UNC-Chapel Hill trustee John Preyer steps down from university board

John Preyer has stepped down from the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees, The News & Observer has learned.

Trustee Marty Kotis told The N&O on Thursday that Preyer announced the decision in a letter sent Jan. 8 to university secretary Chris McClure, saying he would resign as of the end of the day on Jan. 9.

“I’ve never felt better about the direction of the University and its leadership and am lucky to have played a small role in helping make it the #1 public university in the world,” Preyer wrote in the letter obtained by The N&O.

“Thank you for your help along the way these past several years,” added Preyer, a former chair of the board.

The News & Observer couldn’t immediately reach Preyer by phone and text.

Kotis told The N&O in a phone interview on Thursday evening that Preyer was not asked to step down. Kotis said the UNC Board of Governors, which appointed Preyer, has been notified.

“He’s got a very important position with his company that requires a fair amount of attention, and that was a significant factor” in Preyer stepping down, Kotis said.

“It’s a huge loss for us. John has championed a lot of reforms for us,” Kotis said, including related to a budget deficit and the School of Civic Life and Leadership at UNC.

“John led with integrity, took on difficult issues directly, and trusted others to execute real change. UNC is stronger because of his leadership,” Kotis said.

Who is John Preyer?

Preyer is a co-founder of Restoration Systems, a Raleigh-based environmental mitigation company specializing in wetland, stream and habitat restoration. Preyer is the chief operating officer at Restoration Systems, according to LinkedIn.

Preyer is a UNC graduate who has served in multiple leadership and advisory roles at the university for more than a decade.

Preyer earned a political science degree from the university in 1990. He worked as legislative director for former U.S. Sen. Lauch Faircloth of North Carolina. Before joining the board of trustees, Preyer served on the UNC Institute for the Environment’s Board of Visitors from 2011 to 2020 and on the university’s Board of Visitors from 2012 to 2016.

He joined the Board of Trustees in 2019 and became chair in August 2023. Malcolm Turner took over as board chair in August 2025.

Preyer has said his service to UNC was driven by a desire to support the university’s academic and athletic missions and to “push Carolina to be excellent everywhere that it can be.”

During the more than two years he led the board of one of the UNC System’s largest and most prominent campuses, he faced turbulent waters.

That included leadership changes, legal battles and a saga involving Bill Belichick, the six-time Super Bowl-winning NFL coach hired to lead UNC’s football program on a $10 million annual salary — a move that drew scrutiny over the search process and trustees’ involvement. Belichick’s first season at UNC ended with eight losses.

Preyer played a prominent role in university governance and athletics oversight, including serving on the search committee that led to UNC hiring Belichick as its head football coach in December 2024.

Weeks later, UNC System President Peter Hans curtailed some trustee authority over athletics, citing concerns about governance and legal risk. The board was previously stripped of some of its authority over personnel actions through a memo sent in 2024 on the same day Lee Roberts became interim chancellor of the university, The N&O previously reported. That memo came from Hans and then-Board of Governors Chair Randy Ramsey.

The board has also faced lawsuits over transparency, including litigation alleging trustees violated North Carolina’s open-meetings law after they apparently discussed athletics and related financial matters in closed session. The lawsuit was later settled, and Preyer, as a requirement of that settlement, publicly committed to following the law at a Board of Trustees meeting in September 2024, The N&O reported.

Most recently, former UNC Provost Chris Clemens sued the Board of Trustees over a host of alleged violations of the state’s open-meetings and public-records laws, some involving messages sent by Preyer. UNC has denied the allegations, The N&O reported.

This story was originally published January 14, 2026 at 6:20 PM.