The Saga of Nikole Hannah-Jones, Inaugural Knight Chair in Race and Reporting at Howard University
Many readers are likely already familiar with the story, but it is one that needs to be retold in as many formats as possible. I provide a very short summary here. Nikole Hannah-Jones (right) provides a very complete version here.
Professor Hannah-Jones is a distinguished alumna of the University North Carolina (UNC). UNC repeatedly honored her: with the Young Alumni Award in 2017, with the Distinguished Alumna Award in 2019, and by inducting her into the N.C. Media Hall of Fame.
Recognizing Professor Hannah-Jones’s many contributions to journalism and investigative reporting, Dean King of UNC’s journalism school approached Professor Hannah-Jones and asked her to serve as the Knight Chair in Race and Investigative Reporting. Professor Hannah-Jones was willing to serve, but since the Knight Chair is always a tenured position, her appointment had to await approval of UNC’s Board.
For reasons that are not entirely clear but seem to have involved lobbying by the James G. Martin Center, a conservative think tank, the Board refused to grant tenure to Professor Hannah-Jones and instead offered her a five-year contract. Professor Hannah-Jones was willing to accept the five-year appointment and avoid expressing her disappointment publicly, but the James G. Martin Center decided to take the matter public, describing the hiring of Professor Hannah-Jones as a “study of [sic] failed corporate governance.”
The matter was then public, and UNC’s shabby treatment of a distinguished alumna soon triggered considerable backlash. The Board eventually, grudgingly relented, offering Professor Hannah-Jones tenure, but no apology and no explanation. She has chosen to decline that offer; she will instead become the Knight Chair in Race and Reporting at Howard University.
It is a fitting end to a sad saga. Some sadness will no doubt remain remain, for the faculty and student at UNC who had hoped to welcome Professor Hannah-Jones as their colleague, and for Professor Hannah-Jones herself, whose relationship with her alma mater cannot help but be forever tainted by this experience.