An Orange County judge heard arguments Tuesday in a case over whether the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill must publicly release the parts or all of an outside investigation into its School of Civic Life and Leadership. 

The school, known as SciLL, came under scrutiny by some university faculty members over the recruiting and retention of faculty. As a result, university leaders launched an independent investigation into claims against the university.

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WRAL and other media outlets have sued the university, seeking release of its seven-month, $1.2-million investigation. UNC has only released statements about its findings, citing sensitive and confidential personnel information that, the university argues, is protected by state law and university policy as reasons not to offer the full report from law firm K&L Gates.

WRAL’s parent company and companies representing other local media outlets contend in the lawsuit that the report was made at the request of, paid for by, and received by the university, making it a public record. Some students and faculty, too, have pushed for the findings to be public.

UNC and the media companies have asked for summary judgement in the case. After about 45 minutes of arguments, Superior Court Judge John Morris told the parties that he likely wouldn’t have a decision this week.

“It will be an intensive legal inquiry and review,” Morris said.

Paul Newton, UNC's general counsel, said the university remains confident in its position.

"As a public university, we take seriously our responsibility to consistently and completely respond to public records requests in good faith, in a timely manner, and in accordance with the law," Newton said in a statement to WRAL after the hearing.

Lawyers for UNC argued that the entire 400-plus page report should be shielded from the public because it fits under several exemptions provided by state law. They argued that it falls under exemptions for materials prepared for trial, attorney-client privilege, information covered by the state’s Human Resources Act and nonprofit donor information.

“Unsurprisingly,” the university said in its briefs, “the contents of the report — prepared by legal counsel for the university to evaluate potential legal claims involving university employees, applicants, and donors — fall within the scope of information the General Assembly has deemed beyond the reach of the Public Records Act.”

WRAL and the other media outlets are asking the court to examine the report to determine what parts, if any, should be excluded from the public.

“The Court should conduct an in-camera review of the report to exercise oversight to determine if defendants have complied with their obligation under the Public Records Act, whether any portion of the report have been permissibly withheld and why, which portions of the report the defendants should be compelled to produce for inspection and copying, and whether plaintiffs are entitled to an award of fees,” the media organizations wrote. 

The review of the School of Civic Life and Leadership concluded in early 2026.

UNC General Counsel Paul Newton said at that time that it had “unwavering confidence in the comprehensiveness, integrity and objectivity of that review.” He said the university remains “fully confident in the continued strength and success of SCiLL” under the leadership of Dean Jed Atkins.

Mike Tadych, a lawyer for the media organizations, said the university could release the report to help the public better understand its findings.

"Having spent a million dollars plus on a report and having this new school created, it engenders some controversy," Tadych said. "And if this report addresses that, then why shouldn't the public be able to that?"

In May, the university announced that SCiLL would become an independent academic unit for the 2026-27 school year. It had been established within the College of Arts and Sciences. SCiLL has recruited more than 20 faculty members and expanded its offerings.

UNC says that the school educates students to “think critically, exercise judgement, lead wisely, deliberate across differences, and live with purpose in our pluralistic democracy.”

In court documents, UNC said that it commissioned the review because “between February 2023 to the spring of 2025, both the faculty as a whole and specific individual faculty members raised concerns regarding SCiLL’s creation, the recruitment and retention of faculty, and other issues. Those concerns included allegations that, if true, could give rise to claims against the University.” 

The creation of the school in 2023 drew criticism from some faculty, but the UNC Board of Trustees pushed for an accelerated timetable at the time.

The Republican-led state legislature approved $5 million in recurring funds earlier this year to support the school.