Lee Harriss Roberts[1] (born 1968) is the 13th chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill since January 2024. Before the chancellorship,he spent 30 years working in the financial industry.
He has faced controversies from UNC students and faculty over his appointment as chancellor and his policy of dissolving pro-Palestine protests on campus.
Roberts spent 30 years working in the finance industry. He was a partner at Cherokee Investment Partners and spent nine years with Morgan Stanley,where,among other projects,he helped guide financing for the $1.6 billion Africa ONE fiber network,the $2.2 billion Mumbai Trans Harbour Link,and the $5 billion World Trade Center site redevelopment.[3] He then became managing director of Piedmont Community Bank Holdings.[4] From 2014 to 2016,he was the budget director for North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory.,[2] where his office oversaw more than $40 billion in spending.[5] He then[when?] founded SharpVue Capital,a private investment firm in Raleigh.[2] From 2019 until 2024,he taught budgeting as an adjunct instructor in the Duke University Sanford School of Public Policy.[6]
Since 2019,Roberts has served on the corporate board of Variety Wholesalers,a retail-store company owned by Art Pope,a prominent conservative donor.[7]
From 2021 to 2024,[8] Roberts served as a member of the UNC System Board of Governors and chair of its budget committee.[9][10]
UNC Chapel Hill
Appointment
On December 15,2023,the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill announced that Roberts would succeed then chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz (who left to serve as the 22nd president of Michigan State University) as the interim chancellor of UNC Chapel Hill.[2] Roberts described his motivation as stemming from a "family tradition of public service" and his deep commitment to North Carolina,which he first moved to at age 17.[2]
On August 9,2024,the UNC System Board of Governors appointed Roberts as the 13th chancellor and 31st leader of UNC Chapel Hill after serving 7 months as interim chancellor. The selection process for Roberts' appointment faced criticism from members of the student body.[11][12]
Response to appointment
Lee Roberts (right) makes an impromptu appearance at the TransparUNCy Teach-in:Part 2 on April 4th,2024.
On January 12,2024,a coalition of student groups published an op-ed titled "UNC deserves better,Lee Roberts ain't it" on the university's student newspaper The Daily Tar Heel. The article highlighted 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.[11]
A month later,in February 2024,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.[13] 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.[7]
In early April 2024,a student group was formed in opposition to Roberts' chancellorship,TransparUNCy.[14] Alexander Denza,a UNC student activist and TransparUNCy organizer,questioned the motivations behind accelerated timeline of the search,which was initially expected to conclude by the end of the year.[15] Denza characterized the rapid narrowing of candidates from a broad pool to a final selection within a few weeks as "rigged".[16] At a TransparUNCy meeting session in April 2024,Roberts made an appearance where he reaffirmed his commitment to nonpartisanship to the crowd.[17][18]
On May 11 during the 2024 spring commencement ceremony,Roberts was met with boos by the audience during his speech after saying,"Carolina doesn't belong to you." He continued on to say "It sure doesn't belong to me. It doesn't belong to any one person or group."[19] During the ceremony,students walked towards the stage holding Palestinian flags and were escorted out by the police.[20]
Amid the 2024 spring commencement ceremony,a Pro-Palestine student-led protest occurred at the South Building on Campus. One student leader called the protest "The People's Graduation," "to commemorate suspended seniors who were involved in the Triangle Gaza Solidarity Encampment."[20] As part of this protest,red paint was poured on the steps of the South Building and red handprints were pressed on the outside of the building.[20]
Two photoshopped images depicting Lee Roberts in a confederate army uniform standing in front of a confederate flag were taped to the doors of the South Building. A handwritten poster on the doors contained the words,"Lee Roberts is a pig. On a monumental &historic day,our chancellor has shown his true colors. Rather than support the student body,he supports genocide. He shuts down the Campus Y,brutalizes peaceful protestors on a power trip,&becomes a symbol of hate,tyranny,&oppression. His despicable actions humiliate our school,its students,&its values. In no world is he fit to lead. F--- Lee Roberts &everything he stands for."[21][22] Another protestor wrote "Lee Roberts is a fascist" in black marker on the window of the building.[23]
Faculty members also expressed concerns regarding his chancellorship. Sue Estroff,a member of the UNC Faculty Executive Committee,stated weeks before the official appointment of Roberts,"I fear that the chancellor search is already over,and I don't have a lot of confidence in the process."[15] Roberts was condemned by nearly 900 faculty and staff members in a joint letter,which criticized creating a "militarized and unsafe climate" on campus.[24]
During chancellorship
On December 9,2024,8-time Super Bowl winning coach Bill Belichick appeared on The Pat McAfee Show and responded to rumors he was being considered for the UNC head coaching job:"I've had the opportunity to talk to Chancellor Roberts,and we've had a couple of good conversations. So we'll see how it goes."[25] Two days later on December 11,2024,Roberts and Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham announced that Belichick had been hired on a five-year contract. Speaking to WUNC,Board of Trustees member Jennifer Lloyd said of Roberts,"He has shown bold leadership. This was his process,at the end of the day,working closely with Bubba and other members of the committee... but Chancellor Roberts deserves virtually all of the credit,ultimately,for taking this risk and making this commitment."[26]
On January 24,2025,early in the second Trump administration,Roberts attended a Faculty Council Meeting at which he was asked by Allison Schlobohm (then-clinical associate professor of management and corporate communication at the UNC business school) how the university would respond to changes in immigration law. "I would just like to know," Schlobohm said,"if we're asked to identify undocumented students,what will we say?" Roberts replied:"If we're asked by law enforcement,we're going to comply with any requests from law enforcement about that or anything else."[27][28]
On February 5,2025,Approximately 150 students and staff gathered to protest Roberts' response to the question outside of the South Building. The protest was organized,in part,by TransparUNCy. It featured music and cultural heritage celebrations from Mexico and Central America.[29] In her column titled "For UNC,institutional neutrality is complicity with Trump and ICE" in The Daily Tar Heel,student journalist Maggie Mead referred to Lee Roberts' response as "reprehensible."[30]
Personal life
Lee H. Roberts is married to Liza Roberts,a journalist and founding editor of Walter Magazine.[31] The couple met in 1985,got married in 1997,[32] and have three children together.[33]
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