Friday, November 12, 2010

The Chancellor Search Committee for the University of North Carolina Wilmington met for the first time today, Friday, Nov. 12, 2010. UNC President-elect Thomas Ross charged the 16-member committee with its responsibilities.

Drawn from UNCW trustees, faculty, staff, alumni and community members, the committee will help select the university's next chancellor, with the goal of recommending finalists to the UNCW Board of Trustees in April 2011. Chancellor Rosemary DePaolo announced last month that she will retire June 30, 2011.

"This is the most important work you will ever be asked to do on behalf of any institution," Ross told the members of the committee. "Institutions have different trajectories, and the one for UNCW is up and has been for some time. You want to find someone who can build on that legacy and not be satisfied with where you are. You are a school of choice for many students and you want to remain that way."

Laying out criteria that he urged the committee to consider in its search for chancellor candidates, Ross included, first and foremost, a person of integrity who will foster trust within the campus and community; who can manage a large, complex institution; who is collaborative and can work with different people across diverse groups; who embraces the UNC system's UNC Tomorrow initiative; a colleague and partner who will assist the UNC president in making the best decisions; a leader who has a vision of the university beyond the current budget crisis; and who values the role of the faculty and staff and understands the academic mission, although not necessarily from an academic background.

"People who work in higher education are here because they're committed to the success of students and their growth," he said. "A university leader must truly value the work of faculty and staff; it's critical that those individuals are encouraged and valued in every way possible."

Wendy Murphy, '93 graduate in education and chair of the UNCW Board of Trustees, will serve as chair of the Chancellor Search Committee. She expressed to the committee the importance of its responsibility.

"We will have a role in selecting the next leader of UNCW, who will continue the course and take the university to an even higher level while maintaining the academic excellent this institution has seen under Chancellor DePaolo," she said. "Today we begin a new chapter in the history of UNCW."

In addition to Murphy, members of the search committee are:

Trustees
• Terry Coffey, committee vice chair, immediate past chair of the BOT
• Wilma Daniels, trustee and local businesswoman
• Sandy McNeill, former BOT chair and local businessman
• Linda Pearce, trustee and BOT secretary, local nonprofit and community leader
• Michael Shivar, trustee, parent of alumna and former member, Board of Visitors (BOV)
• George Teague, vice chair (chair-elect) of BOT, parent of alumni, former member BOV

Student
• Matt Victory, trustee and Student Government Association president

Faculty/Staff
• Bruce McKinney, chair of Faculty Senate, faculty member Communication Studies
• Tony Puente, 2009 Faculty Award for Scholarship; faculty member Psychology
• Susan Ivancevich, 2009 Chancellor's Teaching Excellence Award; faculty member Accountancy and Business Law
• Paul Hosier, former provost, faculty member Biology and Marine Biology
• Nancy Jones, former chair Staff Senate, staff member Watson School of Education

Alumni
• Jason Wheeler, former chair Alumni Association, '99, '03 Business

Community
• Estell Lee Harrelson, former BOT member and chair; Alumni Association; Seahawk Club; UNCW Foundation
• Charles Evans, former BOT member and chair; parent of alumnus; former member of UNC Board of Governors and NC House

At the meeting, the committee identified its first three major tasks: (1) hold constituent forums to solicit input and guidance from both the campus and general community, (2) develop a leadership statement that will guide the process and specify the qualities being sought in candidates, and (3)select a search firm to help the committee identify highly qualified candidates. Two subcommittees were formed; one will focus on the process of selecting a search firm, and the other will develop the leadership statement and organize the forums.

Dates, times and locations of public forums, along with the schedule for committee and subcommittee meetings, will be communicated. All meetings will be open to the public unless they are for the purpose of discussing individual candidates. In those cases, the committee will go into closed session to protect confidentiality as required under NC law.

The committee is charged with recommending its top candidates to the UNCW Board of Trustees. The trustees, in turn, will forward the names of at least two nominees to UNC system President-elect Ross. Ross will present his recommendation to the full UNC Board of Governors for final consideration and approval.

Media contact:
Dana Fischetti, media relations manager, 910.508.3127 or fischettid@uncw.edu

Photo caption: UNC President-elect Thomas Ross, right, charged the UNCW Chancellor Search Committee at its first meeting, Friday, Nov. 12, 2010. Also pictured is George Teague, current vice chair and president-elect of the UNCW Board of Trustees and a member of the search committee. UNCW/Caroline Cropp