As rumors swirl about fate of UNC chancellor, power shifts on campus Board of Trustees

UNC-Chapel Hill chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz said Wednesday he’s “not going to speculate on rumors” about his status as leader of the university, as the Board of Trustees elected new leaders and faculty hastily met to address concerns about his removal.

“I’ve got a university to lead and I’m proud of that and proud of what we’ve been able to do together,” Guskiewicz told The News & Observer at the Board of Trustees meeting.

His comments came the day after UNC-CH Faculty Chair Mimi Chapman called an emergency faculty meeting for Wednesday over concerns that state politicians, UNC-CH trustees and UNC System Board of Governors members are working to remove Guskiewicz.

Guskiewicz has been with the university since 1995, rising to dean of the College of Arts and Sciences before being named interim chancellor in February 2019, following the departure of Carol Folt. He has been permanent chancellor since December 2019.

Chapman declined to say who informed her of the efforts to remove Guskiewicz.

Meanwhile, power officially shifted on the campus Board of Trustees as a new set of members elected officers. Dave Boliek is the new chair of the board and John Preyer is the new vice chair, while new trustee Malcolm Turner is the new secretary. Clayton Somers was re-elected as assistant secretary to the board.

There were no other nominations for the positions and votes were unanimous.

It was the first time the new board met as a group during a regularly scheduled meeting.

At the meeting, Boliek said he is “not sure where those concerns came from” about the chancellor’s status.

The Board of Trustees has no authority to remove the chancellor, Boliek said. He said Guskiewicz is “a hardworking individual.”

“I would echo (UNC) President (Peter) Hans’ advice that the faculty needs to pay attention to their job and stop worrying about conspiracy theories,” Boliek said.

Both Boliek and Preyer voted “no” last month for tenure for Nikole Hannah-Jones, the award-winning New York Times journalist who was set to join the faculty of the Hussman School of Journalism this month. The tenure controversy brought national attention — and criticism — to the university and the board. Boliek and Preyer have not explained their tenure vote.

Most of the trustees are returning to the board, but six new members officially started this month.

Concerns about UNC chancellor’s fate

At Wednesday’s faculty meeting, the group approved a resolution expressing support for Guskiewicz.

“During what has been one the most challenging periods in the University’s history, we affirm our confidence in Chancellor Kevin M. Guskiewicz,” the statement reads.

“We take this action recognizing that a University Chancellor must make decisions that not all agree with, and that there have been disagreement among the faculty about the best course of action,” the statement says.

The statement also says that a change in leadership would be deeply destabilizing to the state, its residents and and the UNC system.

“We emphatically oppose it because it does not follow the principles of shared governance, consultation, and established means of leadership change,” it reads.

Guskiewicz said Wednesday that he accepted the role as interim and then chancellor, understanding the political pressures of the job. Those pressures exist because the university and UNC System and its leaders are so closely tied to the state legislature.

“I’ve heard the issues around politics, listen, politics touch everything and I knew that coming into it,” Guskiewicz said.

“We’re also fortunate to be in a state that supports higher education at a level that’s better than all but maybe two or three other states,” Guskiewicz said.

He mentioned the $540 million of state appropriations coming back to Carolina, which is about 17% of its operating budget.

“My job as chancellor ... is building a strong partnership with the state of North Carolina and showcasing the great work that this university does.”

Guskiewicz said he’s looking forward to working alongside the new trustees, who bring “unique perspective and experience.”

Trustee Ralph Meekins told The N&O he is thrilled with Guskiewicz and stands by him 100%. He said he has no idea where the efforts to oust him might be coming from.

“To the extent that there’s any significant criticism as to the job that he’s doing, I don’t think it’s warranted whatsoever,” Meekins said.

The chancellor’s salary began at $620,000 when he started, according to a term sheet provided by university officials after he was permanently hired. Changes to his salary are determined by the UNC Board of Governors.

How a chancellor can be removed

The N&O asked Senate leader Phil Berger Wednesday whether he had confidence in Guskiewicz.

“I have questions about the many decisions that have been made at the Chapel Hill campus,” said Berger, speaking at a press conference about Critical Race Theory at the state legislature.

“It is something that is up to someone else to make decisions as to what needs to be done about that,” Berger said.

Asked a second time if he had confidence, Berger said: ”I am not charged with the responsibility of the day-to-day management of any individual campus in the system, so whether I have confidence or not really has very little to do with the whole situation.”

The UNC System Board of Governors has the ultimate authority to remove a chancellor and can initiate that move on its own. The UNC-CH Board of Trustees could make a recommendation to remove Guskiewicz or take a vote of no confidence.

Hans, the UNC System president, can recommend a chancellor be terminated.

In a statement on Tuesday, Hans said the “university’s mission is teaching, research, and public service, not rumors and politics. I would encourage everyone to take a deep breath, focus on that mission, and not chase conspiracy theories.”

A new board in Chapel Hill

The new trustees make the board slightly more racially and ethnically diverse than the outgoing one, but the leadership still doesn’t reflect the makeup of the student body.

And every current member of the BOG and the UNC-CH Board of Trustees has been appointed under a Republican-controlled legislature.

The UNC System Board of Governors added four UNC-CH alumni to the Board of Trustees:



▪ Former state senator Rob Bryan

▪ Former member of the N.C. House of Representatives Perrin Jones

▪ DraftKings executive Malcolm Turner

▪ Businesswoman Ramsey White

The BOG did not appoint any trustees recommended by former Board Chair Richard Stevens or Guskiewicz.

The conservative-led N.C. General Assembly added two board members:

▪ Real estate developer and former BOG member Marty Kotis

▪ Vinay Patel, who owns a chain of hotels in Charlotte.

Returning board members are former vice chair Gene Davis, former secretary Teresa Artis Neal, Ralph Meekins and Allie Ray McCullen (McCullen also voted no for tenure for Hannah-Jones).

Members have committee meetings in Chapel Hill Wednesday afternoon and the full board resumes its meeting Thursday at 9 a.m. at The Carolina Inn.

Staff writers Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan, Zachery Eanes, Maydha Devarajan and Virginia Bridges contributed to this report.

This story was originally published July 14, 2021 at 1:09 PM with the headline "As rumors swirl about fate of UNC chancellor, power shifts on campus Board of Trustees."