Dean’s List: When will UNC System’s four ongoing chancellor searches be completed?
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The committee tasked with finding the 13th chancellor of UNC-Chapel Hill will meet for the first time Thursday, officially kicking off a search process that is expected to last at least several months.
The meeting comes a little more than a month after UNC System President Peter Hans appointed the 13-member committee, which includes university governing board members, alumni and representatives of the student body, faculty and staff.
While the search at UNC is just beginning, chancellor searches at three other UNC System universities are well underway. So, where in the process do each of the searches stand, and when are they expected to be completed?
Welcome to Dean’s List, a weekly roundup of higher education news in the Triangle and across North Carolina from The News & Observer and myself, Korie Dean.
This week’s edition includes information about the four ongoing chancellor searches across the UNC System, a faculty vote against the provost of UNC Greensboro and a prominent North Carolina judge joining the Elon University School of Law.
Progress updates for UNC System chancellor searches
The search for a new chancellor at North Carolina A&T State University, the country’s largest historically Black university, began in October, following Chancellor Harold Martin announcing in September that he would retire by the end of the academic year.
The committee met for the first time in November, when Hans delivered his charge to the group. He said at the time that the committee’s goal is to complete the search by the end of the academic year, coinciding with Martin’s departure.
“While it is far more important to get the right person than adhere strictly to a timetable, I’m confident that we can work thoughtfully and efficiently toward the goal of me recommending a nominee to the UNC Board of Governors for election by the end of the spring semester,” Hans’ charge stated.
The committee has met three additional times since November, and the university held several listening sessions for students, alumni, faculty, staff and the community in January. The university also selected Storbeck Search, a national search firm, to assist in the process.
A summary of the job, called a leadership profile, became available in early February. The priority deadline for candidates to apply was Feb. 29, and the committee is expected to review and interview candidates through April.
More information about the search for NC A&T’s next chancellor is available on the university’s website.
The search for a new chancellor at Winston-Salem State University kicked off in December. Former Chancellor Elwood Robinson retired last summer, and Anthony Graham, who had been serving as the university’s provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, has filled the role on an interim basis since that time.
The search committee met for the first time in January, with Hans telling the group that its goal should be to complete the search by the end of the spring semester.
Also in January, the committee launched an online survey to gather input on the search and held listening sessions with university stakeholders.
The committee is expected to review applicants through the end of April. Hans is expected to nominate a candidate to the Board of Governors for its approval in May.
More information about the search for Winston-Salem State’s next chancellor is available on the university’s website.
The search for NC Central University’s next chancellor began in late January, after Chancellor Johnson Akinleye announced he would retire by the end of the academic year.
When he gave the committee its charge in February, Hans said the committee should aim to complete the search “prior to Chancellor Akinleye’s retirement.”
“This will ensure a smooth transition before the start of the fall 2024 semester,” Hans said.
The committee held several listening sessions for stakeholders in February. The leadership profile for candidates was released earlier this month.
More information about the search for NC Central’s next chancellor is available on the university’s website.
At the UNC-Chapel Hill search committee meeting Thursday, Hans should provide a rough timeline for the group to complete its work.
More information about the search for UNC’s next chancellor is available on the university’s website.
UNCG faculty vote no confidence in provost
The fallout over a controversial review of academic programs at UNC Greensboro continues.
Last week, marking the second time in three months that they have done so, faculty voiced their disapproval of Provost Debbie Storrs and her management of the academic portfolio review (APR), which resulted in 20 programs being cut from the university’s future offerings.
In January, 25 members of the university’s Faculty Senate, an elected body representing the larger university faculty, voted to censure Chancellor Franklin Gilliam and Storrs for “not initiating consultation with the Senate at the start of the [review] process and not providing a clear rationale of the choice of program closures.”
And last week, about 180 members of the larger general faculty voted to express that they “no longer have confidence” in Storrs.
“The past two years have been characterized by a devaluation of professional track faculty, a breakdown in shared governance, and low faculty and staff morale,” the no-confidence resolution stated. “The APR process, as managed by the Provost, has provided no clear plan for the university’s financial security or vision for the university’s future.”
There were 800 faculty eligible to vote, according to Gilliam, and 339 chose to do so. Of those voters, 53% voted in favor and 47% voted against the measure. The vote was symbolic and does not place Storrs’ job in jeopardy, as was also the case with the censure vote.
Gilliam voiced his support of Storrs after the vote, saying he was proud to stand with her.
“Provost Storrs’ exemplary leadership in the portfolio review sets a high bar for our institutional assessments,” he said. “She has been collaborative, proactive, and engaging throughout the review process, which stands out for its scope and demands.”
Cheri Beasley joins Elon School of Law
Cheri Beasley, the first Black woman to serve as chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, has joined the Elon University School of Law in an endowed professorship named for the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.
Beasley will be the first person to hold the professorship, which was established to bring to Elon “distinguished legal figures whose contributions to society reflect the tenets and values of” O’Connor, an announcement last month said.
Saying she was honored to serve in the role, Beasley called O’Connor — the first woman to serve on the nation’s highest court — a maverick, trailblazer and “literally one of a kind.”
In the role, Beasley will teach courses on appellate practice, deliver a public lecture and contribute to professional development opportunities for students and faculty.
“I’m really excited about being a part of the Elon Law family,” Beasley said. “Elon Law students really have the whole world ahead of them. There are a wealth of opportunities available, and I’m excited about working together on leadership development and watching them succeed. This is going to be a fruitful relationship and I look forward to being a part of the community.”
Beasley began her legal career as a public defender in Cumberland County before becoming a district court judge in 1999. She was elected in 2008 as an associate judge on the state Court of Appeals, then appointed in 2012 to the state Supreme Court. Gov. Roy Cooper appointed Beasley chief justice in 2019. She ran to represent North Carolina in the U.S. Senate in 2022, and won the Democratic nomination but lost the race.
“We are so lucky to have Chief Justice Beasley join our law school community,” Elon Law Dean Zak Kramer said. “At every step of her career, Chief Justice Beasley has made service the foundation of her work. I can’t think of a better person to guide our students as they prepare to enter the legal profession.”
Higher ed news I’m reading
A man who spent 23 years in a North Carolina prison was exonerated and freed after a Duke Law School professor and his students in the university’s Wrongful Convictions Clinic presented evidence challenging the conviction, The N&O’s Kristen Johnson reports.
This week marks 50 years since nearly 1,000 UNC-Chapel Hill students streaked across campus and broke the national record for public nudity. The N&O’s Josh Shaffer takes us back to a “giddy chapter of collegiate history” that saw one campus after another across the state “shed its clothes en masse.”
Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives are floating a bill they say would bolster free expression on college campuses, but critics say it would restrict schools’ ability to limit hate speech, Inside Higher Ed reports.
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That’s all for this week’s roundup of North Carolina higher education news. I hope you’ll stay tuned for more.
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