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The UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees approved 33 tenure cases on Wednesday, less than two weeks after a delay in personnel actions sparked faculty concerns.
During a closed-session meeting on May 22, the trustees approved 18 new tenure and promotions cases. But the board only voted on faculty who were in health-sciences schools, despite many other pending cases in the College of Arts and Sciences and other schools. The board had also delayed taking up some personnel actions in March.
A university spokesperson said Wednesday that the board approved all personnel actions deferred from the May meeting via a written ballot.
“The University administration and Board of Trustees moved these personnel actions forward given the impact the deferral caused on departments,” wrote Kevin Best, the university’s senior director of media relations. “The university will continue to weigh all factors when considering the timing of expenditures given the current fiscal environment.”
The board’s vote followed widespread concern and confusion among faculty members. Faculty senate chair Beth Moracco said she received more messages on this issue than any other during her time in the role. While some of the delayed cases were UNC-CH faculty awaiting promotion, she said others were new hires who had already quit their jobs and moved with their families to Chapel Hill with the expectation of receiving tenure.
“The faculty are relieved that there has been a decision on these actions,” Moracco said. “We appreciate the university, leadership and board of trustees taking our concerns seriously.”
The concerns extended beyond Chapel Hill to faculty across the UNC System, faculty assembly chair Wade Maki said. Faculty wondered whether the delays at the flagship were a harbinger of tenure policy changes statewide.
“If there is going to be a move against tenure, it is not going to be at one of the smaller schools,” Maki said. To his knowledge, Maki said, there have not been other incidents of delayed tenure cases in the system. UNC-CH said nothing has changed about its tenure policies.
The university has not said why the personnel actions were delayed. UNC-CH did not respond to questions from The Assembly about what prompted the delays and why only the health affairs cases were approved at the May meeting.
The tenure turmoil came at a difficult time for UNC-CH faculty, who are already facing potential cuts to research funding and other changes under the Trump administration. At a faculty executive committee meeting on Monday, multiple members expressed concern about whether delaying tenure decisions could hurt the university’s ability to recruit faculty in the future.
“Faculty are already feeling demoralized,” Moracco said at the meeting. “This blow … coming from inside the house, is just another blow when we’re already feeling pretty deflated.”