Top NC lawmaker rejects Nikole Hannah-Jones' call for change to UNC board appointments

RALEIGH -- North Carolina’s House speaker says there’s no need to change how members are appointed to two of the most influential higher education boards in the state, despite journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones’ call for a change to the inherently political process.

Hannah-Jones was set to teach at UNC-Chapel Hill this year, but after months of controversy over the school’s failure to grant the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist tenure for a teaching position, UNC-CH’s Board of Trustees finally opted to reverse course. The board voted in June to grant Hannah-Jones tenure.

But on Tuesday, Hannah-Jones said she would not be taking the position.

In a statement detailing her decision, the New York Times journalist called on university leaders to advocate for a change to the role of both the trustees, which preside over UNC-CH, and the Board of Governors, which sets policy and influences the priorities of both UNC-CH and North Carolina’s 15 other public universities.

“This requires a change to the way the boards are appointed so that they actually reflect the demographics of the state and the student body, rather than the whims of political power,” Hannah-Jones said.

Read more: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article252603883.html
(Raleigh News & Observer)