On Monday, UNC-Wilmington announced it would “press pause” on the Razor Walker award, which the Watson College of Education has presented annually on behalf of the university since 1993. The award is supposed to go to people who stick their necks out professionally in the name of education–those who “walk the razor’s edge.”
It’s hard not to imagine the scandal that engulfed the most recent award cycle had something to do with the pause.
Republican Sen. Michael Lee received a Razor Walker last spring, despite being ranked 11th out of 12 candidates by the awards committee, as Port City Daily first reported. Lee’s award rankled some students and faculty, in large part because of his support for the Parents’ Bill of Rights, a bill that bars instruction on sexuality through fourth grade and requires schools to notify parents when a student changes their gender identity.
Despite protests during the award ceremony in April and an op-ed from then-new UNC Board of Governors member Woody White condemning faculty’s role in the demonstration, the story mostly died down.
That is, until The Assembly reported in June that Van Dempsey, then dean of the education school, said Chancellor Aswani Volety had pressured him to make sure a conservative won the award. Dempsey also faced backlash from Wendy Murphy, vice chair of the UNC System Board of Governors, who expressed disgust with the protests and demanded punishment.
Dempsey paid a price; less than three weeks after speaking out, he was pushed out as dean. The university maintained that he had chosen to step down.
At the time, the UNCW leaders told WHQR and The Assembly that it had no plans to change how it conducted the Razor Walker award process.
But, plans change.
“Based on collective input from [Watson College] faculty and staff, as well as the Chancellor’s Cabinet, we have decided to take time to review and potentially reimagine the award’s processes and procedures,” the university said in a statement this week.
UNCW says it will establish a committee of faculty, staff, and “other stakeholders” to discuss the future of the award. Membership is expected to be firmed up by next spring.
The question is: Can the Razor Walker award be saved?
In the future, will more liberal-leaning candidates for the award feel like they’ve had their politics held against them? And, by the same token, will conservative-leaning candidates feel like they’re being recognized not for their work, but because they’re balancing a scale somewhere in the chancellor’s office?
We put several variations of that question to the university, but a spokesperson largely avoided answering them.
“Like many notable awards, members of our campus and the community have expressed various opinions related to the award’s eligibility and selection process over the past few years. Past recipients came from different backgrounds, walks of life, areas of the state, and professions,” said the spokesperson. “Because of that, they advocated for and supported children, families, and communities in different ways, sometimes as unique commitments that stood out from their other work and efforts. Selection of recipients was made without regard for their political affiliation.”
WHQR and The Assembly put the same question to Dempsey this summer. Given he’d just been defenestrated from the dean’s office, his response to what the scandal might mean for the future was more nuanced than we’d expected.
“It makes it difficult to give the award in the same tenor than it was done in the past,” he said, adding some may have had an overly idealized view.
He said someone told him,“‘We have never given this award to anybody [for anything] other than the integrity of the work they did.’ Which is not true. In the past, you can go through the names and ask, ‘Wait a minute … why did that person get the award?’ Well, because they they scratched a back. So has the thing ever been given for questionable reasons? Yes.”
But he added, “Never with this kind of notoriety. And this kind of politicized energy.”
–Benjamin Schachtman
Catch up on an audio conversation on last week’s edition of The Dive here. Read this newsletter online or contact The Dive team with tips and feedback at wilmington@theassemblync.com.
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Land Grab
Last month, the town of Leland purchased 28 acres of undeveloped riverfront property off N.C. 133–land that is outside both Leland and Belville town limits.
The legislature had stripped Leland from its ability to annex any new property earlier this year, so for this new purchase, the town will have to look to the county for certain permissions rather than governing it outright. The paradox–a town spending $5.5 million to nab land it can’t control–has raised questions, but Leland is remaining mum.
As The Assembly reported last month, this particular property has been ensnared in a municipal tug-of-war, with potential purchasers trying to figure out which of the longtime municipal rivals can secure the site access to public utilities.
In the spring, Fayetteville firm Caviness & Cates planned to buy the property and annex into Leland to build 300-plus apartments on the site (Belville’s mayor previously said they had also considered his town). Neighbors complained about construction and traffic, and developers withdrew their application. Then national homebuilder Pulte Homes went under contract to purchase the property instead, and hoped to build 125 townhomes.
Progress stalled due to the utility access complications. Reached by The Assembly in October, the owner of the undeveloped land said he just wanted it to go to the highest bidder.
In this fast-growing area of Brunswick County, hope for a resolution comes layered in years of competition and legalities.
In 2021, Leland secured a utility deal with the independent provider for the region, Brunswick Regional Water and Sewer H2GO, and gained the exclusive right to offer utility service to a large area outside town limits, in exchange for annexation. That controversial tit-for-tat led to the annexation moratorium passed in July.
Leland and H2GO have continued to enforce their contested agreement despite the annexation moratorium, which has left properties like the one off N.C. 133 in a predicament. They must annex into town to get utilities, but the town isn’t legally allowed to annex.
A 20-year settlement agreement between Leland and Belville expired this week. That means that the property owner could annex into Belville–that is, if Leland hadn’t already acquired it.
It’s not clear whether Belville’s newfound right factored into the Leland council’s decision. Leland has declined to elaborate on its decision, beyond noting that it was made “after hearing and considering the concerns expressed by many citizens about the stresses of rapid growth along the N.C. 133 corridor.”
The town said it plans to garner public input to determine the site’s best use.
–Johanna F. Still
Around the Region
You Get a Grant! Last year’s inaugural grant cycle for the New Hanover Community Endowment was a little like being a guest on the Oprah Winfrey Show, WHQR reports: plenty of nonprofits went home with a gift. As the billion-dollar foundation prepares to award its second cycle, it’s working out kinks and getting more strategic.
Pointless: A family who hoped to build several houses on the south end of Topsail Island has withdrawn their request after years of sour relations and backlash, Coastal Review Online reports.
When I Grow Up: Wilmington Police Chief Donny Williams made good on a childhood dream by leading both a police force and a fire department, Greater Wilmington Business Journal details.
Second Thoughts: Brunswick County’s population could feasibly eclipse New Hanover’s in the next several decades, the StarNews reports. A longtime former commissioner told the outlet he sometimes thinks he made a mistake in a key vote that fast-tracked growth.
Around the State
The Bottom Line
Utilities like Duke Energy are asking ratepayers to foot the bill for billions in new emission-reduction projects while they reap guaranteed profits.
Best Interest of the Child
As of September, 11,000 children were in state custody in North Carolina.
North Carolina Republicans’ Favorite Democrat
Kody Kinsley grew up poor and uninsured. Now his alliance with conservatives has delivered Medicaid to 600,000 North Carolinians.
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