Q&A: Chancellor Lee Roberts addresses key issues and changes from the past year

As his first full year as chancellor comes to an end, Assistant University Editor Madeleine Ahmadi sat down with Chancellor Lee Roberts to discuss key changes and issues impacting the University.

This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity. 

The Daily Tar Heel: So I want to go to an issue that I think is on the forefront of a lot of people's minds right now, and that's immigration. How did you find out that the government revoked visas for six UNC students? 

Lee Roberts: I think I found out when our Chief of Staff told me, but the way we found out is that we check that database several times a day. So, we're the ones who noticed that the students' status had changed. As a result of that, we were able to notify the students. I've lived abroad for important chunks of my life. Our oldest two children were born [in London]. I can't imagine how stressful and scary it would have been to not know on a day-to-day basis if we could stay. I don't know if I could sleep at night. And so, I have tremendous empathy for the students who are caught up in this, and we're doing everything we can to support them.

DTH: North Carolina State University came out and said that they would support students, allowing them to finish their studies abroad. Is that something that UNC plans to do?

Roberts: That is what we're doing. Obviously, there's a range of individual situations, depending on what kind of program they're in, but we are bending over backwards. 

DTH: You said a while back, a line that has now been repeated in the media multiple times, that the University will comply with law enforcement. I want to give you an opportunity to explain what you meant.

Roberts: The question that was asked was, I think, if we're asked to identify undocumented students for ICE, would we comply with that? My answer was that we comply with law enforcement, and maybe I should have added we comply with lawful requests from law enforcement. But I'm surprised that anybody was surprised that I would say anything other than that. We're a public school. We don't pick and choose which laws we uphold, which law enforcement agencies we comply with, and so we're going to do everything we can to keep all of our students, faculty and staff safe.

DTH: There seems to be a lot of contention surrounding the School of Civic Life and Leadership. The Provost announced he will step down, citing disagreements about the vision for SCiLL; many original faculty members have left the program and some have said it's less about public discourse and more about political theory and religion. Do you share in any of these concerns? 

Roberts: I think it's inevitable that when something starts and then a dean is hired, there will be a range of views about the direction to take the school. I think a lot of that is just normal intellectual differences, but I don't agree that it's gotten away from its traditions, from its founding as the Program for Public Discourse. I think one of the best things that the School of Civic Life and Leadership has done so far is [SCiLL190: Courageous Conversations], and that class is designed to give students the tools to have a scholarly and constructive dialogue around even the most sensitive topics. And they've been using the Israel-Palestine conflict as a template for the entire semester, and actually went to Israel over spring break. I think it's been a tremendous success and is firmly into the heart of what I think was envisioned when the Program for Public Discourse was first established.

DTH: In a recent interview, the Provost said he believes there are a lot of negative beliefs right now about the University. Do you think that's true? If so, how do we change that?

Roberts: I do think that we can do a better job telling our story. We, I think, sometimes can be a little complacent about that. Everyone who goes to school here, who works here, knows what a phenomenal place this is. You can feel it in the air. I think we sometimes assume the rest of the world knows that too, but they don't know unless we tell them.

DTH: A lot of changes [in federal research funding] have been the result of executive orders from the Trump administration. If the President was in front of you right now, what would you say to him?

Roberts: I'd say what we've been saying to legislators and policy makers and largely what I just said to you, which is that federal research money is money well spent, and that it is making a material difference to the lives of everyday North Carolinians.

DTH: You mentioned that you feel like everyone on this campus feels how special it is, but I would push back and say some students don't necessarily feel that way. What would you say to those students? 

Roberts: Our state is growing, changing and diversifying, and we have an obligation to make sure that we reflect that here in Carolina. And so, how do we do that? One [part] is going out and recruiting students from across the state. The second part, which sometimes gets overlooked, so how do we get students who have gotten into Carolina to accept their offers to come here? And so we've actually started an effort with the alumni association to reach out to students, particularly historically underrepresented student groups, to encourage them to accept their offers to Carolina. And then the third part is, once they get here, how do we make sure that they feel as though they belong and that they're welcome? There's something like 800 to 900 student organizations on this campus. There should be something more or less for everybody. How do we make sure that they find people who they feel an affinity with? Centers like the Stone Center have played an important role in that regard, but we have to do a better job using those tools.

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