Judge Sides With UNC in Chavis Discrimination Case

A district judge has said there isn’t sufficient evidence to show that the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill discriminated against former economics professor Larry Chavis when it fired him in 2024. 

Chavis alleged in September 2024 that UNC didn’t renew his contract because he criticized the institution for secretly recording his classes and for its position on diversity, equity and inclusion.  

Last week, Catherine C. Eagles, chief judge for the Middle District of North Carolina, issued a summary judgment in favor of UNC saying that poor teaching evaluations were the basis of UNC’s decision to not renew Chavis’s contract, not racial discrimination or retaliation for his public statements. 

“Multiple students reported that Dr. Chavis was using class time on subjects well outside the syllabus, and classroom observations by other faculty substantiated those reports,” Eagles wrote in her opinion. “Several students credibly reported that his teaching methods caused some students to fear embarrassment and retaliation based on required class participation.”

She also cited an internal evaluation showing that Chavis did not follow UNC’s procedure for changing his course content. “Those are valid reasons for not renewing a professor’s contract,” she said. 

Chavis is a member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and was an outspoken advocate for Indigenous and LGBTQ+ rights. He had taught in the UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School on a yearly contract since 2006.