Carney Named Interim Dean of Arts and Sciences

Posted on June 19, 2008

Bruce W. Carney, senior associate dean for the sciences and Samuel Baron Distinguished Professor of physics and astronomy at UNC, has been appointed interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, effective July 1. He will succeed Holden Thorp ’86, who becomes chancellor on that date.

A national search is under way for the dean’s position.

Carney has been a member of the dean’s senior administrative team since 2004. As senior associate dean, he has overseen a dozen academic departments and programs in the sciences and has been responsible for all space issues in the college.

He also was involved in planning for the new physical sciences complex, the largest construction project in the University’s history, and was instrumental in shaping the vision and raising funds for the SOAR Telescope in Chile.

“His extensive background and dedication to excellence in all that he undertakes makes him very well-suited for this critical role,” said Provost Bernadette Gray-Little. “His service to the University, and to national leadership within his field, is impressive.”

A former chair of the department of physics and astronomy, Carney is a scholar of optical and infrared photometry and spectroscopy, stellar populations, and globular cluster ages, with many publications to his credit, including the book, Star Clusters, published in 2001.

Among many other leadership positions in his field, he has served as president of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific and chair of the board of directors for the International Gemini Observatory, which is run by a six-nation consortium.

For the past three years, he has served on the Congressionally mandated Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee that advises the National Science Foundation, NASA, the Energy Department and the Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Carney was recently elected chair of the board of directors of the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, which manages two national observatories for the National Science Foundation and the Space Telescope Science Institute for NASA.

He received his master’s and doctoral degrees from Harvard University and his undergraduate degree at the University of California-Berkeley.

Thomas B. Clegg, the V. Lee Bounds Distinguished Professor of physics, has been named interim senior associate dean for the sciences, replacing Carney.

Clegg chairs the Science Complex Core Group and has been involved from the beginning in planning and developing the college’s new sciences facilities. He also has been a member of the Faculty Council Executive Committee, the Buildings and Grounds Committee, the Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professorship Selection Committee, and the Hettleman Award Selection Committee, and he currently chairs the University’s Appointments, Promotions and Tenure Committee. He chaired the department of physics and astronomy for more than a decade and he served as interim dean briefly before Risa Palm was appointed in 1997.

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Related coverage is available online:

• Holden Thorp ’86 Named 10th Chancellor
  May 2008 news report
• Chemistry Chair Thorp Chosen As Dean of Arts and Sciences
  February 2007 news report
• Scientific Discovery: Carolina does science? Yes, and pretty well. Now, to the task of positioning itself to get the best students-those who would go out of state and to N.C. State.
  From the March/April 2004 issue of the Carolina Alumni Review, available online to Carolina Alumni members.

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