UNC trustees have put one school’s tenure applications on hold. Why? | Opinion
Echoes of the Nikole Hannah-Jones tenure case are being heard at UNC-Chapel Hill.
As with Hannah-Jones, tenure applications that usually are routinely approved by the university’s Board of Trustees are being held up at that final step without explanation.
Since January, the board has not approved more than 20 tenure applications from the university’s College of Arts and Sciences, though requests regarding faculty in health sciences have been approved. Tenure protects faculty from dismissal except for certain violations.
Belle Boggs, an N.C. State professor and the president of the North Carolina chapter of the American Association of University Professors, criticized the delay.
“Tenure is a crucial element of academic freedom, and to delay a tenure vote in this large-scale humanities and social sciences-targeting way is harmful to faculty, students, and members of the UNC community,” she said. “The lack of transparency is also galling.”
In 2021, the board balked at approving Hannah-Jones’ for a tenured position because of conservatives’ objections to her role in The New York Times’ 1619 Project, a Pulitzer Prize-winning report on how slavery shaped the founding of the United States. The board later relented and granted tenure, but Hannah-Jones declined the job.
The reason for a hold on requests from the College of Arts and Sciences has not been disclosed. But the delay comes at a time when some conservatives in red states want to limit or end tenure at public universities to gain more control over professors.
Kevin McClure, a UNC-Wilmington associate professor of higher education, said, “Faculty around the nation are nervous that politics and the perceived value of certain disciplines may affect tenure decisions.”
Others speculate that the hold reflects an effort by the board to leave room for faculty reductions since the university is likely to face a funding cut under the next state budget.
The situation was reported on this week by The Chronicle for Higher Education, which notethe board’s “unusual period of inaction that has spurred confusion and alarm among faculty.”
Beth Moracco, the UNC-CH faculty chair, raised the issue in a May 23 letter to interim Provost Jim Dean and Chancellor Lee Roberts. She wrote: “No personnel actions have been approved by the BOT from the College this calendar year, which is highly unusual, given its size and its typical high volume of appointment, promotion, and tenure cases reviewed and approved by the BOT each year.”
Deferring action on faculty appointments and tenure requests, Moracco wrote, “disrespects the enormous contributions these faculty have made to the University and their respective fields through their research, teaching, and service. It also jeopardizes Carolina’s ability to attract and retain world-class faculty.”
The Board of Trustees did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A statement from UNC Media Relations said “nothing has changed in the tenure policies,” but added that, “The exact timing of tenure awards is subject to a number of variables that our Board of Trustees and administration may consider with any recommended appointments.”
In a letter to university deans last week, Interim Provost James Dean said the tenure impasse was being addressed. “I will continue to advocate for resolution and am confident that these votes will be taken at the next Board of Trustees’ meeting,” he wrote. The board’s next full meeting is scheduled for July 31.
But even the temporary suspension of tenure approvals could complicate faculty recruitment.
“Is somebody going to come to Carolina if they feel there’s not going to be tenure? I will tell you absolutely zero people will come,” said Mark Peifer, a UNC biology professor. “This is a very attractive place to work but it’s not going to be an attractive place to work if tenure is uncertain.”
Roger Perry, a Chapel Hill real estate developer who served on the Board of Trustees from 2002 to 2010, said that his board routinely approved tenure requests without debate. By the time an application reaches the board, he noted, it has already been approved by the originating academic department, the dean, provost and chancellor.
Perry is a co-founder of the Coalition for Carolina, a group that opposes political interference in the operation of the university and encroachments on academic freedom. He said the board’s failure to act on tenure applications represents board members interfering with the academic process.
“It’s one more example of meddling and overreach and an attempt to usurp the roles of the administration, the provost and deans. It’s one more example of bad behavior,” he said.