Months after refusing to grant Pulitzer-prize winning author Nikole Hannah-Jones tenure, the trustee board for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill voted Wednesday afternoon to grant the 1619 Project developer.
UNC’s board chairman, Richard Stevens stated after the special three-hour trustee session, “We welcome Nikole Hannah-Jones back to campus. Our university is not a place to cancel people. Our university is better than that. Our nation is better than that.’ He continued, “We embrace and endorse academic freedom and vigorous debate and constructive disagreement.”
Susan King, the dean of the UNC School of Journalism and Media, supported Hannah-Jones’ tenure throughout this ordeal. “It has taken longer than I imagined, but I am deeply appreciative that the board has voted in favor of our school’s recommendation,” she wrote. “I knew that when the board reviewed her tenure dossier and realized the strength of her teaching, service and professional vision they would be moved to grant tenure.”
The following articles provide more information on the 1619 Project developments and Hannah-Jones’ tenure journey:
UNC Black Students Protests Amid Vote for Nikole Hannah-Jones Tenure
UNC Denies Tenure Position to Pulitzer Prize-Winning “1619 Project” Journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones
Janelle Monae Stars in NYT Oscars Ad for ‘1619 Project’
Newt Gingrich calls 1619 Project a “lie” says slavery needs to be put “in context”