As the UNC community continues to follow the controversy surrounding the university’s consideration of incoming professor Nikole Hannah-Jones’ tenure, several faculty members of the journalism school shared a letter criticizing leadership’s actions.
A group of 36 professors in the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media published an open letter to the university’s Board of Trustees Friday, condemning its lack of action on Hannah-Jones’ tenure application and calling for its immediate consideration.
“It seems apparent that the UNC Board of Trustees has again failed to review Nikole Hannah-Jones’s dossier for appointment as the Knight Chair in Race and Investigative Journalism with tenure,” the letter reads, “despite affirmation at all previous levels of rigorous review. Their inaction is a blatant disregard for time-honored tenure procedures and for the university and Board of Trustees’ endorsed values of diversity, equity and inclusion.”
Hannah-Jones, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for the New York Times Magazine, is set to join the Hussman School’s faculty as the Knight Chair in Race and Investigative Journalism. Unlike previous Knight Chairs, however, the Board of Trustees did not offer her a tenured professorship and instead offered a fixed five-year term. While university leadership said no action has been taken yet due to Hannah-Jones’ lack of a traditional academic background, reports from NC Policy Watch share the decision could be motivated by to the reporter’s work in orchestrating The 1619 Project.
Hannah-Jones received recommendation from the leadership of the Hussman School of Journalism and Media to be hired as a full professor with tenure.
Since then, attorneys with the NAACP and two law firms wrote university officials and shared plans to file lawsuits on Hannah-Jones’ behalf if the UNC Board of Trustees did not grant her tenure by Friday. The university did not send out a mandatory 48-hour notice of any specially called meeting for the board on Wednesday.
In addition to criticizing the Board of Trustees’ lack of action, the group of UNC faculty also commented on the actions of the journalism school’s namesake. Walter Hussman Jr., who donated $25 million to the school in 2019, shared concerns about the hire of Hannah-Jones with university leadership, according to The Assembly NC. While Hussman has since shared additional statements and said he did not intend to pressure UNC trustees, faculty wrote about the need for maintaining independence from donor influence when making personnel decisions.
Newspaper publisher Walter Hussman Jr. stands outside Carroll Hall during a celebration in October 2019. Hussman reportedly sent emails to UNC leadership regarding the hire of Nikole Hannah-Jones, citing concerns about her work on The 1619 Project, but has since said he supports the school’s hiring decisions and will continue his financial commitment to the university. (Photo via the Texarkana Gazette.)
“When making important decisions, it is routine for our School to call on the expertise of an alumni-led advisory group for input regarding our mission,” reads Friday’s letter. “Yet autonomy is vital in all hiring, tenure, and promotion decisions. Our faculty hires undergo a sustained, intensive process of review by faculty and university committees based on established procedures at the School and UNC. As educators in constant engagement with students and the industry roles for which we prepare them, there should be no question that we are best positioned to determine what is in their best interest and most beneficial to their learning and skills development.”
As some faculty shared their thoughts on the ongoing decisions from the Board of Trustees, the journalism school is set to hear its students’ perspectives.
The UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media alerted its students of upcoming opportunities to participate in three listening sessions. Held by a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, the sessions are described as chances for students to “voice your thoughts, concerns and perspectives on the current high-profile issues” surrounding the journalism school is facing, according to the Career Services department. The email specifically cites the tension around Hannah-Jones’ tenure application, which the university Board of Trustees has yet to formally consider action.
The virtual listening sessions are set for June 7, June 9 and June 11. Each will be conducted from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. by trios of journalism professors. Thursday’s email describing the listening sessions to students said the meetings are meant to be kept confidential and will not be recorded.
Students interested in participating in next week’s Hussman School of Jounalism and Media listening session are encouraged to sign up through a UNC survey web page.
Photo via the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
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