The Quad: An Unconventional Chancellor Keeps His Cool

The Sandhills summer put a sheen on the forehead of Fayetteville State University Chancellor Darrell T. Allison on an early July morning. Despite the stifling temperature and humidity, Allison kept his blazer buttoned as he shook hands and greeted construction workers, politicians, trustees, and students. 

They were gathering to celebrate a new dorm under construction on East Campus, a prominent example of how Allison is changing the historically Black university.

When Allison took office in 2021, critics dismissed him as a political appointee with no academic qualifications. They alleged he was chosen in a engineered selection process and pushed ahead of more qualified candidates.

More recently, faculty clashed with his administration over a proposal to cut summer school pay and increase teaching loads. In May, an audit reported the FSU communications office had mishandled or misspent nearly $700,000.

But three-and-a-half years into his tenure at FSU, Allison has racked up evidence of success, including more than $210 million in capital improvements, gains in enrollment and retention, and a doubling of research grants.

Critics may have been right about Allison skirting the traditional process. But reporter Paul Woolverton found many in the campus community seem to be coming around to the idea that he was the right choice.

An Unconventional Chancellor Keeps His Cool

Darrell T. Allison was both a non-academic and a former lobbyist when he became chancellor of Fayetteville State University. Now enrollment is up, dropouts are down, and new buildings are rising. Has he shown detractors he was the right person for the job?

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Bye to DEI

In May, the University of North Carolina System repealed and replaced its diversity, equity, and inclusion policy. Ever since, many on campuses have anxiously awaited the September deadline for all 16 public universities to submit reports on changes they made as a result.

At the Board of Governors’ meeting yesterday, the system released the long-anticipated reports, which revealed:

• 59 positions were “eliminated” across the system. But it’s not clear how many people were laid off. A few universities specified that some eliminated positions were already vacant or that individuals moved to other roles. UNC-Chapel Hill eliminated by far the most positions—20 in total—of any campus.
• 131 positions were “realigned.” New titles and position descriptions varied. At N.C. State, a position that formerly fostered “equity-minded and antiracist preservice educators” was changed to promote “wellness and success.” At UNC-Chapel Hill, the “D” and “E” that stood for diversity and equity in some titles became “dignity” and “excellence.”
• 7 universities eliminated offices with no direct replacement. UNC-Chapel Hill slashed the most, including a university-wide DEI office and others across 11 schools and departments. UNC-Charlotte and East Carolina University each closed three offices.
• 6 universities redesigned, renamed, or replaced their old DEI offices. N.C. Central created an office focused on four-year graduation rates; Appalachian State launched a new Center for Student Success and Community. Others struck mentions of equity, diversity, and multicultural affairs from the names of offices and their missions.
• 3 universities had no centralized DEI office to begin with. UNC-Greensboro said it did not need “DEI infrastructure” because its history as a women’s college and current status as a minority-serving institution made “access and excellence” part of the “core of who we are.” Winston-Salem State said enrollment and funding challenges made its DEI-approach “fiscally conservative” and “decentralized.” 
• $16 million from DEI programs will be redirected to “student success” and “wellbeing” efforts, as permitted by the board last spring. It appeared a majority of the funds went toward realigned positions, with other dollars moved to new or renamed offices and updated programming.

When I previously worked at The Chronicle of Higher Education, I reported on faculty and staff in other states with anti-DEI policies who felt left in the dark without detailed public audits of changes. Comparatively, the new reports in North Carolina offer a detailed picture of the changes and cuts across the UNC System. 

But this is likely not the end of the road for UNC schools.

In other states, office and position realignments in response to anti-DEI policies have drawn criticism from conservatives, who have accused colleges of making merely cosmetic changes. And some UNC board members already appear skeptical.

The old DEI policy was “aggressively implemented overnight” and “resulted in tens of millions of dollars of expenditures and dozens of hires,” said Woody White, a board member who lobbied heavily against DEI efforts. “I don’t see the same level of velocity with their repeal and replace with these reports.”

–Erin Gretzinger

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Quotable

“I think we need to challenge our campuses to go forward, to do what UNC-Greensboro and UNC-Asheville have done and look at their programs thoroughly—and make sure they are tightening the belt as much as possible.”

–Randall C. Ramsey

The BOG member’s remark came after the system emphasized that all campuses must demonstrate “institutional efforts to manage costs” ahead of tuition increases considered for the 2026-27 academic year, linking such efforts to a new system policy on academic portfolio reviews that the board mandated last spring.

Under the policy, all UNC institutions must conduct academic portfolio reviews—which examine programs with a business-minded lens—every seven years. The first report is due by January 31, 2026, but it is clear that the system and board want universities to undertake the process as soon as possible.

For more on how program reviews work—and what they could mean for the system—read our recent story on the process at UNC-Greensboro.

Reach our team with tips or ideas at highered@theassemblync.com.

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