Lee Roberts | |
|---|---|
 Roberts in 2024 | |
| Interim Chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | |
Acting | |
| Assumed office January 12, 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Kevin Guskiewicz |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Lee Harriss Roberts [1] 1968 (age 55–56) |
| Education | Duke University (BS) Georgetown University (JD) |
Lee Harriss Roberts (born 1968) is an American finance executive who has served as interim chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill since January 12,2024.
Roberts was born to journalists Steven and Cokie Roberts,daughter of Hale and Lindy Boggs. He grew up in Washington,D.C.,and received a bachelor's degree in political science from Duke University and a Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown University. [2]
Roberts spent 30 years working in finance and real estate investment. He was a partner at Cherokee Investment Partners and spent nine years with Morgan Stanley. He then became managing director of Piedmont Community Bank Holdings. [3] From 2014 to 2016,he was the budget director for North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory. [2] He then founded SharpVue Capital,a private investment firm in Raleigh. [2] For the five years before 2024,he taught budgeting at Duke University. [4]
Since 2019,Roberts has served on the corporate board of Variety Wholesalers,a retail-store company owned by Art Pope,a prominent conservative donor. [5]
From 2021 to 2024,he served as a member of the UNC board of governors and chair of the budget committee. [6]
On December 15,2023,it was announced that Roberts would succeed Kevin Guskiewicz as the interim chancellor of UNC-Chapel Hill. [2] He's described his motivation as steming from a "family tradition of public service" and his deep commitment to North Carolina,which he first moved to at age 17. [2]
There has been pushback from students following his appointment. On January 12th 2024,a coalition of student groups published an op-ed in the university's newspaper titled "UNC deserves better,Lee Roberts ain't it," highlighting Roberts' lack of experience in educational administration and actions during his tenure as state budget director that were perceived as contrary to the interests of higher education and inclusivity. [7] A month later,another op-ed was published by five UNC students titled "'Nonpartisan' Lee Roberts receives income from far-right megadonor’s company" highlighting a conflict between his claimed commitment nonpartisanship and his financial ties to conservative donor Art Pope. [8] Following this publication,Roberts stated in an interview that he would not be taking income from his board position on Art Pope's company Variety Wholesalers during his time as interim chancellor,and that serving on a corporate board has no bearing on his nonpartisanship. [5]
In early April 2024 a student group formed in opposition to Roberts' chancellorship,TransparUNCy,held a teach-in on the connections between Roberts and Pope,as well as the history of UNC System governance. [9] Nearly 75 students attended,prompting TransparUNCy to run the teach in again.
At the TransparUNCy Teach-in:Part 2,130 students attended and Roberts made an impromptu appearance where he reaffirmed his commitment to nonpartisanship to the crowd . [10] [11] Roberts also expressed a broad support for diversity but refrained from taking a definitive stance on the university trustees' anti-DEI comments and similar legislative efforts in Florida and Alabama. His stated lack of knowledge about Florida and Alabama DEI legislation drew criticism from student organizers,who believe that lack knowledge of national higher education debates makes him unsuitable for the chancellorship. [11]
Chapel Hill is a town in Orange and Durham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Its population was 61,960 in the 2020 census,making Chapel Hill the 17th-most populous municipality in the state. Chapel Hill and Durham make up the Durham-Chapel Hill,NC Metropolitan Statistical Area,which had an estimated population of 608,879 in 2023. When it's combined with Raleigh,the state capital,they make up the corners of the Research Triangle,which had an estimated population of 2,368,947 in 2023.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university in Chapel Hill,North Carolina. Chartered in 1789,the university first began enrolling students in 1795,making it one of the oldest public universities in the United States.
The Confederate Monument,University of North Carolina,commonly known as Silent Sam,is a bronze statue of a Confederate soldier by Canadian sculptor John A. Wilson,which once stood on McCorkle Place of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) from 1913 until it was pulled down by protestors on August 20,2018. Its former location has been described as "the front door" of the university and "a position of honor".
Matthew Francis Doherty is an American former college basketball coach best known for his time as head coach of the University of North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team. Prior to accepting the head coaching position at UNC he spent one season as head coach of the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball program.
Forest Orion "Mick" Mixon III is the former play-by-play radio voice announcer for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League. Mixon took this position during the 2005 football season,replacing Bill Rosinski. Previously,he was the color analyst for the Tar Heel Sports Network,working alongside former "Voice of the Tar Heels," play-by-play announcer Woody Durham,beginning in 1989.
Woody Lombardi Durham was an American play-by-play radio announcer for the North Carolina Tar Heels football and men's basketball programs from 1971 to 2011.
The North Carolina–NC State rivalry,also known as the State-Carolina game,Carolina–State Game,North Carolina–NC State game,NCSU–UNC game,and other similar permutations,is an ongoing series of athletic competitions between the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Tar Heels and North Carolina State University Wolfpack. The intensity of the game is driven by the universities' similar sizes,the fact the schools are separated by only 25 miles,and the large number of alumni that live within the state's borders. Both are charter members of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and are part of the Tobacco Road schools. The most popular games between the two are in football,basketball,and baseball.
Rameses is the ram mascot of the North Carolina Tar Heels. The anthropomorphic version of him wears a Tar Heels jersey. Two versions of Rameses appear at UNC sporting events. One is a member of the UNC cheerleading team in an anthropomorphic ram costume;the other is a live Dorset Horn sheep named Rameses who attends Carolina football games with his horns painted Carolina blue. There is a third UNC mascot;another anthropomorphic ram,Rameses Jr.,or RJ for short.
The North Carolina Tar Heels football team represents the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the sport of American football or Gridiron Football. The Tar Heels play in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and are members of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
The Tar Heel Sports Network is a radio network in the United States dedicated to broadcasting live events and programming relating to North Carolina Tar Heels athletics. It is operated by Tar Heel Sports Properties,a property of LEARFIELD,which manages the multimedia rights for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The network's flagship station is WPTF in Raleigh,North Carolina.
The North Carolina–NC State football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the North Carolina Tar Heels football team of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the NC State Wolfpack football team of North Carolina State University.
Monrovie Jones Angell IV,known professionally as Jones Angell, is the current play-by-play radio announcer for the North Carolina Tar Heels football and men’s basketball programs.
Kevin Guskiewicz is an American academic administrator who is the president of Michigan State University. He previously served as the 12th chancellor and 30th chief executive of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The 1898 North Carolina Tar Heels football team represented the University of North Carolina in the 1898 college football season. They played nine games with a final record of 9–0. The team captain for the 1898 season was Frank O. Rogers. The team claims a Southern championship.
The 2001–02 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the 2001–02 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Their head coach was Matt Doherty. The team captains for this season were Jason Capel and Kris Lang. The team played its home games in the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill,North Carolina as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The 1984 North Carolina Tar Heels football team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the 1984 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Tar Heels were led by seventh-year head coach Dick Crum and played their home games at Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill,North Carolina. They competed as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference,finishing in third.
The 1975 North Carolina Tar Heels football team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the 1975 NCAA Division I football season. The Tar Heels were led by ninth-year head coach Bill Dooley and played their home games at Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill,North Carolina. They competed as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference,finishing in sixth.
The 1970 North Carolina Tar Heels football team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the 1970 NCAA University Division football season. The Tar Heels were led by fourth-year head coach Bill Dooley and played their home games at Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill,North Carolina. They competed as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference,finishing in second.
The 1967 North Carolina Tar Heels football team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the 1967 NCAA University Division football season. The Tar Heels were led by first-year head coach Bill Dooley and played their home games at Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill,North Carolina.
The 1945 North Carolina Tar Heels football team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the 1945 college football season. The Tar Heels were led by third-year head coach Carl Snavely,his first at UNC since 1935. North Carolina played their home games at Kenan Memorial Stadium and competed as a member of the Southern Conference.