UNCW Faculty Senate passed Motion 09-07-20 March 17, 2009 regarding The Century Project that read, “In the spirit of intellectual and educational freedom, the Faculty Senate admonishes the UNCW administration for not consulting with the Women’s Resource Center, Faculty Senate Steering Committee, and other interested parties before asking photographer Frank Cordelle to remove pictures of minors from his exhibit at UNCW.”

The meeting was open to discussion by faculty and staff members who had strong opinions about the issue, sparking debate at the end of the forum.

President of the Faculty Senate Bruce McKinney said, “Freedom of speech is something that goes to my heart but anytime you’re told you can’t speak out on a topic, then there’s a problem.”

Janet Ellerby, Interim Director of the Women’s Resource Center, read several points from a timeline of events surrounding The Century Project. She first exchanged emails with photographer Frank Cordelle Sept. 30, 2008 and the contract was signed within the next few months for his project to appear at UNCW.

Professor John Foubert of Oklahoma State University issued his letter to UNCW administration Feb. 16, 2009, imploring them to reconsider showing the exhibit. The Women’s Resource Center Advisory Board meeting took place two days later, but according to Ellerby, the letter was not mentioned by Jose Hernandez, Associate Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs, when The Century Project was discussed.

UNCW administration decided to ban the display of the photos of minors in the project shortly after, but requested to issue a statement on behalf of the university, rather than speak directly to the media. Ellerby claims she was issued an ultimatum, but encouraged Cordelle to show his exhibit regardless.

When asked who was consulted in the decision, Provost Brian Chapman stated the parties included him, Chancellor Rosemary DePaolo, Chief of Staff Max Allen, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Pat Leonard, General Counsel Eileen Goldgeier and Assistant to the Chancellor for Marking and Communications Cindy Lawson.

According to Chapman, the concept of banning the photos in question began before the letter from Foubert was received. He explained that the issue was not one of pornography, but of “informed consent” of minors and their inability to understand the idea in its entirety.

“We have to look at the impact of the university in the community and state,” Chapman said. “I received a number of emails in support of our decision [to ban the photographs of minors].”

Dr. Kathleen Berkley, Associate Dean of College of Arts and Sciences, replied to Chapman, “If this was such a concern for you, other members of UNCW should have been consulted.”

“There was no consultation with the Women’s Resource Center or experts in the art department and what constitutes as art or historians who work on this issue,” said Dr. Vibeke Olson, Assistant Professor of the Art & Art History Department.

Pamela Evers, Associate Professor of Accountancy and Business Law, added, “We cannot run a university if intellectual content on campus is decided by two or three people in Alderman Hall.”

The idea of censorship also sparked faculty opinion and discussion.

“The decision was the very definition of censorship,” Evers said. “The fact that an artist consents to remove certain objects offensive to those in power does not negate the fact that censorship occurred.”

She added, “Such censorship, without consulting the faculty, constitutes a breach of, or infringement upon, academic freedom and such censorship violates the very purpose of the university’s learning goals, particularly with respect to critical thinking. If the university fails to offer students events, literature, art or other opportunity to explore and examine issues and engage in critical thinking, then the university has failed its students.”

Other opinions about the subject circulated and generated much discussion.

Dr. Jess Boersma, Assistant Professor of Foreign Languages and Literature, said, “I think it’s an issue of academic sovereignty. One letter from one faculty member is overriding the Women’s Resource Center and discounting a field of expertise on our own campus.”

“The new issue for faculty is academic freedom,” Ellerby said. “This all feels like a top down control of what we as faculty can and cannot say.”

After the motion was passed, faculty members in attendance continued to talk about the actions that transpired regarding The Century Project.

“The faculty has every right to express their views and I respect the decision of the Faculty Senate,” Allen said. “We disagree on what happened, but we have wonderful faculty and respect their viewpoints greatly.”

When asked by Dr. Anita McDaniel what the next step for the university would be, McKinney said, “If there are issues like this again, the administration might realize the value in consultation [of additional UNCW experts].”

When asked about his opinion on the motion passed, Chapman said, “I have no feelings about it.”

“I feel very strongly about this and wholeheartedly support the motion,” said Evers. “What I hope is that the administration will consult with faculty in the future. What I believe will happen is absolutely nothing.”