Provost Bruce Carney to step down

Colleagues of Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Bruce Carney said he always stepped up to the plate when the University needed him.

When the University needed him to step in as interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences when Holden Thorp was appointed chancellor in 2008, he did.

When the University needed him to step in as interim provost in 2009 when then-provost Bernadette Gray-Little left to become chancellor at the University of Kansas, he did that, too.

And now, after serving as provost and Thorp’s right-hand man for two years, Carney will finally step down on June 30 to pursue what his colleagues have said is his passion — teaching and research.

“I’m sad that Bruce will only be my colleague for one more year,” Thorp said in an interview. “But I’m happy for him because he loves being a professor.”

Carney could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Thorp said Carney will continue to work at the University in his subject, physics and astronomy, and that the department is excited to have him back. He added he and Carney have been discussing this change for a long time.

Carney’s time as provost has been marked by his approach to unprecedented budget cuts, forming a tuition plan that proposed one of the largest in-state tuition hikes ever, spearheading a 10-year Academic Plan and advocating for financial aid.

Shirley Ort, associate provost and director of scholarships and student aid, said it’s hard to find anybody else that has done as much as he has in terms of getting money for student aid.

“He is very well-versed on student aid,” she said. “I tease him sometimes about his interests in my area because I tell him I think it’s his recess. I think he enjoys student aid issues as much as anybody I have ever worked for.”

Steve Farmer, vice provost for enrollment and undergraduate admissions, said Carney has given his whole life to the University. Carney has been on staff at the University since 1980.

“Bruce has been there at every step. He’s played a huge part in helping us get through … the financial situation the past few years.”

Ron Strauss, executive vice provost and chief international officer, said Carney brought all the analytical skills of being an astronomer and physicist to decision making in the provost’s office.

“He used a lot of mathematical analyses, but he was also adventurous, investing in some new programs,” Strauss said.

“He’s been an amazing provost, good things have happened in spite of hard times.”

A common praise among Carney’s colleagues was that he never stopped working to find the best solutions to the University’s problems.

One solution that has been in the process of being implemented is the Academic Plan, which Thorp said will be Carney’s legacy.

Strauss said the 10-year plan was a solution that only Carney could have mustered.

“When the budget cuts were really being felt, instead of waiting for better times, he initiated an academic plan,” Strauss said.

In addition to his work on the Academic Plan and financial aid, Carney was at the forefront of the tuition debates last year, writing his own plan that drew the ire of many student protesters.

Sallie Shuping-Russell, chairwoman of the budget, audit and finance committee of the Board of Trustees and a member of the task force, said working alongside Carney on tuition proved to her that he is a “constant public servant.”

“I think the world of him,” Shuping-Russell said. “How we could make changes that would save funds to retain academic integrity was huge, and he did an awful lot of that.”

And despite the high tuition model that was eventually proposed by the task force, Shuping-Russell said he has historically been an advocate for lower tuition.

“There will always be some disappointment, some disagreement when dealing with something like tuition,” she said.

“But in the grand scheme of things, considering the loss of state funds, the way he pulled that together was thoughtful.”

Thorp selected Kristen Swanson, dean of the School of Nursing, to lead the committee that will find the replacement for Carney.

Shuping-Russell said that although it is an interesting time in the University’s history now that the state and national financial crises are dying down, it will still be a challenge finding Carney’s replacement.

“When the University needed him, he always stepped up, and that’s the legacy that needs to be left for (Carney),” she said.

“He said, ‘You need me, I’ll be there’, and I think that’s something that needs to be recognized.”