Renowned Chemist Declines UNC Professorship, Cites Treatment of Hannah-Jones
UNC’s Board of Trustees’ decision to “take no action” on Nikole Hannah-Jones’ tenure application has led a renowned chemist to decline professorship at the university, according to a letter from department faculty.
Over the past two years, UNC’s Department of Chemistry has been working to recruit Professor Lisa Jones – a leading African American chemist renowned for her work in biochemistry, analytical chemistry and biophysics.
Now, according to a letter addressed to UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz and signed by nearly 40 department faculty, “repercussions from Nikole Hannah-Jones’ tenure case is impacting our ability to recruit and attract a diverse and talented faculty person.”
UNC Donor Lobbied Against Hannah-Jones, and Her Lawyers Set Deadline insidehighered.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from insidehighered.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Now, more information is coming out about Hannah-Jones tenure opponent,
Walter E. Hussman
Jr. for whom UNC’s Hussman School of Journalism and Media is named. In 2019, the UNC alumnus, newspaper publisher, and megadonor donated $25 million to the school, the largest it had ever received.
In emails acquired by the Assembly, Hussman said he was worried about the controversy of “tying the UNC journalism school to the 1619 project.” In December 2020, Hussman wrote emails to UNC Hussman dean
Susan King, and university chancellors
Kevin Guskiewicz and
David Routh, that characterized Hannah-Jones as less than objective, writing “I find myself more in agreement with Pulitzer prize-winning historians like James McPherson and Gordon Wood than I do Nikole Hannah-Jones. These historians appear to me to be pushing to find the true historical facts.”