There are a few moments in the life of a university where an event overtakes the local and national narrative about who and what your campus represents. When the news broke in 2010 of an academic scandal on the campus of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill involving the football team, few knew that the issue would eventually expand to include over 3100 students and student-athletes taking 200 classes offered by the African and Afro-American Studies Department. Among many other outcomes, UNC Chapel Hill was put on probation by the regional accreditation association, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Several years later, both the NCAA and the SACS deferred on whether to hold the institution in violation of their bylaws.

My guest today is Holden Thorp. He was the 10th Chancellor at UNC-Chapel Hill from 2008-2013. Currently, he is the Editor-in-Chief of the Science family of journals since 2019. He came to Science from Washington University, where he was provost from 2013 to 2019, and where he is Rita Levi-Montalcini Distinguished University Professor and holds appointments in both chemistry and medicine. He is a venture partner at Hatteras Venture Partners, a consultant to Ancora, and is on the board of directors of PBS, the College Advising Corps, and Artizan Biosciences.

He talks frankly about what presidents and trustees should know about college athletics. It's an eye opening conversation.