Education

UNC trustees block tenure for gender studies prof + GOP ex-lawmaker may join board

By Jane Winik Sartwell

Updated May 19, 2026 9:50 AM

Key Takeaways

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UNC-Chapel Hill trustees voted against granting tenure to a gender studies hire.
The Board approved 33 other promotions or appointments conferring tenure.
Board of Governors will vote on whether to nominate Kristin Baker as a trustee.

Hello reader! Welcome to Higher Stakes, your higher education newsletter. I’m Jane Winik Sartwell.

This week, the UNC System Board of Governors will meet in Raleigh. They’ll discuss lots of interesting items. They’ll consider a resolution to formally join the Board of Directors of the Commission for Public Higher Education, an accrediting body formed by six public university systems including those of North Carolina and Florida. The commission plans to apply for federal recognition in late 2027.

Let’s see what’s happening with the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees.

UNC trustees block tenure for Gender Studies professor

At their meeting last week, the Board of Trustees at UNC-Chapel Hill voted against conferring tenure on a professor in UNC’s Department of Women’s and Gender Studies. The Assembly first reported this story.

Kiran Asher, who teaches at UMass Amherst, was set to be hired with tenure in the Women’s and Gender Studies department. The appointment had been approved at multiple levels — the department faculty, the College of Arts & Sciences, the tenure committee, and the provost — before heading to the Board of Trustees for the final stamp of approval.

No final stamp was given.

The Board approved 33 promotions or appointments conferring tenure last week. But not Asher.

Baker to be nominated to Board of Trustees

Back to the UNC System. At its meeting Wednesday, the Board of Governors will vote on whether to nominate Kristin Baker to the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees to fill the vacancy left by former board member John Preyer in the wake of his January resignation.

During her time in the General Assembly, Baker, a Republican, played an important role in bringing new abortion restrictions to North Carolina. She also led the charge on legislation that aims to ban transgender girls from competing with women’s sports teams in middle school, high school and college.

Baker represented North Carolina’s 82nd district in the General Assembly from 2020 to 2025. She was initially appointed to replace Rep. Linda Johnson after her death, then elected twice.

Before that, Baker, a UNC-Chapel Hill alum, was a doctor in Cabarrus County. She has previously served on the boards of directors of UNC Health and Carolina Alumni.

If nominated, Baker will sit on the board from May 21, 2026, until Jun. 30, 2027.

Stephen Curry launches scholarship at Davidson College

A new scholarship funded by NBA star Stephen Curry will send five to 10 talented students from low-income Bay Area communities to Davidson College on a full ride.

The scholarship covers tuition, housing, meals and more. The first group will head to Davidson in the fall of 2027.

“Davidson is where I learned what kind of person I want to be as much as I learned about basketball,” Curry said. “It means so much to me to help high-achieving students from the Oakland area, not just get a chance to go to college, but to learn, explore and grow as a human being like I was able to do.”

The scholarship is a partnership between Curry, College Track, and Oakland Unified School District.