The University of North Carolina system’s Board of Governors on Friday voted to elect Lee H. Roberts, interim chancellor of the Chapel Hill flagship campus, to the permanent post.
Roberts succeeds Kevin M. Guskiewicz, who left Chapel Hill for the Michigan State University presidency in December. Even before Guskiewicz decided to leave Chapel Hill, word got around that the system president, Peter Hans, planned to elevate Roberts, a former member of the Board of Governors who had no experience leading a campus, to head the flagship. Three sources told The Chronicle late last year that they expected Roberts to be named to the permanent post after serving as the interim. That has now happened.
The interim chancellor’s tenure has been a busy one, marked by adapting to a systemwide repeal of diversity, equity, and inclusion requirements and the end of the century-old student-led honor court. Roberts also oversaw the arrest of six people during a pro-Palestinian encampment this spring and helped hang the American flag back up after protesters had replaced it with the Palestinian flag. His handling of the protests won plaudits from top Republicans, including the leaders of the state House and Senate, who both said he should be named to the permanent post.
Roberts’s appointment has stoked unease among some students and faculty who see the pick as a victory for the Republican legislature in their mission to secure political control over the state’s flagship.
While state legislators have no direct say in who leads public universities, they appoint the members of the Board of Governors, which elects the system president and — along with the legislature — names campus-level trustees. Roberts was among four finalists for the chancellorship sent to Hans by the Chapel Hill trustees, The Assembly reported Thursday. Hans selected Roberts for the role, and the Board of Governors approved the pick in a Friday morning meeting.
You can only assume that the board has appointed Roberts because they wanted someone in place who would be amenable to further meddling in campus issues.
The American Association of University Professors wrote in a report two years ago that political interference has threatened academic freedom and weakened shared governance since Republicans took over both houses of the North Carolina General Assembly in 2010.
Roberts, an unaffiliated voter, has spoken publicly about his political connections and said they don’t affect his ability to be a nonpartisan leader. And he has won praise from some faculty members who said they have been “pleasantly surprised” by his leadership style, The Assembly reported.
Beth Moracco, chair of the UNC faculty council, said that Roberts is a humble listener and that his political ties don’t discount his ability to lead.
“That’s going to be a challenge, given the perceptions that exist and given his history, but I don’t think it’s insurmountable,” she said. “I think his actions are going to speak louder than words.”
Matthew Tweden, speaker of the undergraduate senate, said that Roberts’s background as a budget director and his ties to the Republican legislature could be more of a help than a hindrance. He said Roberts might be able to use his connections to marshal support for the university in the legislature.
Jay Smith, a history professor at Chapel Hill and president of the statewide AAUP chapter, said that he’s willing to give Roberts a chance. He isn’t as critical of the chancellor as he is of the selection process, which he said did not involve enough faculty and continues a long pattern of the legislature encroaching on campus governance.
“You can only assume that the board has appointed Roberts because they wanted someone in place who would be amenable to further meddling in campus issues,” he said. “It’s going to be up to him to prove them wrong.”
