Prominent Black chemist turns down UNC in light of controversy over Hannah-Jones tenure

UNC-Chapel Hill lost a top faculty recruit this week because of the furor over the Board of Trustees not offering tenure to journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones. Some faculty fear this loss might not be the last.

The UNC-CH chemistry department sent a letter to Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz and other administrators on Tuesday explaining why Dr. Lisa Jones, a prominent Black chemist, withdrew her candidacy to join the UNC faculty.

The letter, signed by chemistry Department Chair Wei You and other faculty members, says Jones made her decision after the “disheartening” news of the tenure case, quoting a letter that Jones wrote to faculty.

“The news this week that Nikole Hannah-Jones was denied tenure was very disheartening,” Jones wrote. “It does not seem in line with a school that says it is interested in diversity. Although I know this decision may not reflect the view of the school’s faculty, I will say that I cannot see myself accepting a position at a university where this decision stands. I appreciate all of the effort you have put into trying to recruit me but for me, this is hard to overlook.”

Jones currently runs her own lab as an associate professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy and is renowned for her work in structural proteomics. She could not be reached Thursday.

Hannah-Jones, who is also a Black woman, is set to join the faculty at UNC-CH in July as the Knight Chair in Race and Investigative Journalism at the Hussman School of Journalism and Media. The board failed to award her tenure earlier this year, which has caused national outrage among professional journalists, scholars and UNC faculty, alumni and students who say it was because of race and politics.

“I’ve never met this sister, Dr. Lisa Jones, but the solidarity shown me by Black women in particular during this crucible is something I will never forget,” Hannah-Jones tweeted sharing the letter from faculty.

‘Dire repercussions’ of tenure case

The letter from faculty says this tenure case has “dire repercussions” and shows its direct impact on the university’s “ability to recruit and attract a diverse and talented faculty person.”

For two years, the chemistry department recruited Jones, a bioanalytical chemist who would have bolstered the department’s mission in research and education, according to the letter.

This tenure case is “already having a chilling effect on future hiring at UNC, particularly from under-represented groups,” the letter says.

You, chairperson of the chemistry department and professor of chemistry and applied physical sciences, said they sent the letter to express their concerns and urge the chancellor and trustees to fix the situation.

You said they have been trying very hard to recruit Jones to diversify their faculty and bring a top talent to the department and they failed because of this tenure case.

“It was demoralizing,” You said. “We were pretty upset, we were angry and asking ourselves what is going on here?”

It also puts their reputation on the line and could take a few years to overcome, he said.

“It could happen in the future too,” You said. “That’s exactly what we’re trying to tell the people above us.”

Trustees can ‘show us who they are’

Mimi Chapman, Chair of the UNC-CH faculty, said losing faculty candidates like Jones was “entirely predictable and entirely upsetting.”

“I don’t blame her at all for making this decision, I think it’s a principled stance,” Chapman said. “And I think it’s a reasonable question to ask whether we as an institution are living up to our values in this moment.”

Chapman said it could happen with other faculty in other departments across the university. They’ve seen it before, she said, with faculty refusing to come to a state with discriminatory laws like North Carolina’s former House Bill 2, known as “The Bathroom Bill.”

Chapman said it’s a difficult situation because this is not a reflection of the chemistry department or faculty’s values, but they are “completely hamstrung by the trustees.” And UNC-CH might’ve had this amazing chemist had the board acted last week, she said.

“There’s no reason in the world that they cannot set a date and hear Hannah-Jones’ tenure case,” Chapman said.

Board members have had Hannah-Jones’s tenure dossier for more than a week and it’s up to them to have a meeting and vote on her tenure appointment.

The board chair has the power to call a special or emergency meeting, but he has not done so, despite the threat of a federal discrimination lawsuit. There’s also been mounting pressure and direct requests from UNC-CH faculty, the student body president and alumni over the past two weeks.

North Carolina open meetings laws require a 48-hour public notice for trustees meetings. No meeting has been set or publicly announced, so the trustees won’t meet the Friday deadline reportedly set by Hannah-Jones’s lawyers before filing a lawsuit.

The next trustees meeting is set for July 14 and 15, after Hannah-Jones is set to start her job on campus. But that meeting also brings in a few new trustees, new committee chairs and a new board chair. So, the issue might not come before the board at that meeting, which could push it to September.

Chapman said this is a “disastrous circumstance” and the trustees have the power to remedy it — and they need to do it immediately.

“They can take a vote and show us who they are and where they stand and whether they respect the voice of the faculty or whether they do not,” Chapman said.

Chapman said if Hannah-Jones doesn’t come to UNC-CH then “these forces that have politicized her appointment” and defied the normal process of faculty voice in choosing their colleagues will win.

“It is my sincere hope that under whatever circumstances she comes and continues this fight,” Chapman said.

And this fight is not only about Hannah-Jones, but also about all the junior faculty who are fearful right now that if their work is somehow politicized that their careers are in jeopardy, Chapman said.