Denying "1619 Project" founder's tenure buys into so-called objectivity debate stifling free speech Salon 2 hrs ago Nikole Hannah-Jones Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Peabody Awards Last month, the University of North Carolina failed to offer tenure to journalist Nikole-Hannah Jones, despite how the university's Hussman School of Journalism and Media not only recommended Hannah-Jones for tenure, but also recently named her the Knight Chair in Race and Investigative Journalism. Recent reporting in the Washington Post this week has suggested UNC's decision was impacted by donor Walter E. Hussman Jr., an Arkansas press magnate who has since denied involvement in the decision, but has said he expressed concerns about Hannah-Jones for not meeting his personal standards of "objectivity."