Childress
gchildress@heraldsun.com; 419-6645
CHAPEL HILL — In a surprise move Wednesday, UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp named interim provost Bruce Carney to the permanent job.
Thorp’s decision to name Carney provost came in spite of a national search that saw the university narrow its list to three candidates, all of whom appeared on campus in recent weeks for public lectures and question and answer sessions.
Thorp said in an e-mail message to students and faculty that none of the candidates proved to be a good match.
“Rather than reopening the search, we prevailed upon Bruce [Carmey] to stay in his role,” Thorp said.
Carney’s appointment is pending approval by the UNC board of trustees later this month.
When he accepted the job of interim provost in June, Carney, 63, said he wasn’t interested in the permanent post.
On Wednesday, however, Carney said he’s had a change of heart since serving as interim provost.
“I found this job very interesting,” Carney “It’s a familiar job and Holden [Thorp] really needs a provost.”
Thorp said he was grateful Carney agreed to accept the position because the university has come to rely on him.
“He’s done an outstanding job, and appointing him allows us to continue moving forward without skipping a beat,” Thorp said.
The job of provost is one of the most important on campus. The person holding the position oversees all academic operations including 13 schools and the College of Arts and Sciences.
In addition, the provost is responsible for the University Library, a variety of centers and several cultural and educational units. The provost also works closely with the vice chancellor of finance and administration to manage the university’s budget.
Carney said he looks forward to the big challenges facing the university in the coming months, with one of the largest being dealing with an extraordinarily tight state budget.
“The big challenge will be the budget, the budget and a little more budget,” Carney said.
Carney, the Samuel Baron Distinguished Professor of Physics and Astronomy, has held a number of key leadership roles at UNC.
Most recently he was interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. He also has been associate dean, overseeing a dozen academic departments and programs in the sciences. He’s been a member of the faculty since 1980.
If approved by trustees, Carney will replace Bernadette Gray-Little who left UNC to take the chancellor’s post at the University Kansas.
