Lee Roberts has been named UNC-Chapel Hill's new chancellor after serving as interim

UNC System President Peter Hans selected Lee Roberts on Friday to be UNC-Chapel Hill's permanent chancellor, elevating a former finance executive and state budget director to lead the state's flagship university.

Why it matters: Roberts, whose only experience in higher education came as the interim chancellor of UNC for the past seven months, will now be tasked with leading a campus with more than 30,000 students and more than 4,200 faculty members.

Background: Roberts, who has an undergraduate degree from Duke University and a law degree from Georgetown University, is the co-founder of the Raleigh investment firm SharpVue Capital.

• He was appointed to the UNC Board of Governors in 2021 and was state budget director under Gov. Pat McCrory from 2014-2016.

Driving the news: UNC System President Peter Hans selected Roberts over three other unnamed candidates.

• "He has a deep respect for the university's traditions and excellence, but also a conviction that Carolina has room to grow and improve," Hans said in a statement.

Between the lines: In his short time as interim, Roberts won approval from influential Republicans in the state that have large sway over the UNC System's Board of Governors, including state Senate leader Phil Berger — especially for his how he handled Pro-Palestinian protests on campus .

• But those protests, particularly a decision to temporarily close the Campus Y, home to many social groups on campus, led to pushback from many faculty members and students on campus, The News & Observer previously reported .

By the numbers: Roberts will be UNC's 13th chancellor in its nearly 235-year history.

• He follows Kevin Guskiewicz, who left last year for Michigan State, and will be the school's fourth chancellor since 2013 .

Sign up for Axios Raleigh for free.