Last month, the university offered Hannah-Jones a position as the Knight Chair in Race and Investigative Journalism. However, after Hannah-Jones went through an extensive tenure process with the backing of faculty and the tenure committee, her application hit a roadblock with the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees, according to NC Policy Watch. The board of trustees is tasked with reviewing and approving tenure applications, and it declined to move forward with authorizing tenure for Hannah-Jones, who earned a master's degree in journalism and mass communications from the university. Instead, the school has altered its offer from a tenured position to a "fixed-term position," which would afford her the chance to be considered for tenure after five years.