Panel will begin work next month to identify candidates to lead UNCA
RALEIGH, N.C. – University of North Carolina System President Peter Hans and University of North Carolina Asheville Board of Trustees Interim Chair Roger Aiken today announced the formation of a 13-member committee to launch the search for the next chancellor of the university.
“I’m confident we’ll see a strong pool of candidates to lead UNC Asheville, a mission-driven institution with a deep commitment to the liberal arts,” Hans said. “The members of this committee have a strong devotion to public higher education and UNC Asheville’s unique mission. I appreciate Roger Aiken answering my call to serve as chair of the committee.”
“The committee is composed of accomplished individuals who will bring energy and dedication to an important task ahead – identifying the best candidates to advance the work of our great university,” said Aiken, who will lead the group. “I’m enormously grateful to them for being willing to invest their time and talent in this process, and I look forward to our collaboration and engagement with the broader campus community.”
The search advisory committee is expected to begin meeting within the next month. The panel will identify high-quality candidates and make recommendations to the full UNCA Board of Trustees. The trustees will vote on a slate of candidates to send to Hans for consideration. Hans will then nominate a finalist to the UNC Board of Governors, which will elect a chancellor.
The next permanent chancellor will succeed Nancy Cable, who stepped down last year to become executive director of the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust. Kimberly van Noort, who most recently served as senior vice president for academic affairs and chief academic officer at the UNC System for nearly six years, is UNCA’s interim chancellor.
Under UNC policy, the search advisory committee is composed of up to 13 voting members, including representatives of the trustees, faculty, staff, students and alumni. The policy also calls for a current or former chancellor of a UNC constituent institution, the president, and representatives of the UNC Board of Governors to serve on the committee.
The members of the committee are:
- Roger Aiken, interim chair of the UNCA Board of Trustees, chair
- Alondra Barrera-Hernandez, UNCA Student Government Association president and rising junior from Rutherfordton, North Carolina
- Karen Brown ’81, secretary of the UNCA Board of Trustees
- Tim Burns, UNCA Staff Council chair-elect and information security officer at UNCA
- Janet Cone, UNCA senior administrator for university enterprises and athletics director
- Carolyn Coward, Asheville attorney and member of the UNC Board of Governors
- Philip Dubois, chancellor emeritus of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte
- Dee Eggers, UNCA Faculty Senate chair and associate professor of environmental studies
- Joel Ford, member of the UNC Board of Governors
- Peter Hans, president of the UNC System
- Peter Heckman, member of the UNCA Board of Trustees
- Jim Peterson, member of the UNCA Board of Trustees
- Steve Tuttle ’81, UNCA Alumni Association Board of Directors chair-elect
For more information, see the chancellor search website, where there is an online survey about key leadership characteristics and priorities for the next chancellor. All UNC Asheville stakeholders are encouraged to provide input through the online survey. More opportunities for campus input will be available during the process, including on-campus listening forums early in the fall semester. While information about individual candidates is confidential under state law, representatives of faculty, staff, students, and other campus stakeholders will have the opportunity to engage directly with selected candidates.
About UNC Asheville
The University of North Carolina Asheville is North Carolina’s designated public liberal arts and sciences university, serving about 3,000 students. UNC Asheville’s relationship-driven education prepares students for lives of leadership and service with an emphasis on critical thinking, clear and thoughtful expression, applied research, community engagement, free and open inquiry, and undergraduate and graduate programs that address the most pressing issues of our time. Through small class sizes, close collaboration, and high-impact experiences, the university is preparing the next generation of leaders and productive citizens to serve North Carolina and the nation.
About the UNC System
The University of North Carolina System enrolls 240,000 students at 17 institutions, including the state’s 16 public universities and the nation’s first public residential high school for academically gifted students. The UNC System is among the strongest and most diverse higher education systems in the country, with more than $1.9 billion in research expenditures and campuses that serve every region of the state. Affiliate organizations include UNC Health and PBS North Carolina, with its 12-station broadcast network.