Members of the UNC community continue to voice support for incoming journalism professor Nikole Hannah-Jones, with more than 1,600 alumni taking out an advertisement Wednesday to urge the university to consider approving her tenure application.

Published in the News & Observer newspaper, 1,619 UNC alumni and current students signed onto a statement criticizing the university’s Board of Trustees. With Hannah-Jones joining the faculty as the Knight Chair in Race and Investigative Journalism at the Hussman School of Journalism and Media, the board chose to delay consideration for her tenure, differing from its past approval of tenure for other Knight Chairs at UNC.

The 1,619 total of alumni is an homage to Hannah-Jones’ work leading the New York Times’ study on slavery in America, the 1619 Project, which ultimately earned her a Pulitzer Prize. The organization Proud UNC Alumni, a website and Facebook group created to support UNC student protests during the era of Silent Sam’s removal, paid for the advertisement.

According to the ad, the group of alumni is “outraged” at the UNC Board of Trustees’ failure to approve Hannah-Jones’ tenure application, despite recommendations from Hussman School of Journalism and Media leaders’ recommendation.

“Dismissing a list of merits that includes winning a Pulitzer Prize, Peabody Award and MacArthur ‘Genius’ Grant is an attempt to penalize Nikole Hannah-Jones for her groundbreaking and unvarnished reporting of American history,” reads the ad. “We demand that the Board of Trustees immediately revisit this matter, grant tenure as recommended by the appropriate faculty, Dean and Provost, and restore the integrity of our University.”

The website NC Policy Watch reported on May 19 the Board of Trustees did not immediately consider Hannah-Jones’ tenure application as some board members voiced concern about her qualifications following “political pressure from conservatives.” While board members have since said the tenure application has not been approved due to Hannah-Jones’ arrival from a non-academic background, community and national outcry continues to build. Community members orchestrated protests at a Board of Trustees meeting, UNC faculty called for an immediate consideration for Hannah-Jones’ tenure and national figures decried the board’s lack of action in an open letter in The Root magazine.

Among those who signed are several local leaders in the Orange County community. Alumna like Hillsborough Mayor Jenn Weaver, former Carrboro Alderman Bethany Chaney and Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board member Lisa Kaylie are included in in the advertisement, with Weaver sharing her support on Twitter Wednesday.

After paying for the advertisement in the News & Observer, the Proud UNC Alumni group launched a fundraiser for alumni to donate funds to the Ida B. Wells Society. Founded by Hannah-Jones and other journalists, the group helps prepare journalists of color to apply for positions in the investigative journalism field. On Wednesday afternoon, the GoFundMe surpassed its initial goal of $16,190.

Both NC Policy Watch and the News & Observer shared updates on the status of Hannah-Jones’ tenure on Wednesday. Reports said the UNC Committee on Appoitnments, Promotion and Tenure resubmitted the Pulitzer Prizer-winner’s application for consideration, meaning she is eligible again to be considered for approval by the Board of Trustees.

Hannah-Jones is slated to begin her work as the Knight Chair in Race and Investigative Journalism at UNC on July 1. The UNC Board of Trustees is not scheduled to meet again until July 14 and 15.

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