to back Thorp.
“We have found a true friend in Chancellor Thorp since he began working with us in 2008,” the statement said. “Chancellor Thorp is a leader and visionary who has greatly improved working conditions for staff.”
The forum credited Thorp with raising employee wages, addressing longstanding troubles in the university’s housekeeping department, increasing efficiency in the university and allowing “unprecedented access to him and his office.”
The forum is also circulating petitions urging the chancellor to reconsider his resignation. The petitions will be available to sign from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today in the UNC-Chapel Hill Pit, Wilson Library and South Building.
Today’s rally is scheduled from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at South Building.
Dueling petitions regarding the chancellor are already circulating on social media websites like Facebook. One, simply titled “Fire Holden Thorp,” had 1,458 likes as of Friday morning, as well as a smattering of anti-Thorp messages.
Another Change.org petition directed at Ross urges the system president to reject Thorp’s resignation. As of Friday morning, 54 people had signed the petition.
