Amid controversy, UNC journalism board inks letter in support of professor
The University of North Carolina journalism board offered its support by writing a lengthy letter to professor Nikole Hannah-Jones.
Students and faculty at UNC protested at a Board of Trustees meeting earlier this week after the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist wasn't granted tenure.
The letter was signed by 32 board members and reads as follows:
"Dear Ms. Hannah-Jones:
We, the undersigned members of the UNC School of Journalism and Media Foundation Board and the UNC School of Journalism and Media Board of Advisors, want to offer our unqualified support and deepest assurance that your voice is welcomed and needed at our School and in the greater University. When we learned that you had accepted the Knight Chair in Race and Investigative Reporting, we were delighted that the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill would be your home, once more.
This University, as you well know, has always been a battleground for free speech and the values of diversity, equity and inclusion—from the Speaker Ban Law protests in 1963 to the fight for tenure by Dr. Sonja Haynes Stone in 1979 to the 2019 removal of Silent Sam by Chancellor Carol Folt. It is here at Chapel Hill where we were trained as journalists and communicators with those struggles as our classroom. We know that the profound power of your work will make for unparalleled contributions to our graduate and undergraduate students and to the University at large.
We welcome you with open arms. We stand with you to defend one of our country’s most fundamental founding principles--freedom of the press. Please know that we will be by your side, undaunted, as you join us so that the students, faculty and staff of this great University may benefit from your wisdom and experience.
Personally, and professionally, we are here for you. We want you to call Carolina home."
