UNC chancellor on Hannah-Jones tenure: ‘She can add great value to our University community’

University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill’s chancellor on Thursday said he believes Nikole Hannah-Jones will bring a “great value” to the school after UNC’s board of trustees voted to approve tenure for the “1619 Project” journalist.

UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz addressed Wednesday’s board of trustees meeting in which they voted to approve tenure for Hannah-Jones, calling it an “important matter” to those who feel undervalued in the school’s community. 

“I am pleased that the issue of tenure for Nikole Hannah-Jones has been resolved, and I believe she can add great value to our University community,” Guskiewicz said in his statement. “Our students are eager to learn from her, and we are ready to welcome her to the Carolina faculty.”

Guskiewicz also said he had “numerous conversations” with members of the school community and some of the trustees over the issue, saying he has worked hard to find a “complex shared governance model” that can help strengthen the “partnership with the public.”

Guskiewicz also thanked his faculty and the board of trustees for the work they put in to govern the school. 

Hannah-Jones, a UNC graduate, was initially denied tenure by her alma mater in May after conservative groups complained about her hiring due to her involvement in the 1619 Project, which examines the role slavery played in the United States’ founding.

In a statement, Hannah-Jones said that the board of trustees’ vote wouldn’t have happened with the support from the UNC community. 

“Today’s outcome and the actions of the past month are about more than just me. This fight is about ensuring the journalistic and academic freedom of Black writers, researchers, teachers, and students,” Hannah-Jones said.

Hannah-Jones will serve as the Knight Chair in Race and Investigative Journalism at the school’s Hussman School of Journalism and Media.