Kelley, Tom

UNC Service

I have been at Carolina for 23 years and have served on many campus-wide committees including Advisory, Campus and Community Advisory, Faculty Hearings, Committee on Student Conduct, three Deanship Review Committees, and the Institutional Review Board. I also have served on key Law School committee's including our DEI Committee. Early in my career I spent one year as UNC-Law's Faculty Council representative. I have also served on many campus advisory boards including the African Studies Center and Student Legal Services. Much of my service comes "off books" in the form of free legal advice to campus and community nonprofit organizations.

Candidate Statement

As a sextuple Tar Heel (employed, spouse employed, three sons graduated, one currently in law school), I am completely invested in Carolina. If it sinks as a result of poor governance, my family and I sink with it. I am temperamentally suited to this position. I prefer listening to speaking. I look for common ground, but when there is none, or when others act in bad faith, I do not fear confrontation. I have broad experience at Carolina. I have been fixed-term and tenure-track faculty and I understand the frustrations (and joys) of both. I am a part-time administrator, so I see the struggles of our talented staff. I work with nonprofit community organizations, and I understand both their reliance on and frustration with UNC. Finally, I am a lawyer and I have insight into the legal aspects of our many self-inflicted crises.