The UNC Faculty Council passed a resolution on Wednesday expressing its support of Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz and asking university leadership to keep him in the position for concern of destabilizing the school.
During an emergency meeting, faculty discussed reports of the university’s Board of Trustees and the UNC System Board of Governors planning to remove Guskiewicz from the position he’s held since 2019.
Chair of the Faculty Mimi Chapman said she called the meeting specifically because of a direct source telling her some in leadership positions are already looking beyond Guskiewicz.
“On Saturday, I was contacted by someone who was alarmed about a meeting they were a part of in which names were being solicited for an interim chancellor,” said Chapman. “The tenor of the meeting was not ‘if’ this would be the case, it was ‘when’ it would be the case.”
Chapman said she’s since spoken with people close with UNC trustees, who revealed the chancellor would be up for a performance evaluation in coming days. The faculty chair also said she recently spoke with Guskiewicz, as well as Provost Bob Blouin, who had also been hearing rumors.
As stated to the News & Observer on Tuesday, Chapman said she believes the desire to remove Guskiewicz stems from his support of Nikole Hannah-Jones, an acclaimed journalist who UNC pursued to join its journalism school’s faculty. Ultimately, Hannah-Jones rejected the job offer following months-long delays in her tenure application’s consideration by the Board of Trustees, which she said was discriminatory.
Members of the UNC Faculty Council said Wednesday removing Guskiewicz could bring about a severe reaction of frustration and distrust among the campus community. In its resolution, the council said such an action would further erode trust between those within the university and those who run it, like the Board of Trustees and UNC System.
“A change in leadership at this time would be deeply destabilizing to the state, the people we serve, and the UNC System,” reads the resolution. “We emphatically oppose it because it does not follow the principles of shared governance, consultation, and established means of leadership change.”
Chapman, as well as other faculty council members in their resolution, said she believes that even though Guskiewicz has made decisions not everyone agrees with, continuing with him at the helm of UNC is best. The faculty chair pointed to the approaching academic year, the ongoing search for a provost and several dean searches set to be conducted as reasonings for the UNC System to not appoint someone new.
“Our chancellor is not perfect: there are things that we may have wanted to see or hear him do differently,” said Chapman. “And yet, he is someone we know, many of us have served with him for many years, and he could not have assumed his post at a more difficult moment.
“He is attempting to lead,” Chapman added, “in a governance structure that severely limits his ability to do so in a way the faculty can fully support.”
The UNC Board of Trustees met for the first time with new membership on Wednesday. Dave Boliek earned unanimous election as the board’s chair and John Preyer earned unanimous election as vice-chair. Both trustees voted against granting Hannah-Jones tenure during a specially-called vote on June 30.
While a university’s board of trustees could recommend a vote to remove a chancellor, the decision lies with the UNC System’s Board of Governors. The UNC System President, Peter Hans, could also make a recommendation for a chancellor to be removed.
The UNC Board of Trustees is set to hold a full board meeting at 9 a.m. on Thursday.
Photo via Robert Willett.
Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees. You can support local journalism and our mission to serve the community. Contribute today – every single dollar matters.
Comments on Chapelboro are moderated according to our Community Guidelines