After leading the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics through 10 years of changes, Chancellor Gerald Boarman announced Monday that he will retire at the end of the year.
In a letter to faculty and students, Boarman said that he will leave the school July 31 in order to spend more time with his family.
“I will continue to work relentlessly with you to see the school through a difficult budgetary process, selection of the incoming class and other challenges of the transition ahead,” Boarman’s letter stated.
He led NCSSM through many changes, some of which — including the decision in 2006 to join the UNC system and the switch from the semester system to trimesters — have been controversial.
“A lot of people didn’t agree with a lot of the things he did,” said Gabriel Whaley, who served as NCSSM’s student body president during the 2007-08 school year.
Boarman was chancellor in 2003 when the N.C. General Assembly created a grant that paid tuition for NCSSM students attending UNC-system schools and when the legislature decided in 2009 to do away with it.
He was criticized in 2006 for a raise that elevated his salary above those of chancellors at six UNC-system schools. Critics said administrative costs outpaced enrollment.
But former students said Boarman will also be remembered for positives, such as creating a distance learning program, expanding the campus and focusing on safety.
Cierra Hinton, now a UNC sophomore, said she met with Boarman several times as an NCSSM student.
“You can’t really say Dr. Boarman has not helped to improve that school,” she said. “He’s one of the main reasons I’m here at Carolina. I’m very sad to see him go.”
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
Gerald Boarman to retire as chancellor of N.C. School of Science and Mathematics
Gerald Boarman has overseen many changes to the school in his 10-year term as chancellor. DTH file
