In what academics say is a highly unusual and "disappointing" move, New York Times journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, creator of the 1619 Project, will not be offered a tenured position at her alma mater, the University of North Carolina. She will instead be offered a five-year contract at the UNC-Chapel Hill’s Hussman School of Journalism and Media, where she has been appointed to the Knight Chair in Race and Investigative Journalism, the News & Observer reports. The two previous Knight Chairs were granted tenure on appointment, and faculty members believe the Board of Trustees' decision is the result of conservative backlash. More:
- The background. The 1619 Project, which reframes American history with slavery and its legacy at the center, has been strongly criticized by conservatives and the hiring of Hannah-Jones caused an outcry, the New York Times reports. North Carolina's GOP-controlled legislature appoints the university system's Board of Governors.