To reflect on the year, Chapelboro.com is re-publishing some of the top stories that impacted and defined our community’s experience in 2022. These stories and topics affected Chapel Hill, Carrboro and the rest of our region.
Among UNC’s nationally-renowned programs, the Kenan-Flagler Business School continues to build its reputation as one of the best in the country. To help accommodate ever-rising demand for a degree, the school took several major steps this past year to expand its footprint and impact on business-minded North Carolinians. The Kenan-Flagler community, however, experienced some turbulence in late 2022 — following an accusation of racial discrimination and a surprise resignation.
In August, a former in the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School filed a federal lawsuit to sue for damages from three professors in the school’s organizational behavior program. Rose Brown, who enrolled in Kenan-Flagler’s graduate program in 2020, alleged she experienced racial discrimination from Michael Christian, Shimul Melwani and Sreedhari Desai as she attempted to navigate her recovery from sexual assault and her projects studying racial identity in the workplace. Brown’s attorneys, who submitted the lawsuit to a federal court in the Middle District of North Carolina, said she was the only Black woman in the specific Ph.D. program at that time.
In June 2021, Brown says she planned to file a complaint with the Equal Opportunity Compliance Office — but was met during her annual review a month later with responses from Pearsall and Christian indicating they did not believe she had “a path forward in the Ph.D. program,” despite citing no issues with her research efforts.
Christian, Melwani, Desai and the university entered a motion to dismiss Brown’s lawsuit in November, crediting the former Ph.D. student’s tension with the professors linked more to research projects than racial discrimination. No decision has been made yet on whether Brown’s case will move forward. Brown left UNC prior to the lawsuit’s filing and is now a graduate researcher at Cornell University.
Then, a couple weeks later, there was a much higher-profile exit from the university. While on vacation the morning of September 16, Doug Shackelford stepped down from dean of Kenan-Flagler Business School, announcing that “after much reflection” he was not coming back after eight years on the job.
“In brief, I’m very tired,” Shackelford said in a video shared with the school’s students and faculty. “I’m not physically ill and I’m sure I’ll be fine with some rest. But I need to hand the baton to another who can run at the pace this school deserves. Please know that this school is far bigger than any single person and it will continue to thrive.”
Doug Shackleford, dean of UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, during the 2015 Winter Commencement at the Dean Smith Center. Shackleford abruptly resigned from his position in mid-September. (Photo via UNC-Chapel Hill)
“Doug’s tenure at UNC Kenan-Flagler is marked by numerous achievements that leave the school in a position of strength,” said UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz and Provost Chris Clemens in a statement. “We are grateful for everything he has accomplished and wish him well in his next endeavors.”
Kenan-Flagler chose Jennifer Conrad, a distinguished professor of finance, as its interim dean on September 23. The national search for a new dean began shortly afterward, with UNC leadership saying it hopes to have someone hired and in place by July 1, 2023.
Beyond this, the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School experienced a successful calendar year for its graduating class and expansion. The MBA Class of 2022 from the school reportedly saw 96 percent of its membership receive full-time job offers for their post-collegiate careers, with 99.6 percent accepting at least an internship offer the previous summer. 100 percent of the school’s MBA Class of 2023 reportedly were offered internships this past summer, with the school welcoming 242 MBA students for its Class of 2024.
In the fall, business school began both immediate and long-term expansion projects. UNC launched its Charlotte Executive MBA Program, its first location outside of Chapel Hill, with the goal of providing a campus connected to headquarters of major businesses in the city. The business school’s full Charlotte campus is expected to be complete in spring 2023. Back in Chapel Hill, there was much focus on providing even more opportunities on the main campus. After initially committing $11 million to Kenan-Flagler in 2020, UNC alumnus Steve Bell and his wife, Jackie, upped their financial commitment to $25 million. Paired with a $25 million gift from an anonymous donor and $75 million from the state legislature, the business school started plans for a new building on its main campus — which broke ground during a big ceremony on September 29.
Steven D. Bell, chair of Bell Partners, addresses the audience at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School’s groundbreaking ceremony for Steven D. Bell Hall. The building’s namesake provided $25 million to support the expansion project. (Photo via Jon Gardiner/UNC-Chapel Hill)
“In life, few people have the opportunity to influence thousands of younger people,” Bell said in front of a large crowd. “I am honored and humbled to be able to help double the size of the undergraduate business school.”
The new building will double the teaching space available for Kenan-Flagler faculty and aims to have adaptable classroom layouts for teaching styles and class size. There will also be new dining facilities and space for a dedicated art gallery. The existing McColl Building will undergo renovations as the Bell Hall is constructed, with the full expansion and renewal project aiming to be complete in 2026.
Concept art for the Steven D. Bell Hall expansion of UNC Kenan-Flagler’s Business School. (Photo via UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School.)
A potential design for the atrium in the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School’s new expansion. (Photo via UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School.)
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