RALEIGH – University of North Carolina System President Peter Hans and University of North Carolina Asheville Board of Trustees Interim Chair Roger Aiken on June 28 announced the formation of a 13-member committee to launch the search for the next chancellor of the university, according to a UNCA press release. 

“I’m confident we’ll see a strong pool of candidates to lead UNC Asheville, a mission-driven institution with a deep commitment to the liberal arts,” Hans said. “The members of this committee have a strong devotion to public higher education and UNC Asheville’s unique mission. I appreciate Roger Aiken answering my call to serve as chair of the committee," Aiken was quoted as saying in UNCA's June 28 press release

“The committee is composed of accomplished individuals who will bring energy and dedication to an important task ahead – identifying the best candidates to advance the work of our great university,” said Aiken, who will lead the group. “I’m enormously grateful to them for being willing to invest their time and talent in this process, and I look forward to our collaboration and engagement with the broader campus community.”

The search advisory committee is expected to begin meeting within the next month. The panel will identify high-quality candidates and make recommendations to the full UNCA Board of Trustees. The trustees will vote on a slate of candidates to send to Hans for consideration. Hans will then nominate a finalist to the UNC Board of Governors, which will elect a chancellor.

The next permanent chancellor will succeed Nancy Cable, who stepped down last year to become executive director of the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust. Kimberly van Noort, who most recently served as senior vice president for academic affairs and chief academic officer at the UNC System for nearly six years, is UNCA’s interim chancellor.

Under UNC policy, the search advisory committee is composed of up to 13 voting members, including representatives of the trustees, faculty, staff, students and alumni. The policy also calls for a current or former chancellor of a UNC constituent institution, the president, and representatives of the UNC Board of Governors to serve on the committee.

The members of the committee are:

• Roger Aiken, interim chair of the UNCA Board of Trustees, chair

• Alondra Barrera-Hernandez, UNCA Student Government Association president and rising junior from Rutherfordton, North Carolina

• Karen Brown ’81, secretary of the UNCA Board of Trustees

• Tim Burns, UNCA Staff Council chair-elect and information security officer at UNCA

• Janet Cone, UNCA senior administrator for university enterprises and athletics director

• Carolyn Coward, Asheville attorney and member of the UNC Board of Governors

• Philip Dubois, chancellor emeritus of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte

• Dee Eggers, UNCA Faculty Senate chair and associate professor of environmental studies

• Joel Ford, member of the UNC Board of Governors

• Peter Hans, president of the UNC System

• Peter Heckman, member of the UNCA Board of Trustees

• Jim Peterson, member of the UNCA Board of Trustees

• Steve Tuttle ’81, UNCA Alumni Association Board of Directors chair-elect

For more information, see the chancellor search website, where there is an online survey about key leadership characteristics and priorities for the next chancellor. All UNCA stakeholders are being encouraged to provide input through the online survey.

"More opportunities for campus input will be available during the process, including on-campus listening forums early in the fall semester," the release noted. "While information about individual candidates is confidential under state law, representatives of faculty, staff, students, and other campus stakeholders will have the opportunity to engage directly with selected candidates."