The Faculty Executive Committee held a special meeting this morning to discuss recent Board of Trustees actions regarding tenure in light of journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones not having been offered a tenured faculty position. Due to the sensitive nature of such discussions, a portion of the meeting was held in closed session. When the committee returned to open session, they crafted a statement regarding these issues that are of great importance to faculty.
Faculty Executive Committee statement of May 24, 2021
The Faculty Executive Committee strongly urges the Board of Trustees to uphold the long tradition of respect for recommendations from faculty bodies in hiring and tenure cases, and to take up the matter of tenure for Nikole Hannah-Jones immediately, and to explain to the fullest extent possible, without violating the law, the reasons for its decision. These steps must be undertaken to address a breach of trust in a process that is essential to our standing as a leading public research university.
