[T]he reality is three of our last four chancellors have left in less than ideal circumstances. . . . My sense is that—and I love NC State so much that I’m willing to say this—that I worry that our leadership sometimes operates in an environment of institutional inferiority, which creates fear. And great things aren’t achieved in a fearful setting. I think what happened here in this particular setting has fear written all over it. . . . Regardless of what you think of whether Mary Easley should have been hired, what you think she should have been paid—that’s not the question. The question is: How was it handled? Was it transparent? Was she brought in the front door or the back door? Did we tell everyone that we were obligated to tell and share with or did we obfuscate and try to hide? We know the answer, to some degree, to that now.
