Roberts named chancellor at nation's oldest public university

(The Center Square) – Lee Roberts, the founder of a Raleigh private investment firm, is the new chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the state’s flagship university.

The UNC system board of governors on Friday voted unanimously to approve Roberts, removing the interim tag he has held since Jan. 12. He succeeds Kevin Guskiewicz, who left the nation's oldest public university to be president at Michigan State.

Roberts was chosen over nearly 60 other qualified candidates after a six-month national search. He is the son of journalists Steven Roberts and the late Cokie Roberts.

Roberts presided at graduation in May, gaining admiration and respect for handling demonstrations on campus tied to the war between Hamas and Israel just weeks prior.

On Friday, UNC System President Peter Hans praised Roberts for demonstrating “a willingness to listen, to learn, to approach difficult moments. I have a deep respect for those who invite dissenting opinions and make a point of engaging with thoughtful critics. Roberts has demonstrated that instinct time and again.”

Although Roberts was invited to appear on national television to discuss the protests, he declined, Hans said.

“Instead, he sat for a thoughtful interview with Chapel Hill’s local radio station and reached out to town leaders, spent hours meeting with concerned faculty and students,” Hans said. “He kept his focus where it needed to be, not on himself but on the university.”

Roberts said the university “maintained a healthy and constructive dialogue with students and others who came to our campus to make their voices heard. This is our consistent tradition and practice, as the principle of free speech is enshrined in the North Carolina Constitution.”

Roberts served on the UNC System Board of Governors for five years and chaired its budget committee. He also taught budgeting at his alma mater, Duke University, where he earned an undergraduate degree in political science.

Roberts went on to earn a law degree at Georgetown University and later was a cofounder of SharpVue Capital, a private investment firm in Raleigh.

In 2014, Roberts became the budget director for Republican Gov. Pat McCrory and helped guide a $2 billion bond issue, Connect NC, for the university.

“A billion dollars of that went to higher education, new projects across the UNC system,” Roberts said in a statement after his appointment as interim chancellor.

The UNC System has 17 campuses. Sixteen of those are colleges and universities; another is the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics.