Unacceptable: UNC Hussman Alumni denounce UNC’s failure to grant Nikole Hannah-Jones tenure by June 4
Nikole Hannah-Jones has been treated unfairly. UNC Hussman alumni are emphatically in support of her taking action to seek a fair resolution.
As alumni of the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media, we are disappointed at the multiple attempts by Walter Hussman to influence the recruitment, hiring and tenure process for Nikole Hannah-Jones. When we look back at history and wonder how one group of people could oppress, discount, and control another, we imagine that it could look like this. Possibly starting with someone who “has concerns” and that person talking to more and more people until it escalates into that person and the group of people who agree with him ultimately feeling that their agreement is determinative. They now know best–they have money and power, and through the loudness of their own voices, they now have “authority” to act in ways that determine how other people should think, speak and act. They believe they are right, but this is wrong. Regardless of whether Hussman’s repeated efforts to sway opinions was well-meaning or not, the result was a blatant act of discrimination against a woman of color and distinguished scholar who has different experiences, understandings and beliefs.
We understand the need for donors like Hussman and appreciate the impact that his gift will have to the school and future scholars. But, if there is a conflict between ANY donor and the integrity of our beloved Carolina, its pursuit of diverse voices, or its fair and equitable application of processes for faculty recruitment and retention; the University MUST act to safeguard equal opportunity and civil rights or divest itself of the funds and donors who seek to limit or control the academic freedom of diverse people by weaponizing their stewardship.
We are disappointed that our university’s administration faltered under this pressure and acted in a discriminatory and harmful way to a supremely qualified candidate for a Knight Chair with tenure.
We are disappointed that our Board of Trustees has not provided swift resolution by calling a vote on Hannah-Jones’ tenure packet and making a merit-based decision, which we believe would result in granting tenure.
We applaud Dean King for the honesty and transparency she has provided. We applaud our university administration for correcting their error and submitting Hannah-Jones’ tenure packet. We applaud Walter Hussman for allowing the school to make its own decision while still honoring his commitment to support the work of the remarkable faculty at UNC Hussman.
The damage is already deeply felt and far-reaching. Our Chemistry department has lost a prominent recruit, students of color have shared how angry, deflated and defeated they feel about the message this sends about their value, faculty feel their voices and wishes are devalued and even disrespected, alumni are speaking out against these actions and are concerned that our degrees will lose value because of the controversy and harm our university continues to inflict on people of color, some alumni feel less pride in graduating from our university or school, at least one adjunct has found their continued association with UNC Hussman untenable and has decided not to return this fall, and a remarkable number of people across the nation, including prominent UNC alumni have spoken out against this as unjust–we all see this as a negative mark against a University we used to know and love. Fix what’s broken. Show us all that Carolina is better than this.
We call on the UNC Board of Trustees to act quickly and do the right thing. Let your actions prove that diversity, equity and inclusion are more than PR talking points. The University MUST grant Nikole Hannah-Jones tenure!
- Carol Shirley, M.A. 2013
- Stephanie Lamm, B.A. 2017
- Kendall Cox, B.A. 2019
- Justin Anderson-Weber, M.A. 2011
- Dana M. Anthony, M.A. 2020
- Elizabeth Breyer Bowman, B.A. 2003
- Courtni Kopietz, M.A. 2014
- Laura Chase de Formigny, B.A. 2009
- Caroline Jackson Bass, B.A. 2019
- Tricia Cleppe, B.A. 2014
- Nacho Corbella, M.A. 2009
- Courtney Staton, B.A. 2020
- Stephanie Lane, M.A. 2015
- Elizabeth Breyer Bowman, B.A. 2003
- Andrea Patiño Contreras, M.A. 2016
- Jonathan Jones, B.A. 2001, M.A. & J.D. 2011
- Adam Lau, M.A. 2018
- Jessica Gall Myrick, Ph.D. 2013
- Ryan Cocca, B.A. 2013
- Jacqueline Charles, B.A. 1994
- Kelly Creedon, M.A. 2015
- Robert McKeever, Ph.D. 2012
- Caroline Metzler, B.A. 2019
- Isabella Bartolucci, B.A. 2015
- Robert Berges, B.A. 2015
- Rachel McMahan, B.A. 2016, M.A. 2017
- Dale Van Ollefen, B.A. 2015
- Kiara Palmer, B.A. 2013
- Rebekah C. Radisch, B.A. 1984, M.A. 2014
- Kate Lord, B.A. 2007
- Leah Konen, B.A. 2007
- Caroline Metzler, B.A. 2019
- Elena Rue, M.A. 2011
- Holly Roberts, M.A. 2018
- Emily Yue, B.A. 2018
- Molly Horak, B.A. 2020
- Joshua Davis, M.A. 2012
- Amanda Rodriguez Smith, B.A. 2008
- Christopher Sims, M.A. 2003
- Sara Edwards, M.A. 2019
- Douglas G. Clark, B.A. 1977
- Janelle Royal Harris, B.A. 2002
- Talia Wlcek, B.A. 2020
- Danielle Gillyard, B.A. 2013
- Jay Heinz, M.A. 2007
- Ashley Anderson, B.A. 2015
- Aisha Johnson, B.A. 2009
- Paris Alston, B.A. 2016
- Madison Morgan, B.A. 2015
- Chris Helton, B.A. 2015
- Tegan R Bratcher, Ph.D. 2021
- Trevor Bell, Ph.D. 2019
- Natalia Brache, B.A. 2020
- Jonathan Michels, B.A. 2011
- Trey Mangum, B.A. 2015
- Melita Marie Garza, Ph.D. 2012
- Jacob Rohde, Ph.D. 2021
- Justin Lyons, B.A. 2006
- Carole V. Bell, Ph.D. 2010
- Andrea Martin, B.A. 2002, M.A. 2019
- Mike Ferrell, B.A. 2019
- Cheyenne Desrosiers, B.A. 2020
- Annabelle Holman, B.A. 2020
- Ariana van den Akker, B.A. 2012
- Ally Henry, B.A. 2020
- Emily Stine, B.A. 2020
- Meah Barrington, B.A. 2012
- Allison Goldblatt, B.A. 2021
- Andrea Goetschius, M.A. 2011
- Gwendolyn Smith Elliott, B.A. 2018
- Lindsay Carbonell, B.A. 2017
- Valerie Choe, B.A. 2019
- Jeremy Borden, B.A. 2006
- Deseré Cross Ward, B.A. 2014
- Brittany Peterson, B.A. 2011
- Anna Clare Spelman, M.A. 2017
- Jeremiah Murphy, M.A. 2019
- Chandler Carter, M.A. 2020
- Virginia Melton, B.A. 2017
- Jackie Shor, B.A. 2019
- Curry Kirkpatrick, B.A. 1965
- Taylor Doggett, B.A. 2020
- Jeffrey Mittelstadt, M.A. 2012, M.B.A. 2007
- Samantha Creech, B.A. 2020
- Enelda Butler, M.A. 2012
- Kasha Ely, B.A. 2014, M.A. 2019
- Virginia Horne, M.A. 2021
- Sam Killenberg, B.A. 2019
Alumni who wish to join this alumni network, please fill out this form:
