Lee H. Roberts is the 13th chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, appointed on August 9, 2024, having served as interim chancellor since January 2024.

As Chancellor, Roberts is the chief executive of the first public university in the United States, overseeing a $4.5 billion budget, approximately 34,000 students, 4,500 faculty, and 10,000 staff at UNC-Chapel Hill, a global R1 research university and member of the American Association of Universities, generating $1.55 billion in annual research funding.

Chancellor Roberts has placed priorities on initiatives that will help graduating Tar Heels find success and support researchers, faculty, and staff in the areas of generative AI, applied sciences, enrollment growth, and campus master planning, among others.

A longtime advocate for higher education and public service, Roberts served as North Carolina’s state budget director under Governor Pat McCrory (2014–2016), leading efforts such as the $2 billion Connect NC bond for university infrastructure. He has been a member of the UNC System Board of Governors (chairing its budget committee), the State Board of Community Colleges, the North Carolina Banking Commission, and the Golden LEAF Foundation, which supports educational and economic opportunities in rural North Carolina. For five years, he taught public budgeting at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy and previously served on its Board of Visitors.

Before becoming interim chancellor, Roberts was the co-founder and managing partner of SharpVue Capital, a North Carolina private investment firm that specializes in stewarding institutional funds and growing local economies. He has spent the bulk of his career in finance, beginning in investment banking and later moving into private investments.

Roberts has a Bachelor of Arts from Duke University (Political Science, 1990) and a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University (1994).