New UNC Board of Trustees Meets, No Open Discussion on Chancellor Change

With six new board members sworn in and committee roles determined, the UNC Board of Trustees met Thursday to discuss business ahead of the new academic year.

The full board meeting, conducted in the Carolina Inn, happened as preparation for the fall semester is taking shape and the new membership gets acquainted. Trustees Rob Bryan III, Perrin Jones, Malcom Turner, Ramsey White, Marty Kotis and Vinay Patel were sworn in together on Wednesday.

Thursday’s meeting also happened as the UNC campus continues to be in turmoil over discussions around racial injustice, treatment of minority faculty members and transparency. The night before, the UNC Faculty Council held an emergency meeting called because some campus community members, including Chair of the Faculty Mimi Chapman, have heard rumors the board and the UNC System Board of Governors are planning to remove Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz following an evaluation. The faculty council passed a resolution affirming its confidence in Guskiewicz, citing his academic background and the campus’ need for stable leadership.

Guskiewicz made no comment of any such rumors Thursday morning, largely sharing preparation for the upcoming fall semester and an anecdote about his hiring to the UNC faculty 26 years ago. The chancellor did, however, address comments made by Student Body President Lamar Richards about improving equity on campus.

“I remain committed to continue working alongside the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council, the Carolina Black Caucus, the Black Student Movement and others to address concerns raised about our racial inequities,” Guskiewicz said. “While we are making progress in many areas, there’s still much work ahead and I’ve really enjoyed meeting with members of those groups.”

While the board did not mention of a performance review or a decision to recommend removing Guskiewicz, Trustee Ralph Meekins took time before a closed session to share his own confidence in the chancellor. He said he’s unsure how Guskiewicz “sleeps at night” with how much work the position has required in the last year.

“I hope we all would be calm,” said Meekins, “and celebrate all the wonderful things this university is doing.”

Richards mentioned holding leadership beyond the university accountable when it comes to improving and discussing equity.

“We can not and must not accept political partisanship, maneuvering, or interference at our home — in our house,” said the student body president. “External influence must have no place and no say in our sacred framework of shared governance, nor in our mission of securing scholarship, excellence, and innovation at Carolina, our nation’s oldest public university.”

During the meeting, several university officials presented the latest plans UNC will implement for when students return to campus in August. Projecting around 8,400 undergraduate students will return to live on campus or in Granville Towers, the university aims to maintain its COVID-19 testing program for unvaccinated students. Masks will also be required in all indoor spaces, except residence halls and when students are eating, drinking or exercising.

When asked by several trustees about the masking plan, and how it differs from guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control, Dr. Amir Barzin said the goal is to begin with these masking requirements as students from many geographical regions return to campus. Barzin, who leads the Carolina Together Testing program, said he and other university officials will examine COVID-19 cases daily and will use the data from this masking strategy to determine whether it is necessary going forward.

“We’re looking at a broad swath,” said Barzin, “taking into consideration what’s happening in our [campus] community, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro community, UNC Health [to develop models and respond.]”

UNC leadership did not hold a media availability following the meeting. A message from UNC Media Relations said the university’s Board of Trustee meetings will not be livestreamed on YouTube any longer since they are returning to a pre-pandemic format.

Faculty and staff are set to return to UNC campus next week.

 

Photo via Jon Gardiner/UNC-Chapel Hill.

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