‘Disgraceful,’ ‘courageous,’ ‘highly partisan’ — UNC tenure emails run gamut of emotions

By Martha Quillin , Dan Kane , Kate Murphy and Lucille Sherman

July 30, 2021 6:28 PM

Deborah Dwyer, a doctoral candidate, holds a sign while gathered with fellow students and alumni on the steps of Carroll Hall, where the UNC-Chapel Hill Hussman School of Journalism and Media is located, before the university’s Board of Trustees is scheduled to vote on tenure for distinguished journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, on Wednesday, Jun. 30, 2021, in Chapel Hill, N.C. Casey Toth ctoth@newsobserver.com

The hire and the fury: Nikole Hannah-Jones at UNC

Read all of The News & Observer’s coverage of the University of North Carolina’s decision to hire the Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times journalist and the controversy that ensued.

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The debate over whether journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones should be granted tenure at UNC-Chapel Hill dominated national headlines for weeks and led to a flood of email messages to the school’s leaders and trustees.

Some strongly supported tenure for Hannah-Jones, while others were opposed. Some took school leaders to task.

On Friday, UNC-CH released hundreds of pages of the emails. Here is a sample:

‘Very controversial’

“I am very glad to learn ... that Nikole Hannah-Jones was not given tenure in the Mass Communications School at UNC. Her works with 1619 Project are very controversial and having lived many years near the site in Hampton, VA where the events happened ... there is a completely different understanding of history.

“To[sic] much history in and about the University of North Carolina is being changed. I am glad that our North Carolina forefathers had the foresight and money to establish ‘America’s First State University.’”

— Thurman W. Worthington Jr. in an email to Susan King, dean of the Hussman School of Journalism and Media on May 20

‘Extremely sad’

The Board of Trustees’ original failure to approve tenure for Hannah-Jones “was very clearly a political decision overruling the academic judgment of those who are qualified and hired to make those decisions. This decision has again damaged UNC’s reputation that has already undergone so many cuts in the past few years. For the board of a school with an egregious academic/athletics scandal to then let politics interfere to create yet another academic scandal is extremely sad to me.”

— Carol L. Hanner, UNC graduate and editor of Wake Forest Magazine, in an email to King on May 20

‘Bush league or worse’

“Thank you for speaking out in favor of Nikole Hannah-Jones receiving tenure. Disgraceful that she has not gotten that honor. Makes Chapel Hill look bush league or worse.

“Once again, I am ashamed of the Board of Trustees at Chapel Hill and the system’s Board of Governors ... very Good Old Boy, White, backward, racist and unworthy of serving as leaders of UNC. Although I’m sure no one cares, I’ve stopped giving any money to Chapel Hill until it drags itself into the 21st century.”

— Nancy Raley, UNC Class of 1967, in an email to King on May 19

This two-page ad in the May 26, 2021 edition of The News & Observer shows support from UNC alumni for Nikole Hannah-Jones to have tenure.

‘Few others more qualified’

“In my opinion, you will never find qualifications like hers in someone coming from a purely academic background. I can think of few others more qualified to teach the future journalists of NC. I know I am qualified to make the following decision. ... As a result of your actions, I will not, regretfully, be providing any future financial support to UNC.”

— Gordon K. Jones, two time UNC grad, in an email to former Board of Trustee member Chuck Duckett, on May 20

‘Difficult to defend’

“To go from the Athletics Department academics scandal to the defense of buildings named for white supremacists to the Sons of Confederate Veterans pay-offs and now this ... it is becoming increasingly difficult to defend my alma mater.”

— L. Ryan Shaffer, UNC class of 2008, in an email to the trustees on May 21

Nikole Hannah-Jones John D. and Catherine T. MacArth

‘Light the way’

“If the goal of denying her tenure was to chill certain kinds of journalism and scholarship on campus, then it failed there, too. The University will find that the faculty will continue to do what they have always done — stand in the storm and light the way. And journalists like Nikole Hannah-Jones have never needed tenure to do that.”

— Ryan Thornburg, associate professor, UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media, in a message to King on May 19

‘Absolutely too much’

“Granting tenure to Nikole Hannah-Jones will hurt the university’s standing. Short term lecturer is an appropriate appointment but full professorship is absolutely too much.”

— Crandall Anderson, UNC journalism grad, Class of 1991, in an email to former Board of Trustees chairman Richard Stevens on May 21

‘Incredibly talented’

“Nikole Hannah-Jones is coming to UNC and I hope she becomes one of our best professors. She is incredibly talented. Contrary to numerous news reports, we as a BOT did not retract nor deny her tenure. As explained by our Board Chair in yesterday’s press conference, we merely asked to have time to consider the matter, which we have previously done on several occasions. She and the dean of the journalism school chose to enter into a contract before we were given the chance to vote on the matter.”

— Trustee Ralph Meekins, in response to a complaint about Hannah-Jones not getting a tenure offer, on May 21

Students pass UNC Chapel Hill’s Hussman School of Journalism and Media. In 2019, Arkansas publisher Walter Hussman Jr. pledged $25 million to the journalism school and had it named for him. Now, some faculty are angry over Hussman’s meddling in the hiring of Nikole Hannah-Jones. File photo

‘A far left request’

“I was delighted to see that the Board of Trustees finally did not rubber stamp a far left request and give tenure to Nikole Hanna Jones. She should have not ever been hired in the first place. In my opinion, her support of the 1619 project symbolizes everything wrong with America today. … The board’s decision was courageous and is certainly a positive indication of hopefully things to come.”

— Michael W. Haley, UNC Class of 1960, in an email to Stevens on May 20. Stevens then forwarded that email to Board of Trustees member John Preyer, who later voted against granting Hannah-Jones tenure.

‘Shame to our great University’

“The actions you have led in the Nikole Hannah-Jones matter bring shame to our great University. It is clear that Republican appointees are more interested in loyalty to your appointers’ ideology and campaign promises than you are the academic freedoms that once made my University great. The board should resign if it cannot do anything other than salute highly partisan legislators in Raleigh.”

— Mike Clement, UNC Class of 1981, in an email to former trustee Jeff Brown on May 23

‘Spinning a narrative to fit an ideology’

“I feel strongly that Ms. Hannah-Jones should not receive tenure ... a person who, while I agree is a gifted writer, does not live up to true journalism ideals — and who has shown time and time again through her writings that she’s more interested in spinning a narrative to fit an ideology than to allow people to read the facts and make up their minds for themselves.”

— Virginia Franco, UNC journalism Class of 1990, in an email to Stevens on May 25

This story was originally published July 30, 2021 at 6:28 PM with the headline "‘Disgraceful,’ ‘courageous,’ ‘highly partisan’ — UNC tenure emails run gamut of emotions."