Dear Mr. Stevens and Members of the Board of Trustees (BoT):

We the undersigned are parents of UNC students. We join the chorus of faculty urging you to immediately approve the appointment of Nikole Hannah-Jones as a full professor with tenure.

We are gravely concerned that your decision has politicized the tenure process and caused an exodus of talented faculty and students from UNC’s campus, depriving our children from learning from and with those talented members of the academy. This condition therefore undermines the prestige of our children’s academic degrees. More importantly, it sends the message to UNC’s remaining students and faculty that this institution is a place where scholarship about controversial ideas, including the history and current role of racism in the United States, cannot be critically examined and debated.

You have the power to stop this intellectual hemorrhage by acting today with a vote in favor of Ms. Hannah-Jones’ appointment with tenure, following the recommendations of the Hussman School faculty and UNC administration.

Signed,