Turnover of deans emerges as a trend

Joanne Marshall doesn’t regret her decision to step down from one of the University’s most prestigious positions to pursue her true interests — research and teaching.

Last June, Marshall left the deanship of the School of Information and Library Science, where she worked almost five years and made $149,714 during her final year, to serve as a faculty member at the school, earning $136,714.

She is not alone in her decision to leave a high post at the University. The resignation of deans has become a common occurrence at UNC.

Since 2001, officials have replaced nine of 15 deans, and a committee now is in the midst of selecting a new dean for the School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

“I don’t think there is any one reason why so many have left,” said Provost Robert Shelton, who is responsible for hiring new deans.

Several factors, including the difficulty of leadership positions, budget pressures and new job opportunities, lead to resignations, he said.

Although the number of vacancies has soared during the past couple of years, Shelton said, UNC has retained deans longer than the national average of about five years.

Five of the deans who resigned have become UNC faculty members. Shelton said such a shift is natural because deans want to return to the hands-on world of academia, where many began their careers. “Research and teaching were my first love,” Marshall said.

But after leaving their posts at UNC, two former deans accepted top positions at other schools.

Robert Sullivan, former dean of the Kenan-Flagler Business School, founded a graduate program at the University of California-San Diego.

Risa Palm, former dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, is provost at Louisiana State University.

Gene Nichol, dean of the School of Law, is a candidate for president at the College of William and Mary.

Past deans also have moved to more prestigious posts at UNC.

Dr. William Roper, who served as the dean of the School of Public Health and earned a salary of $279,332 in 2003, stepped down to lead the UNC Health Care System.

In March 2004, officials tapped Roper for the three-tiered position as the chief executive of the UNC Health Care Systems, vice chancellor for medical affairs and dean of the UNC School of Medicine. “I saw this as an opportunity to take on a new set of challenges,” he said.

Roper now makes $450,000 per year, UNC’s highest base salary.

After a nationwide search, a committee selected Dr. Barbara Rimer, a faculty member in the public health school, to replace Roper.

Internal faculty members account for half of the leaders tapped for dean positions. In the search for the journalism school dean, no internal candidates have made the final cut.

“You want hometown knowledge that (appreciates) the Carolina tradition, as well as new people that bring new ideas,” Shelton said.

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