UNC hires robotics expert as provost, replacing leader who sued school
As UNC-Chapel Hill is wrapped up in a legal battle with former provost Chris Clemens, the school announced the appointment of its new provost Wednesday morning.
Magnus Egerstedt, the current dean of engineering at the Henry Samueli School of Engineering at University of California, Irvine, was appointed to serve as UNC’s executive vice chancellor and provost beginning March 2, 2026. Egerstedt takes over the spot left vacant after Clemens, a professor of physics and astronomy, stepped down in May. Since then, James Dean Jr. was appointed to serve in an interim role, and Clemens sued the university.
In a press release, UNC Chancellor Lee Roberts said Egerstedt has a “distinguished record of leadership” and “deep expertise in higher education.”
“He is exceptionally well-suited for this role,” Roberts’ statement read. “His scholarship reflects an innovative spirit and a commitment to improving the well-being of others, central tenets in our mission to be the leading public university.”
Egerstedt is also a professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at UC Irvine, where he directs the Robot Ecology Lab. His research is focused on the control and coordination of multi-robot systems.
The new provost is also the creator of the first-ever Robotarium at the Georgia Institute of Technology, in which over 7,000 users have conducted real-time experiments with hundreds of autonomous robots. He holds degrees from the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden, Stockholm University and Harvard University.
Egerstedt said in a statement that UNC was a “remarkable university” that was a “forward-looking and innovative institution.”
“I have been highly impressed with the energy and ambition I have experienced around campus, and I am honored to have been entrusted with this opportunity by Chancellor Roberts,” he said. “I am looking forward to working with Carolina’s outstanding faculty, students, and staff on the next chapter in this storied university’s history, with AI, engineering, and enrollment growth now at the forefront.”
The new provost was selected by members of a search committee that was co-chaired by Stan Ahalt, the dean of the School of Data Science and Society, Nancy Messonnier, dean of the Gillings School of Global Public Health, and other vice provosts, Board of Trustees members, faculty and student leaders.
Former provost sues UNC
Clemens, who resigned as provost this spring, sued the university and its Board of Trustees in September, saying they held closed sessions for reasons not allowed under state law. The lawsuit alleges the trustees discussed “controversial or consequential Board matters” with the auto-deleting app Signal to avoid public records laws.
The former provost has been accused of using Signal himself, The N&O reported in September.
“The Signal app by itself is not problematic any more than WhatsApp,” Clemens told the N&O in response. “It’s the auto-delete feature ... and I have never turned it on.”
UNC filed a motion to dismiss the case last month, with UNC General Counsel Paul Newton calling the lawsuit “wasteful.”
Records released recently by UNC appeared to undercut some, but not all, of the allegations made by Clemens in his lawsuit. The records, as first reported by The Assembly, show no evidence trustees called for a vote of no confidence in Clemens, which the former provost asserted in his lawsuit.
Even still, the messages show Preyers believed Clemens committed a “brazen breach of trust” and, as a result, Preyers expressed doubts in “his ability to work in good faith with our board.” The documents don’t address Clemens’ claims of the Board of Trustees holding improper closed sessions, either.
Clemens’ lawyer, David McKenzie, said they are “eager to advance to discovery, where the evidence will speak for itself.”
This story was originally published November 12, 2025 at 5:29 PM.