Journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones Reaches Settlement With University of North Carolina
Nikole Hannah-Jones, the Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times journalist whose groundbreaking “1619 Project” brought new historical focus on the enslavement of Black people, has reached a settlement with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill after she was denied tenure last year, CNN reports.
In April 2021, UNC announced Hannah-Jones was appointed to the Knight Chair in Race and Investigative Journalism, where she would teach as a professor while also remaining with The New York Times Magazine. However, the university offered her a five-year contract with eligibility for tenure review at the end, rather than the tenured position that was typical for past appointments.
She was later offered tenure, but rejected it in favor of taking tenured position at Howard University’s Cathy Hughes School of Communications.
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David Boliek, chair of the university’s board of trustees, said in a statement, “The steps taken to resolve the lingering potential legal action posed by Ms. Hannah-Jones will hopefully help to close this chapter and give the university the space to focus on moving forward,”
The settlement was reportedly less than $75,000, according to the Raleigh News & Observer.
"Ms. Hannah-Jones is grateful to have this matter behind her, and she looks forward to continuing her professional work committed to using the power of investigative journalism to expose the truth about the manifestations of racism in our society,” NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF) President and Director-Counsel Janai S. Nelson said in a separate statement, according to CNN. “We believe this settlement will help support the ongoing work towards addressing racial inequity at the university.”
In May 2021, Hannah-Jones said in a submitted letter to UNC that she would not take a position at the school without tenure. Her lawyers wrote "since signing the fixed-term contract, Ms. Hannah-Jones has come to learn that political interference and influence from a powerful donor contributed to the Board of Trustees' failure to consider her tenure application.
"Under these circumstances, any appointment of Ms. Hannah-Jones without tenure is unacceptable," the letter continues.
UNC had received backlash since the alleged influence behind the offer was initially reported. The UNC Board of Trustees told The Washington Post last month that tenure wasn’t offered because Hannah-Jones was a “non academic.” Critics responded that the decision didn’t make sense, since the Knight Chair was designed to attract professional journalists.
The school is now calling the settlement "an important step forward as Carolina focuses on its future and continues to educate the next generation of leaders.
"As a part of the agreement, the university will accelerate its investment in crucial initiatives in Carolina Next, its strategic plan, to further that ongoing work," Associate Vice Chancellor of University Communications Beth Keith said in the university statement, according to CNN.
