Ex-UNC provost suing over trustees’ Signal messages allegedly used the app himself
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- Ex-provost Chris Clemens sued UNC over Signal app use for board discussions.
- Screenshots suggest Clemens also used Signal with auto-delete for UNC business.
- Lawsuit argues auto-deleting messages on Signal may violate state records law.
Former UNC-Chapel Hill Provost Chris Clemens sued the university and its Board of Trustees on Monday, accusing them of a host of activity that would violate state law on open meetings and public records.
In one of the lawsuit’s claims, Clemens alleges “trustees and senior staff have repeatedly relied on off-channel, auto-deleting communications to discuss controversial or consequential Board matters.” The suit alleges such communications often take place on Signal, an encrypted messaging platform that includes a feature in which users can set messages to automatically delete after the recipient has viewed them.
But two sources with knowledge of the situation told The News & Observer the former provost has used Signal himself. And screenshots obtained and reviewed by The N&O appear to show Clemens doing so this year to discuss university business, with the auto-delete function on.
However, the screenshots do not show who set the messages to auto-delete — Clemens or another user.
On Signal, users can set all of their messages to auto-delete by default, or they can choose to enable the function for individual conversations. Regardless of who enabled the auto-delete function, it applies to all users’ messages in the chat. Any user in one-on-one chats can change the settings.
State law prohibits public officials from deleting or destroying public records unless approved by the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. The suit alleges using auto-delete functions to discuss or conduct public business is a violation of that law.
A professor in the university’s School of Civic Life and Leadership alleges Clemens is a “devoted” user of the app.
“It is an open secret that Clemens is UNC’s most devoted user of the Signal messaging app. In fact, he promoted the use of the app at UNC while he was an administrator,” professor Dustin Sebell told The N&O. “Someone should ask Chris if he ever advised board members to use Signal, before suing them for allegedly taking his bad advice.”
David McKenzie, the attorney who is representing Clemens in the case, said in a statement to The N&O: “I don’t comment on statements made by a University employee who is not a party to Dr. Clemens’ lawsuit and who does not speak for UNC.”
Sebell’s comments aren’t the first time he has criticized Clemens. He previously accused Clemens, who was still provost at the time, of “improper” conduct in hiring processes at the School of Civic Life, The Assembly reported, citing a March email in which Sebell expressed those concerns to multiple senior leaders at the university. The School of Civic Life is currently facing an outside investigation after months of upheaval and controversy.
Clemens’ lawsuit does not call into question the use of Signal itself, instead alleging only that the use of “ephemeral,” or auto-deleting, messages for public business is a violation of state law because it would constitute the deletion of public records.
The lawsuit also makes several claims about issues beyond messaging apps — namely, that the Board of Trustees has, on multiple occasions, met in closed session to discuss and deliberate matters that are not outlined in state law as permissible reasons for a public body to meet in private.
Among other relief, Clemens is asking for a judgment that would declare the use of auto-delete functions to conduct or discuss public business illegal, and prohibit the board from using them.
Marty Kotis, a UNC trustee named in Clemens’ lawsuit, criticized the complaint in a statement to The N&O.
“Like Machiavelli in exile, he’s rewriting the story to cast himself as a victim turned savior — a classic move when power is lost,” Kotis said. Noting the ongoing investigation into the School of Civic Life, Kotis said “the timing of this lawsuit looks more like a calculated play than a principled stand.”
But Kotis, who communicated with Clemens regularly last year, said he did not recall speaking with Clemens through Signal and did not have knowledge of the former provost using the app. Most of the time the pair spoke through texts, emails and phone calls, said Kotis, who chaired the board’s strategic initiatives committee, for which Clemens was a “liaison.”
UNC spokesperson Kevin Best said in a statement: “We’re aware of the litigation and are reviewing it closely. As this is an active legal matter, the University will not provide comment while the case is pending.”
Board of Trustees Chair Malcolm Turner on Wednesday released a statement on the lawsuit.
“The former Provost’s baseless assault on this volunteer Board and how it conducts its business stands in stark contrast to the widely recognized excellence the University has achieved under this Board’s leadership,” Turner said. “His allegations are disappointing and inaccurate, not to mention a waste of taxpayer dollars, for which this former officer of the University shows no regard. His claims will not withstand scrutiny.”
This story was originally published September 23, 2025 at 5:37 PM with the headline "Ex-UNC provost suing over trustees’ Signal messages allegedly used the app himself."
