UNC spent $1.2M investigating SCiLL but won’t release findings. What to know.
UNC-Chapel Hill hired a law firm to investigate its controversial School of Civic Life and Leadership, spending $1.2 million over seven months. Now the university says the public can’t see the results.
FULL STORY: UNC won’t release results of its months-long investigation into School of Civic Life
Here are key takeaways:
• The investigation was massive in scope. Law firm K&L Gates produced a 400-plus page report, reviewed more than 200,000 documents and conducted more than 50 interviews with current and former faculty and leadership — but no students.
• UNC cited three reasons for withholding the report: potential harm or embarrassment to subjects and sources, attorney-client privilege, and the preservation of the university’s culture.
• SCiLL has seen extraordinary turnover in just two years. None of the inaugural faculty from 2024 are still working at the school. Associate dean Inger Brody resigned last year. The other associate dean, David Decosimo, was then fired in the fall. Former SCiLL advisory board member Jon Williams called the school an “unmitigated disaster.”
• The $1.2 million came from UNC’s endowment, not state funds, according to university spokesperson Kevin Best.
• UNC says it’s confident in SCiLL’s leadership and committed to corrective actions — but whether any corrective actions will occur or be disclosed to the public remains unclear.
• The investigation was requested by SCiLL’s own dean, Jed Atkins, after turmoil including public allegations of mismanagement and Decosimo’s firing. Decosimo wrote on X that the school was plagued by “nepotism, ideology, & secret handshakes.”
The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The full story in the link at top was reported, written and edited entirely by journalists.
This story was originally published March 24, 2026 at 11:28 AM.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article misstated Jon Williams’ affiliation with SCiLL.
