UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz is expected to speak at Thursday’s board meeting



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CHAPEL HILL, NC (WTVD) – Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz spoke at a UNC board meeting on Thursday.

He reaffirmed his love for college by telling the story of his first visit to Chapel Hill and how it was love at first sight.

Tuesday’s board meetings come just hours after a group of faculty gathered and passed a resolution in favor of Guskiewicz, who has come under fire for some controversies surrounding the school in recent days.

The resolution followed reports from our news gathering partners The News & Observer that there were potential efforts being made to remove the Chancellor from his post.

Thursday’s UNC board meeting was primarily focused on getting all students back to campus full-time starting in the fall.

Stay with ABC11 as we update this story with more details about this reunion.

Faculty President Mimi Chapman called an emergency meeting on Wednesday because she was “concerned that state politicians, UNC-CH administrators and members of the Board of Governors of the UNC system are about to replace it “.

“He’s a Tar Heel. He knows the system and if it’s taken out we could be in a worse situation,” Dr Deborah Stroman told ABC11 on Tuesday.

Dr Stroman has heard rumors about concerns going back to Silent Sam and the veracity of how it was handled, even though it was done under the previous administration.

“And now here we are with this unfortunate situation with Nikole Hannah-Jones – so these are examples of people wondering whether or not he’s the right fit for the job,” Stroman said.

Wednesday’s meeting quickly went in camera.

But early on, Chapman explained that over the weekend, she heard directly from someone who was part of a meeting in which names were being solicited for an acting chancellor. She said it was not “if” efforts would be made to remove Guskiewicz, but “when”.

The board of directors does not have the power to overthrow him, only the board of governors of the UNC can do it.

During the meeting, the faculty council began to draft a resolution in favor of the chancellor.

This all comes in the wake of several controversies, including the Nikole Hannah-Jones tenure case and the resignation of the UNC police chief.

The UNC-Chapel Hill Faculty of Color / Indigenous Faculty Group released a statement Wednesday saying it strongly opposed “any effort to remove our campus manager, without any input from our professors from our staff, our students and other members of the Carolina community. “

Guskiewicz was appointed 12th chancellor and 30th executive director of the oldest public university in the United States in December 2019 to replace Carol Folt, who has held the post since 2013.

Guskiewicz has made a name for himself as a neuroscientist and nationally recognized expert on sports-related concussions.

Full statement from the UNC-Chapel Hill Faculty of Color / Indigenous Faculty Group:

“We strongly oppose any effort to remove our Campus Manager, without any contribution, from our faculty, staff, students and other community members from Caroline. Such interference goes against the long-standing principles of shared governance at UNC-Colline de la Chapelle.
As noted on our Faculty Governance website, “Since the University of North Carolina opened in 1795, faculty have shared responsibility with a board of directors for campus management. Principles of Shared Governance and Best Practices for Maintaining a Strong Faculty Voice at University Policy-making was formulated as early as 1920, when the American Association of University Teachers issued its first statement on shared governance between professors, administrators and administrators. “

We urge the Board of Governors of the UNC System and the Board of Trustees of UNC-Chapel Hill to honor the long tradition of faculty governance at UNC-Chapel Hill and to refrain from any unilateral action aimed at dismiss Chancellor Guskiewicz. “

Meanwhile, on the UNC campus, professors from the Hussman School of Media and Journalism gathered in the lobby of Carroll Hall to discuss the core values ​​displayed on the wall, saying these values ​​are central to a “fierce controversy” surrounding Nikole Hannah-Jones’ tenure case.

As part of Hussman’s $ 25 million donation to the school, a deal was made to have the values ​​statement chiseled in stone. Some teachers are trying to prevent this from happening.

While Dean Susan King said the school shares Hussman’s commitment to restoring trust in the media, she also said that no donor should have influence over academic freedom, including who is hired. or what is taught.

Among Hussman’s core values ​​are aspects such as “impartiality being the greatest source of credibility” and “making a clear distinction between news and opinion”.

Some teachers told ABC11 they couldn’t find fault with the statement, with some saying they didn’t align with the school’s values.

Professor Deb Aikat told ABC11 that “objectivity and both sides” when covering events such as the January 6 insurgency and marginalized groups does not work.

Walter Hussman Jr. released a statement to ABC11 on Wednesday reiterating his commitment to the school and further explained his involvement in the Nikole Hannah-Jones tenure saga.

Hussman said Dean King approached him about Hannah-Jones’ consideration for the Knight Chair and that he had not sought to get involved in the matter.

Hussman said that after learning more about Nikole Hannah-Jones and the “1619 Project”, he shared with the Dean his concerns which he said were rooted in his values ​​of “honesty, precision and reliability. ‘impartiality”.

Hussman said he took no further action except for a limited number of private emails.

“It is my sincere desire that the University and the Hussman School come out of this unfortunate experience in a better place and that we all use it as a teachable moment,” Hussman said. “Certainly, I learned something about the special implications of being a major donor, and I hope we’ve all learned the value of nuance, the importance of separating facts and assumptions, the value of a reasoned discussion and the virtues of agreeing to disagree. “

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