Chancellor Search Committee Announced

Posted on Feb. 14, 2024

President of the UNC System Peter Hans ’91 has announced a 13-member search committee to find UNC’s 13th chancellor, with a high-ranking official in the School of Medicine heading the panel.

Cristy Page ’96 (’02 MPH, ’02 MD), executive dean of the School of Medicine, chief academic officer of UNC Health and a tenured professor in the medical school’s department of family medicine, will chair the committee to find the successor to former Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz, who resigned in January to become president of Michigan State University. (See “Amid Tension, UNC Embarks on Finding a Chancellor”, January/February 2024 Review.)

Lee Roberts, a former state budget director and former member of the Board of Governors, was appointed as UNC’s interim chancellor. He has not said whether he is considering the permanent chancellor position.

Hans selected members of the committee in partnership with UNC Board of Trustees Chair John Preyer ’90, also a committee member. Previously, search committees had 20 members, but in May 2023, the Board of Governors adopted an updated version of its policy on chancellor searches and elections mandates, reducing the number of voting members on searches to a maximum of 13.

The policy change also allowed Board of Governors members to serve on chancellor search committees. Randy Ramsey, chair of the UNC Board of Governors, is a member of the search committee, as is Kellie Hunt Blue, also a BOG member.

The BOG policy mandates representation from the Board of Trustees, BOG, student body, faculty, staff and alumni in addition to a former or current chancellor of another UNC System school. University of North Carolina at Greensboro Chancellor Frank Gilliam is on the search committee, as are Beth Moracco ’92 MPH (’99 PhD), chair of the faculty at UNC, and Christopher Everett, Carolina’s student body president.

Anita Brown-Graham, the Gladys Hall Coates Distinguished Professor of Public Law and Government and associate dean for strategic initiatives at the School of Government, will serve as a special advisor to the committee. She will provide guidance to Hans and Page throughout the search process and be the committee’s primary liaison to campus stakeholders. Brown-Graham received Carolina Alumni’s Faculty Service Award in 2023. Carolina Alumni President Veronica Mora Flaspoehler ’08 is also on the search committee.

Other search committee members are:

• Jennifer Halsey Evans ’94, a member of the UNC Board of Trustees
• Katie Musgrove ’15, chair of UNC’s employee forum
• Jim Phillips Jr. ’79, partner at Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey and Leonard
• Malcolm Turner ’93, a member of the UNC Board of Trustees

Candidates chosen by the search committee are considered by UNC’s Board of Trustees, and faculty, staff, students, alumni and other stakeholders will have the chance to engage with finalists. Hans will interview each finalist and choose one to present as chancellor-elect to the Board of Governors for their vote.

The committee plans to provide many opportunities for public input, including online surveys, on-campus listening forums and focus group interviews, according to a news release from the UNC System office.