he University of North Carolina Board of Governors Committee on University Personnel will hold a special virtual meeting at 9:30am on Friday, August 9, with the full UNC Board of Governors meeting in special session at 10:00am.

The special meeting is called, according to the UNC BOG website, “to discuss and elect a chancellor for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The current interim-chancellor, Lee Roberts, took the helm of the university in January, following former chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz’s departure to lead Michigan State University.

Roberts, an investment manager and former state budget director under Republican Gov. Pat McCrory, earned praise earlier this year for his leadership during anti-Israel campus riots. After protestors removed the American flag from the campus quad, replacing it with a mocked Palestinian flag, Roberts himself led law enforcement to the site to personally return the American flag to its rightful place.

The events garnered national attention as campuses across the country were inundated with protests in reaction to the Israel/Gaza war.

The flagship university of the UNC system, the UNC at Chapel Hill has been in similar spotlights during the era of social justice causes, most notably the targeting of confederate statues on college campuses and the tearing down of the “Silent Sam” statue on the Chapel Hill campus in 2018.

For its part, the UNC BOG has been making waves this year with its pointed departure from Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives through the university system, changing the system’s guidance language to emphasize equality and merit, instead.

The proposed policy change appears aimed at complying with recently passed state law prohibiting state agencies from promoting a list of concepts and activities associated with CRT. The concepts, 13 in all, include those such as “One race or sex is inherently superior to another race or sex,” and “A meritocracy is inherently racist or sexist.”

The tangible realignments with said new policy mean the UNC System will necessarily end university-backed activities, training programs, and staff offices built on the foundation of DEI and in furtherance of the prohibited concepts.

The new policy sections, replacing current DEI language, include:

  • Nondiscrimination in Employment Practices & Educational Programs and Activities
  • Ensuring Equality of All Persons & Viewpoints
  • Commitment to the Freedom of Speech & Expression
  • Maintaining Academic Freedom
  • Commitment to Student Success & Employee Wellbeing
  • Maintaining Institutional Neutrality

Portions of Friday’s meeting will be streamed live for the public to view. You can access the meeting streams here.