UNC chancellor’s private equity firm has grown in the last year. See how much
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- Since Roberts became chancellor in early 2024, SharpVue grew by nearly $150 million.
- Credit Fund III added 17 investors and $100 million in value in the last year.
- NC State plans to remove 1,700 to 2,000 parking spots over the next five to ten years.
Hello reader! I’m Jane Winik Sartwell, back in your inbox with Higher Stakes, the N&O’s higher education newsletter. Today, I’m looking into the recent successes of UNC-Chapel Hill chancellor Lee Roberts’ private equity firm, as well as NC State University’s move to get rid of 2,000 parking spots. Read on to find out the scoop on all this and more.
Lee Roberts’ private equity firm is growing
It’s no secret that Roberts didn’t come from higher education, but rather, the financial world. He founded and maintains ownership of SharpVue Capital, a Raleigh-based private equity and real estate investment firm. The company has experienced a lot of success in recent years.
Since Roberts became UNC-Chapel Hill’s chancellor in early 2024, the firm has grown by nearly $150 million, according to public disclosures filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. That’s a measure of its total assets under management. In the last year alone, its assets grew 31%. Most of the growth is concentrated in two funds: SharpVue Capital Credit Funds II and III. Both funds are newly listed on Roberts’ most recent statement of economic interest, filed in mid-April.
Both credit funds II and III are small business investment companies, meaning they invest in small businesses in the form of debt and equity. Credit Fund III alone added 17 investors and $100 million in assets in the last year. Credit Fund II, which was established in 2021, around the same time Roberts was first appointed to serve on the UNC System Board of Governors, has grown by $13 million in the last year. Both are based in Delaware.
The company’s total assets under management now amount to $465 million, up from $356 million last year.
Other funds newly listed on Roberts’ SEI grew as well, like Pelican Partners, a real estate firm that added nearly $8 million in assets in the last year. Pelican Partners, which is an entity involved with the management of the ferry to Bald Head Island, “owns, among other assets, a marina that is regulated in part by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.”
According to SharpVue’s public disclosure, Roberts owns between 50 and 75% of SharpVue, and is listed as a control person and partner. On his SEI, Roberts reports receiving “dividends” from SharpVue.
UNC-Chapel Hill, however, characterizes his role as very minimal.
“He maintains an ownership interest in SharpVue Capital, LLC, among other entities,” UNC spokesperson Kevin Best told me. “... Although the chancellor is no longer involved in the daily operations of SharpVue, he remains listed on the website as a co-founder to honor his role in shaping the company’s history, and he remains on the SEC filings out of an abundance of caution, given his passive ownership interest.”
“He will continue to be included on any required paperwork moving forward. In fact, he and SharpVue often go above and beyond when reporting his involvement, which is why it continues to include him on the SEC filings. It’s also important to note that SharpVue Capital, LLC, does not have and has never had investments with the University of North Carolina or its affiliates or any entity of the state of North Carolina.”
NC State to cut up to 2,000 parking spots & popular bus route
NC State is sacrificing 1,700 to 2,000 parking spots over the next five to 10 years, the university says. In part, that’s a result of a physical master plan that involves making room for new buildings, a project the university says will result in a “significant transformation” of the campus landscape. Additionally, the university is planning to retire a portion of the Coliseum Deck.
The university is trying to balance affordability, availability and convenience, and laid out what the trade-offs are if each of those values are prioritized above the others. The university is collecting feedback about its parking plan until April 30.
In other NC State transportation news, the university has cancelled Wolfline Route 52, which provided bus service between campus and the area around Gorman Street and Avent Ferry Road.
“It’s come as shock given the buses on that route often get to standing-room-only ridership during peak hours, even if they’re operating every ~13 minutes at peak,” wrote one Reddit user.
NC State says that GoRaleigh city buses have expanded into this area, and NC State has canceled its own to avoid duplicative service.
“Route 52 was originally created to support areas beyond GoRaleigh’s reach. With the city’s recent transformation into a robust high-frequency network — offering 15-minute intervals on Route 11 and extending Route 12 along Gorman St. and Avent Ferry Road — it allows for a necessary realignment of resources to avoid duplicative service,” NC State spokesperson Mick Kulikowski told me. “By shifting service levels from these areas back into the heart of campus, Wolfline can continue to deliver superior service to the core university community.”
Still, though, Kulikowski said that “several students have contacted us directly regarding Route 52, expressing their concerns.”
Headlines you don’t want to miss
- NC’s video game industry is faltering. For Wake Tech, it’s a ‘gut punch’ by me
- Faculty and students call on UNC to release sealed investigation into Civic Life by me
- UNC Wilmington wants a medical school. It could transform health care in the region by me
- Do chancellors have to live on campus? UNC System moves toward changing the rules by me
- One Civic Life professor demands UNC release $1.2M report. Others aren’t so sure by me
- NC Central University former student-athlete charged with raping teammate by Lexi Solomon
- Ex-Duke Health employee charged with threats of mass violence against university by Faith Wardwell
- UNC system moving to boost sought-after NC State football assistant coach’s pay by Jadyn Watson-Fisher
- UNC men’s basketball won’t hire Kim English as an assistant coach, after all by Shelby Swanson
- Why Jackie Robinson Day is personal for UNC baseball pitcher Boston Flannery by Shelby Swanson
- Duke center Patrick Ngongba makes a decision about his future with Blue Devils by Chip Alexander
What I’m reading
- Dozens of colleges get more time to submit race and sex admissions data by Natalie Schwartz at Higher Ed Dive
- UNC hosts first-ever AI for the public good conference by Michael Singleton and Juliet Loffredo at The Daily Tar Heel
- Q&A: Chancellor Lee Roberts talks athletics, potential for ServiceFirst layoffs by Regan Butler at The Daily Tar Heel
- Duke’s investments split between STEM growth and humanities expansion by Luca Gragnoli and Leyuan Zhang at The Duke Chronicle
- Faculty committee calls for overhaul of Duke’s PPD policy after finding ‘fundamental deficiencies’ by Dylan Harper at The Duke Chronicle
- NC State student left with traumatic brain injury following Hilton Head hit-and-run by Caroline Alexander and Jackson Davenport at NC State’s Technician
- Inside Poe Hall: Lawsuits, Liability and Loss, a video by Skye Crawford, Hector Cazares-Medellin, Nicole Bharrat and Rachel New at the Technician.
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— Jane Winik Sartwell
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