The UNC Board of Trustees is expected to review the tenure application of acclaimed journalist, Nikole Hannah-Jones, at a special meeting on Wednesday.
This special meeting, set for 3 p.m., is a result of growing public scrutiny following the board’s inaction to review Hannah-Jones’ tenure application earlier this year.
The legal team of Hannah-Jones announced last week she will not join the UNC faculty unless she is offered a tenured position. Her original start date as the Knight Chair in Race and Investigative Reporting was set for Thursday, July 1.
Wednesday’s meeting comes as the terms of six out of the 13 trustees, including Chair Richard Stevens, are set to end on Thursday.
UNC Student Body President Lamar Richards, who is on the Board of Trustees, petitioned for a special meeting to discuss Hannah-Jones’ tenure last week. He shared on Twitter that Wednesday’s meeting is result of his initial petition.
Real leaders let their *actions* speak for them.
History will recognize this moment as the first time that a special-called meeting was legally petitioned by the Student Body President, therefore forcing the board to meet. https://t.co/OZSPDDeuuh
— Lamar Richards (@lamarrichards_) June 28, 2021
Faculty members at UNC have also been outspoken about the tension between university leadership and Hannah-Jones. Some, like UNC professor and Director of Carolina Public Humanities Lloyd Kramer, said the controversy is a symbol of a much larger issue.
“I think the fundamental principle of carefully vetted faculty recommendations is at risk here,” Kramer told 97.9 The Hill. “This is an issue of fundamental importance to the vitality and reputation of the university.”
Kramer said he and other faculty are puzzled by the long-standing inaction of the board. He said he believes Hannah-Jones is beyond qualified for a tenured role at UNC, regardless of opinions on her work of the 1619 Project, which examines the impact of slavery in America.
“I think there is a feeling that the judgments of UNC faculty and leadership is being set aside for partisan and political reasons,” Kramer said. “That’s deeply concerning.”
Kramer said academics have an obligation to speak out. He said a well-run democratic society is built on free and open debate.
“Tenure was created because the ideas should be when people have expertise and knowledge, and they speak publicly about that, they should not be fired. It’s not just a job security issue, it’s an issue about the vitality of public life.”
Kramer has been a member of the UNC faculty for 35 years and served as Chair of the Faculty until 2020. He said no issue in his time at the university has made the faculty so collectively concerned.
“One of the demoralizing aspects of this is that so many colleagues, including many of our distinguished faculty of color, are feeling under siege,” Kramer said. “They’re not quite sure what to do, but they are looking around.”
Several faculty of color announced they are leaving the university for other opportunities, with some directly citing the Hannah-Jones controversy as a reason for their departure.
Earlier this month, the Carolina Black Caucus also said 60 percent of its members are actively searching for other job opportunities.
Kramer said the core values of the university are being dismissed by those in power. That dismissal, he said, has caused feelings of neglect among faculty.
Featured photo via the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
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