Students react to Lee Roberts' permanent chancellor status

On Aug. 9, the UNC Board of Governors unanimously elected interim Chancellor Lee Roberts as the permanent chancellor of the University. Since then, some community members have voiced their feelings — some of outrage, some of excitement and some of indifference.

The Daily Tar Heel's Adele Morris conducted an informal poll on campus on Aug. 19 of 228 students in the Pit. She spoke with students across a span of approximately four hours, asking about their stance on Lee Roberts' chancellorship. Of the respondents, 18 approved, 119 disapproved and 95 said they were indifferent. The majority of those who asserted indifference said they were either uninformed or didn't have enough information to provide an opinion.

The Southern Student Action Coalition has taken a hard stance against Roberts’ permanent status. On Aug. 14, the group posted on their Instagram account, inviting the University’s community members to sign a letter opposing Roberts’ new role.

The letter, which had over 600 signatures at the time of publication, references Roberts' "violent actions against student protesters," lack of higher education experience, connections to far-right figures and termination of the student-led honor court as reasons he is unfit to lead the University.

UNC senior and SSAC organizer Alexander Denza said he would not settle for Roberts in the permanent chancellor position.

“How can he be the best candidate when they also had deans and chancellors of other schools apply for this position?" Denza said. "That is the definition of rigged."

Denza cited Roberts’ response to the student protesters in the spring as the most significant reason he is unqualified for the chancellorship. However, UNC junior and UNC College Republicans president Matthew Trott perceived Roberts’ response to the protesters as an indicator of his strength as a leader.

 “Chancellor Roberts has shown a willingness to take difficult stands and to go against what I suppose would be the majority consensus at times,” Trott said. “Unlike a lot of other chancellors nationwide, he did not kowtow to campus protesters and was willing to stand up for the University.”

Trott also said Roberts' experience in public policy makes him a good fit for the role. Roberts served as the state budget director under North Carolina Republican Governor Pat McCrory from 2014 to 2016.

Though Trott acknowledged that some community members believe Roberts’ political background makes him too partisan for the chancellorship, he said Roberts’ Republican ties could ensure better representation of the University at the state level, as the N.C. General Assembly has a Republican majority. 

UNC sophomore and SSAC organizer Samuel Scarborough worries about what that state-level representation might look like. He said that Roberts had not taken a stance on diversity, equity and inclusion services after the BOG removed DEI requirements from UNC System institutions in May.

“[Roberts] can talk about budgets day and night, but when it comes to diversity, equity and inclusion, he has nothing to say, no type of policy position,” Scarborough said.

Regarding DEI, Roberts told The Daily Tar Heel in a Q&A session, "we not only have to reflect the state on paper, we need to ensure that when students arrive here, they feel welcome, they feel as though they belong, they feel as though this is a place where they can thrive and flourish."

Looking to the future, Scarborough, Denza and Trott all said they believe that Roberts’ appointment as permanent chancellor will have significant implications at UNC and beyond.

Scarborough said he believes it “spells disaster” for academic freedom, while Denza said it “completely delegitimizes UNC as a leading university.”

But Trott said he sees Roberts’ appointment as cementing UNC’s status as an institution leading higher education. He said Roberts is a great fit for the role.

"The main traits that are essential in a good chancellor are a strong work ethic and the ability to bridge the divide,"  he said.

DTH University Desk Editor Ananya Cox contributed reporting to this article.

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