UNC-Chapel Hill faculty are raising concerns about a lack of professors receiving tenure this year, especially in the College of Arts and Sciences.
In their most recent May meeting, the Board of Trustees approved tenure for a handful of professors, all within health affairs schools, including the School of Medicine, the School of Pharmacy, and the School of Nursing.
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Faculty Chair Beth Moracco is raising concerns about that decision, after other tenure appointments did not move forward.
In a letter to Chancellor Lee Roberts and Interim Provost James Dean, she calls the lack of action on tenure and promotion cases from professional schools and the College of Arts and Sciences “highly unusual.”
“This lack of personnel action has raised concerns and questions among faculty, and it has implications for the University’s hiring, retention, teaching, and planning—particularly with respect to untenured faculty whose contracts expire on June 30 and to faculty expecting tenure decisions this academic year,” Moracco writes.
Moracco argues the situation jeopardizes Carolina’s ability to recruit and retain high-quality faculty.
Tenured Biology Professor Mark Peifer agreed.
"UNC isn't unusual in having a process of tenure and promotion. That is the standard procedure in colleges and universities across the country,” Peifer said. "There are reasons for it that have to do with academic freedom, that we're not rejecting people because of things that don't have to do with their scholarship."
He argues without tenure as a possibility, UNC won’t be able to compete.
“If we want to hire employees, the best faculty to teach our undergraduates and to do exciting research that benefits everybody in North Carolina, then we need to be providing people with the same future as they would be provided at any other university,” Peifer said.
Peifer has worked at UNC since 1992, and his children both attended the school.
He emphasizes he loves his job and his university, but he’s increasingly concerned.
“I see the future of that university threatened in a way that I never imagined was possible,” Peifer said.
Data shows drop
Data from the Board of Trustees’ website shows the number of tenure recipients is down.
In 2023, 88 people received tenure, 25 of them in the College of Arts and Sciences.
In 2024, 79 received tenure, 28 in the College of Arts and Sciences.
The total for 2025 so far is 31, with 0 in the College of Arts and Sciences. That number, at about the mid-year point, is lower than 2023’s mid-year total of 47, and 2024’s mid-year total of 57.
UNC Administration’s response
UNC Chapel Hill officials shared a letter sent by Interim Provost Dean on May 23rd.
In it, Dean instructs any assistant professors under review for tenure to notify their faculty member of the deferral, and their current appointment will remain in place.
For new appointments pending Board approval, UNC is offering two options: first, a one-year nominated appointment beginning on the originally planned start date, which one be non-tenured and could be converted later, or second, to defer the start date of the appointment to January 1 or July 1 of 2026.
“I understand the stress this ongoing uncertainty places on affected faculty members and the schools and departments that support them. Your continued partnership is vital, and I appreciate your efforts to provide reassurance and clear communication within your units,” Dean wrote. “I will continue to advocate for resolution and am confident that these votes will be taken at the next Board of Trustees’ meeting.”
The broader financial picture
These discussions over tenure issues come at a time of financial uncertainty for higher education institutions in North Carolina and around the country.
At Harvard, the Trump administration is cutting $100 million in federal funding.
The North Carolina Legislature’s budget proposals consider cuts to higher education spending.
In April, System President Peter Hans urged UNC schools to tighten their belts.
“I will be directing a reduction in administrative costs at those institutions where spending growth is outpacing state salary adjustments and increases or declines in student credit hours,” Hans told the UNC System Board of Governors.
NC State instituted a hiring freeze in February.
In March, UNC Chapel Hill's CFO and Vice Chancellor Nathan Knuffman told Trustees they have to focus on cost control, especially around hiring.
"That's the biggest cost center we have in terms of our budget when you look at that,” Knuffman said. “So, much more scrutiny and review of new hiring and personnel actions, especially the more expensive ones."
In a statement, UNC Chapel Hill officials tell WRAL the University remains committed to recruiting and retaining top faculty, and nothing has changed in the tenure policies.
“Tenure-track faculty across the University, including those in the college of arts and sciences, are eligible for tenure. The exact timing of tenure awards is subject to a number of variables that our Board of Trustees and administration may consider with any recommended appointments,” a system spokesperson wrote in a statement.
WRAL has reached out to each Trustee for comment but has not heard back.