The UNC Board of Trustees’ inaction on tenure for acclaimed journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones has caused uproar among faculty and students.

At least three professors of color announced they are leaving the university for other opportunities in the past week alone and the UNC Student Body President wrote an open letter calling for a university-wide reckoning.

The Carolina Black Caucus, a coalition of Black administrators, faculty, alumni, staff and graduate students, said at its meeting last week that 70% of the 30 attendees at the meeting are considering leaving the university and more than 60% are actively searching for other job opportunities.

The potential exodus of Black faculty comes in the wake of the Board of Trustees not giving Nikole Hannah-Jones tenure.

One of those departing faculty members is Kia Caldwell, a former professor of African American and Diaspora Studies. She has been named the vice provost for faculty affairs and diversity at the University of Washington in St. Louis. She is just the latest in a string of professors to leave the university.

UNC law professor and member of the UNC Faculty Executive Committee, Eric Mueller said professors leaving the university is a “crisis.”

Lamar Richards, the UNC Student Body President, called Caldwell’s departure a big hit. He also said some UNC Black students are echoing the desire to leave.

As a result, Richards issued an open letter this week saying the university has “continually fallen short of meeting the challenge of serving each and every one of its students.”

He said the Nikole Hannah-Jones controversy was a symbol of a larger trend of racial oppression throughout the university. Richards said he believes the persistence of oppression is an indicator that the university is not ready for the reckoning it desperately needs. Because of this, he said “If you are a student, staff member, or academic from a historically marginalized identity exploring UNC, I invite you to look elsewhere.”

In addition to Caldwell, two other professors have also said they are leaving UNC this week: Malinda Maynor Lowery and Sibby Anderson-Thompkins,

In an interview with NC Policy Watch, Lowery cited the Hannah-Jones controversy as a main reason for her departure. Lowery will be a professor of American History at Emory University in Atlanta in the fall.

Anderson-Thompkins was the Interim Chief Diversity Officer at UNC. She was present at the protests regarding the initial tenure decision in May. At those protests she said she came out to the protest not only to support the Carolina community, but also the African American community and Black faculty.

“I think that there are too many times when faculty of color, specifically Black faculty are slighted they are perceived as lesser than – we should just be grateful to have an appointment,” Anderson-Thompkins said.  “I think it’s important that our chancellor or our leaders go to bat for her and not just decide to bring it up for a vote, but to make a compelling case for why you would tenure her.”

Anderson-Thompkins will take over the same role at the University of the South in Sewanee starting in August.

The university issued a statement about Anderson-Thompkins thanking her for her “longstanding service to Carolina.”

More faculty departures are expected in the coming weeks, but the university has not yet acted on Hannah-Jones’ tenure application.

That lack of action was also the reason renowned Black chemistry professor, Lisa Jones, withdrew her candidacy from UNC after the controversy became public.

The exits of these faculty members of color are part of larger trend that extends beyond the Hannah-Jones controversy. Leaders from the Carolina Black Caucus told the News & Observer they have been feeling undervalued for years, but Hannah-Jones brings those issues to the forefront again.

The NAACP Legal Defense Fund sent a letter to the university’s general counsel stating that they would file a lawsuit against the university if tenure was not offered to Hannah-Jones.

UNC leadership responded on June 4 by saying, “today the University responded to a letter from the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. regarding Nikole Hannah-Jones’ employment. We look forward to continued dialogue with her counsel.”

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