UNC leader leaving for Fla.

UNC’s current vice chancellor for research and economic development has been selected to be the next provost at the University of Central Florida.

Following a nationwide search, Tony Waldrop, who has held his position at UNC since 2001, was selected to be the second-highest ranking officer at UCF.

“I’m looking forward to that next challenge,” Waldrop said.

His job, which is set to start Aug. 1, will provide academic leadership for the university’s 12 colleges, multiple campuses and research centers.

“Tony is a great Tar Heel,” said Chancellor Holden Thorp.

“He’s done a great job.”

At UCF, the provost oversees academic support services and student services and is responsible for curriculum, academic planning, faculty appointments, development, promotion and tenure decisions.

The school has 53,500 students, more than 10,000 employees and external research funding of $121.7 million.

In his current position, Waldrop works to keep and improve UNC’s standing as a top research university.

According to an e-mail from Thorp to UNC faculty and staff, since Waldrop began his job in 2001, UNC’s research enterprise has grown from $438.7 million to $716 million last year.

“He has a great history with the University, and he’s brought the research administration a long way,” Thorp said. “(The University of Central Florida is) lucky to have him.”

A former Morehead scholar, Waldrop holds three degrees from UNC: a bachelor’s degree in political science, a master’s in physical education and a Ph.D. in physiology. He also graduated as a top five NCAA student athlete as a member of the UNC track team, where he won two NCAA championships.

Before working at UNC, Waldrop was a professor of physiology and vice chancellor for research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

UCF received 93 applications from across the country for the provost position before selecting Waldrop.

“It’s something new and exciting for me to do at a place where my ideas of higher education will be in sync with what those are at UCF,” Waldrop said.

Thorp said an interim vice chancellor will be announced within a few weeks.

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.