UNC School of Civic Life and Leadership to become independent academic unit

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill announced that its School of Civic Life and Leadership will become an independent academic unit this fall. 

The move will make it the university's 15th independent academic unit.

Gabriella Neyman, spokesperson for UNC-Chapel Hill, explained, "The School of Civic Life and Leadership will function the same as every other school at the university. Independent units have the ability to create distinct internal policies, provided they do not conflict with overall University or system policies."

University trustees approved the creation of the school in 2023 under the College of Arts and Sciences to allow for “the freedom of expression and ideas and exchange of ideas,” Dave Boliek, then the board’s chairman, told Fox News at the time. Boliek later said that “no one should feel they have to bury their ideological point of view, particularly at a great institution like UNC-Chapel Hill.” The school began offering classes in 2024.

“Creating a dedicated academic home for SCiLL strengthens our ability to integrate civic learning into the broader educational experience,” said Magnus Egerstedt, executive vice chancellor and provost. “It enables innovation in teaching and research while reinforcing our mission to prepare students to contribute constructively to society.” 

Over the past two years, the SCiLL has recruited more than 20 faculty members and expanded its academic offerings and campus programming. Nearly 1,000 students enrolled in SCiLL courses and in a single semester the number of students declaring SCiLL as a minor grew by more than 90%. 

The school has also expanded beyond the classroom with a civil discourse residential community, a summer civics institute for high school educators and students and a public fellows program. 

The transition of SCiLL as an independent school will continue its development and broaden its reach, Chancellor Lee H. Roberts said. 

“This is an important step in strengthening Carolina’s commitment to preparing students for thoughtful engagement in civic life,” Roberts said. “By establishing SCiLL as an independent unit, we are ensuring it has the focus and support needed to continue expanding its impact.” 

The SCiLL was the subject of a seven-month independent review commissioned by the university. The university has refused to release the full $1.2 million report, citing attorney-client privilege and privacy concerns among those who spoke to the outside reviewers.

In April, WRAL and other local media outlets, including The Daily Tar Heel, filed a lawsuit against the university, seeking the public release of the 400-page report.

The report, which started in the summer of 2025, was produced by law firm K&L Gates and paid for by the university. The lawsuit states that no one at the “university has offered a reasonable or persuasive explanation or justification for the University’s refusal to release the report, in whole or part.”

According to the lawsuit, the school’s critics have said that the school’s  “very establishment, the process by which it was established, and many of the actions taken by its appointed leader, Dean Jed Atkins, have violated UNC academic policies, traditions, and procedures related to curriculum, hiring, faculty tenure and status, faculty governance and funding,” according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit states that because the report “was made at the request of and on behalf of the University, was paid for by the University out of public funds, and was received by the University” is a public record as defined by state law.

The SCiLL announcement comes as UNC Chapel Hill is expanding with a second campus - a 250-acre space called Carolina North. 

The campus, which will be off Martin Luther King Junior Boulevard in Chapel Hill, is less than two miles north of the flagship campus at the site of the former Horace Williams Airport, which closed to the public in 2018.