CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – “I’ve been getting a lot of calls from across the country people who want to come here,” said Peter Hans, UNC System President.
Hans is getting a lot of calls because on this campus, the search is on for the next permanent chancellor at UNC Chapel Hill.
“We absolutely want faculty staff, student, alumni and others to participate so that we have a good idea what cross section is looking for in the next chancellor,” Hans said.
Hans expects hundreds will apply. A search committee has now been announced, featuring the student body president, chair of the UNC Board of Governors and the executive dean of the UNC School of Medicine. But no official timeline has been detailed.
“There will likely be more than a dozen opportunities, some in person, some online, some earlier in the day, some later in the day, so that we can accommodate people’s schedules,” Hans said. “I’m hoping it’ll take place in the month of April.”
While Hans said the process will include the campus community, some students have concerns about not being heard.
“The current path that we are on right now, it is showing that we are continuing the same problems that were brought up before,” UNC first-year Jasmine Teague said.
Teague is highlighting some of the concerns detailed in a 2022 report by the American Association of Universities and Professors that criticized the university’s process for finding a chancellor, claiming a lack of transparency. Hans said the confidentiality is to benefit the candidate pool.
“We don’t want to dampen the quality and the quantity of the candidate pool,” Hans said.
Hans said there are a few qualities he is looking for in a chancellor.
“Having a vision for the institution, having ability to work with a wide variety of stakeholders, being able to communicate your passion and your vision about Carolina to those stakeholders,” Hans said.
A search, Hans says, he will not rush.
“I’d rather get this done right than quickly,” Hans said.
Hans insists that there is what he called institutional neutrality, despite critics calling it politics at play.