As UNC System president search goes on, interim leaders are receiving thousands a month

The UNC System has had a temporary leader for more than a year and has spent more than $1 million to pay for the ongoing transition as it searches for a new president.

Some of the team members — Jim Blaine, Chris McClure and Pete Brunstetter — are now senior administrators and have strong political connections with North Carolina Republican leaders. They each have more experience in politics than education.

When Bill Roper was named interim president the UNC System in January 2019, he announced eight individuals who were hired as strategic advisors, senior leadership administrators and executive consultants. Four of them are still employed by the UNC System, making nearly $100,000 per month combined.

The transition team and senior leadership

Blaine was hired to be a “strategic adviser” during the presidential transition and is currently earning a $15,000 monthly salary on a month-to-month contract. The contract is with Blaine’s firm, Martin & Blaine, The Differentiators LLC, which gets the money.

Blaine is a partner at The Differentiators, a political and consulting group focused on politics, policy and public affairs in North Carolina. Blaine previously served as North Carolina Senate leader Phil Berger’s first chief of staff and as the director of the Republican State Senate Caucus political organization.

His UNC System contract specifically says he is “not a lawyer and will not lobby or act as a lobbyist on behalf of the UNC System in his performance of services under this contract.”

McClure was hired as the co-chair of Roper’s transition team and was named the interim chief of staff at the UNC System.

He is a lobbyist and government relations advisor at the Brooks Pierce business law firm. He has worked for North Carolina Congressmen Patrick McHenry and Mark Meadows and served as the Executive Director of the North Carolina Republican Party. McClure also held leadership positions on the political campaigns of former Texas Governor and Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry.

McClure started out earning $13,000 per month as a member of the transition team on a month-to-month contract. That contract is between the UNC System and the law firm McClure works for and the money is paid to the firm.

McClure’s compensation more than doubled starting in July for his work as interim chief of staff. He’s now making $29,000 per month, which is equivalent to about a $350,000 annual salary. His contract also says that he is not a lawyer and he will not lobby or act as a “lobbyist” on behalf of the UNC System.

Living in Virginia, working in Chapel Hill

Brunstetter, was the other transition team co-chair transition team. He is a former Republican state senator and most recently was the general counsel for Novant Health Systems.

Brunstetter started off with a $15,000 monthly salary with the UNC System, but his salary more than doubled in July. As the interim chief operating officer at the system, he’s now making $37,500 per month, equivalent to a $450,000 annual salary.

Brunstetter lives in Huddleston, Virginia, which is a 2-hour drive from Chapel Hill, and his principal office is listed in the same town, according to his contract.

UNC System spokesman Josh Ellis said that after working in a consulting role for the first several weeks, Brunstetter and McClure began devoting all their time to UNC System work and that’s why they got raises. Another spokesman, Jason Tyson, said the transition team member’s roles have shifted from assisting the interim president’s transition to full-time staff at the system office.

Bernadette Gray-Little, former chancellor of the University of Kansas and former provost at UNC-Chapel Hill, also received a temporary appointment to the transition team at the UNC System Office as an executive consultant and is still in that role. She’s earning $13,000 per month on a month-to-month contract.

Charles Leffler, former vice chancellor for finance and administration at N.C. State University, was also named to Roper’s transition team on a month-to-month contract. As an executive consultant who helped keep UNC System finances stabilized, he earned a $13,000 monthly salary through August 2019.

When the team was announced, the UNC System said those individual contracts would total a combined $70,000 per month, which was true until July, when it totaled more than $100,000. The combined payments dropped to $94,500 per month in September after Leffler’s term ended, which is what the UNC System is currently paying for these employees.

Carol Lewis, executive director of the UNC Center for Health Innovation; Andy Willis, chief of staff at UNC Health Care, and Dan Gerlach, then-executive director of the Golden LEAF Foundation, were also appointed to Roper’s transition team. They were on loan from their respective companies and were not employed or paid by the UNC System. When Gerlach took the job as East Carolina University’s interim chancellor, he left the transition team. Lewis and Willis have both returned to their full-time jobs.

How is the search for a new president going?

In September, Roper said that he wouldn’t be seeking the position permanently, but would serve as interim leader until June 30, 2020. His base salary is $775,000 as interim president of the UNC System.

The national presidential search has been officially underway since June. It’s being led by Kimberly Strach, former executive director of the N.C. State Board of Elections.

Board of Governors leaders Randy Ramsey and Wendy Murphy are heading the search committee.

In January, the UNC System released a profile of the position that outlines the ideal qualities and characteristics the committee is looking for and gives a description of the role given the system’s strategic plan. The application process is open, and Ramsey said they’ve been in touch with potential candidates.

There’s no set timeline of when the position will be voted on and filled.

A new president could bring in his or her own team and senior administrators. Ellis said senior leaders are focused on moving the system forward and those employees aren’t tied to Roper and could help the transition for the new administration.

Former UNC Board of Governors chairman Harry Smith said he hopes the next president will make hiring decisions that are truly based on skill set, not political influence.

“Hiring decisions shouldn’t be made on someone being a Republican or a Democrat,” Smith said. “Higher education should truly be apolitical.”