We, the students of this University, will never recognize Lee Roberts as UNC’s chancellor.
His appointment is a blatant act of political subversion that shatters the facade of UNC's “unwavering commitment to excellence.” The installation of Roberts further entrenches the takeover of our University by far-right political operatives who disregard the values of academic freedom and diversity as well as the voices of the students, faculty and staff.
The chancellor search process was a farce, engineered to deliver a predetermined outcome while giving the illusion of fairness. From the outset, students voiced one unified demand: no Roberts. Yet, our voices were systematically silenced and consistently ignored by a search committee serving the narrow interests of the North Carolina legislature. Even if the search process wasn’t rigged, the outcome would be the same: the politically appointed Board of Governors recently consolidated power under System President Peter Hans to choose chancellors unilaterally.
This was not a search — it was a coronation.
As students who were disregarded in this process, we must be unequivocal: we will never recognize a chancellor who lacks every fundamental qualification of the position — his experience is limited to being a course instructor at Duke University for four years. Of the top 50 universities in the country, Roberts stands alone as the only “leader” with absolutely no higher education administration experience. Cristy Page, chair of the search committee, how can you call Roberts among “the best of the best"?
We will never recognize a chancellor who courts far-right BOG member Art Pope, who has personally dismantled democracy in North Carolina through egregious gerrymanders, millions in donations to the architects of Project 2025 and climate change denialism through his John Locke Foundation. His James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal and family foundation pushed the state to “starve the academic beast” and, months later, a $414 million budget cut to the UNC System. During Roberts’ tenure on the Board of Directors, Pope’s company targeted Black and low-income communities — the profits of which fund Pope’s destructive agenda.
We will never recognize a chancellor who uses violence as a tool for political theater. Marching with police into a peaceful, student-led protest, Roberts smiled as students were crushed under barricades and dragged by their hair. This was a calculated display of power, a deliberate attempt to silence dissent through brutality. After witnessing the violence he created, he declared without remorse: “I’d pretty much do it the same way.” Roberts’ promise to “do no harm” shows just how meaningless his words are.
We will never recognize a chancellor who responds to opposition by consolidating power. Following Roberts’ march, he began dismantling the Campus Y, the 165-year-old social justice hub and safe space for marginalized students. Months later, the University shut down the 100-year-old student-led honor court, undermining the tradition of peer judgment and weakening students ability to defend their rights.
Lux, libertas — light and liberty, the UNC motto. Lee Roberts’ and the Board of Governor’s rule has cast our university in darkness and liberty has been systematically crushed.
