UNC interim chancellor faces scrutiny from students over past political ties

Students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are pushing back on the appointment of their interim chancellor as the search for the permanent one is underway.

Lee Roberts was named to the interim role last December. Those students cite Roberts' connection to conservative power brokers.

Some students felt the move was a dealbreaker.

Roberts has told WRAL multiple times that he is doing this job in a nonpartisan way. Some students said they don't believe he should have a permanent seat in the office.

UNC students Toby Posel and Julian Taylor created a group called "TranspareUNCy."

"I simply do not trust interim Chancellor Roberts when he says he is nonpartisan," Posel said, bringing attention to what they say has been a years-long conservative takeover of the university.

They held a "teach-in" about Roberts' relationship with conservative power broker and fellow Board of Governors member Art Pope.

"We hold Pope largely responsible for the state of North Carolina over the past 15 years," Taylor said. "That includes the actions of the Board of Governors, so, Silent Sam, Nikole Hannah-Jones, and now the appointment of Lee Roberts."

Art Pope responded to WRAL, stating, "I was not on the UNC Board of Governors during the Silent Sam controversies and did not otherwise have any involvement. I was on the UNC Board of Governors during the Nicole Hannah-Jones tenure controversy, but that issue was resolved entirely at the UNC Chapel Hill Board of  Trustees and School of Journalism level. I did not have any role as a member of the UNC Board of Governors, and was not otherwise involved in the decisions on whether to appoint and grant tenure to Nicole Hannah-Jones at the UNC-CH School of Journalism."

Regarding Roberts' appointment, Pope stated, "The decision to appoint Lee Roberts as interim Chancellor of UNC Chapel Hill was made by University President Peter Hans. President Hans did not consult with me or inform me ahead of time about the appointment."

Roberts is a Duke grad who got a law degree from Georgetown. He founded a private investment firm and worked in state government. He's been on UNC's Board of Governors since 2021. As a member, he had to file Statements of Economic Interest each year.

In 2021, he reported receiving more than $5,000 worth of other non-salary income from Variety Wholesalers.

That's the company founded by Pope.

That filing was the same in 2022 and 2023, but he's not required to provide information on what he did for the company or how much he was compensated.

Regarding this compensation, Pope told WRAL, "Variety Wholesalers, Inc. in the past compensated Lee Roberts for serving as an outside independent member of our Board of Directors, which had nothing to do with my past or present public service and being an active Republican."

Last week, Roberts participated in an online discussion with Coalition for Carolina, a group made up of faculty, staff and students.

During the question and answer portion of the webinar, one person asked about Roberts' connections to Pope.

"Art Pope is a friend. I serve on his corporate board, Variety Wholesalers, not on any of his foundation of public policy boards," Roberts told the group. "There's been this implication that because I serve on that Board, I somehow am being disingenuous when I say that this is a nonpartisan job, and I plan to do it in a nonpartisan way, and I just have to say I don't see that connection."

On Thursday, Roberts was asked about student concerns surrounding his ability to be neutral.

"I said when I came into this job that I believe it's a nonpartisan job," Roberts said. "I plan to do it in a nonpartisan way. I meant that. I think I've done that so far. I plan to continue to do that."

Roberts previously served as the budget director for Gov. Pay McCrory, succeeding Art Pope in that role. McCrory told WRAL in December that he was apolitical.