It Didn’t Start With Nikole Hannah-Jones

Last year, UNC Chapel Hill began courting Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones to come teach at the Hussman School of Journalism. But when her tenure recommendation landed in front of the school’s board of trustees, they refused to take a vote, leaving her application in limbo. After months of public pressure and lobbying by students and faculty, Hannah-Jones was offered tenure - but not before she’d decided to teach at Howard University instead.

How did UNC’s board of trustees cost the school such a coveted appointment? And how deep did the political divisions over Hannah-Jones’ hiring get?

Guest: Joe Killian, investigative reporter at NC Policy Watch.

If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.