UNC Provost Bruce Carney to step down at the end of the academic year

Bruce Carney, the University’s executive vice chancellor and provost, will step down on June 30 of next year, according to a statement from Chancellor Holden Thorp.

Carney has served as Thorp’s number two on a permanent basis since 2010. He was named interim provost in 2009 after then-Provost Bernadette Gray-Little left the University to become chancellor at the University of Kansas. Carney was not a formal candidate to fill the position, but was asked by Thorp to fill it after the search failed.

Carney’s term as provost has been dominated by his handling of unprecedented budget cuts. He has been an advocate for, among other things, higher tuition coupled with a priority on financial aid.

“For the past three years, he has admirably steered the University’s academic operations through an extremely difficult economic period in which we have maintained our standing as a top public university and continued to offer students an outstanding education in the face of unprecedented budget cuts,” Thorp wrote in the statement, adding that Carney will resume research and teaching.

Kristen Swanson, dean of the School of Nursing, will lead the committee charged with replacing Carney, according to the release.

Below is the full text of Thorp’s statement:

Dear Faculty, Staff and Students:

With mixed feelings, I’m writing to tell you that Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Bruce Carney has decided to step down from his administrative post on June 30, 2013, and return to his first love: teaching and research. I will miss his steadfast support and guidance tremendously, but understand the strength of his commitment to the discovery and imparting of new knowledge for future generations.

Bruce is a true citizen of the University. A faculty member since 1980, he put off an anticipated research sabbatical in 2009 when I asked him to become the executive vice chancellor and provost on an interim basis. He readily agreed, expecting to serve in the position for one year. Then, in 2010 I asked Bruce to stay on a permanent basis. Not surprisingly, he agreed. For the past three years, he has admirably steered the University’s academic operations through an extremely difficult economic period in which we have maintained our standing as a top public university and continued to offer students an outstanding education in the face of unprecedented budget cuts.

Despite the economic challenges, the University’s research enterprise has continued to thrive during Bruce’s tenure. Excluding federal stimulus support, we’re on track for fiscal 2012 to exceed last year’s research funding levels by far, and that success is a tribute to our outstanding faculty. Carolina’s robust research program not only provides significant financial support for the University, it also leads to innovations that benefit society and have a positive economic impact on North Carolina.

Bruce has played a vital role in the University’s efforts to retain our top faculty members, and we are seeing positive results from that commitment. During the past three years, our faculty retention success rate has improved – from 50 percent in 2009–10 to 69 percent in 2011–12. That’s an impressive statistic, given the severe economic challenges we’ve faced since 2008.

Going forward, the University has a new academic roadmap that will help us direct our goals and resources. In 2009, Bruce commissioned a broad-based Steering Committee to revitalize the University’s former Academic Plan. Capping two years of probing questions, discussion groups and extensive campus feedback, the committee finalized its work in fall 2011. Called “Reach Carolina,” the new Academic Plan focuses on six comprehensive themes and serves as our roadmap for the next decade.

These are just a few of the many contributions Bruce has made as executive vice chancellor and provost. It’s a big job. Not only does that person serve as chief academic officer overseeing academic operations across the University’s 13 schools as well as the College of Arts and Sciences, the University Library and a variety of centers, the provost must have impeccable integrity, a strategic vision for our university and keen problem-solving skills.

Bruce is leaving us well positioned for the future. We’re seeing positive signs that the economic landscape is improving, which means we can find innovative ways to employ our core research, teaching and service missions to solve problems and prepare our students for life and work in the 21st century.

I’ve asked Kristen Swanson, dean of the School of Nursing and Alumni Distinguished Professor, to lead the search committee for a new executive vice chancellor and provost. I will keep you informed as the search progresses. In the meantime, please join me in thanking Bruce for his incredible service to Carolina. I am grateful for all that he has done and all that he will continue to do as he resumes his life as a faculty member.

Sincerely,

Holden Thorp