TABLE OF CONTENTS |
FRONT PAGE
| NEXT ARTICLE |
PREVIOUS ARTICLE |
UNC HOMEPAGE
Peter D. Spear -- one of five finalists for Carolina's provost position -- has
withdrawn his candidacy for the post.
Spear is dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Colorado
at Boulder and a neuroscientist.
His withdrawal leaves:
* Paul N. Courant, associate provost for academic and budgetary affairs and
Arthur F. Thurnau professor of economics and public policy at the University of
Michigan at Ann Arbor.
* Karen R. Lawrence, dean of the School of Humanities at the University of
California at Irvine and an English professor.
* William L. Roper, dean of the School of Public Health at Carolina and one of
the former top public health officials in the United States government.
* Robert N. Shelton, vice provost for research in the Office of the President
at the University of California and professor of physics at the University of
California at Davis.
Courant twice served as director of the University of Michigan's Institute of
Public Policy Studies. He completed a two-year stint as chair of Michigan's
economics department that ended in 1997, the year he became associate provost
for academic and budgetary affairs. Courant was a senior staff economist at the
Council of Economic Advisers in 1979-80 and developed an interest in practical
fiscal policy that led to several publications and participation in a Brookings
Institution project to evaluate the policies of European economies. A
Swarthmore College graduate, Courant earned master's and doctoral degrees at
Princeton University.
Lawrence became dean of the School of Humanities at UC Irvine in January 1998.
She had been a professor at the University of Utah since 1978, chairing the
English department for five years. Prior to that, she taught at Columbia and
Tufts universities. She has written or edited books on topics ranging from
James Joyce to women's travel narratives and has published numerous scholarly
articles on 20th century literature. She was president of the International
James Joyce Foundation and the Society for the Study of Narrative Literature. A
Yale graduate, she earned a master's from Tufts University and her Ph.D. from
Columbia University.
Roper joined Carolina in mid-1997. He previously was senior vice president of
Prudential HealthCare, where he oversaw medical management and health plan
services. Roper is former director of the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention and administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration. He
was director of the White House Office of Policy Development and deputy
assistant to the president for domestic policy. A governing council member of
the National Academy of Science's Institute of Medicine, he holds bachelor's
and medical degrees from the University of Alabama and a master's in public
health from UA-Birmingham.
Shelton has been vice provost for research at the University of California
Office of the President since 1996 and previously served as vice chancellor for
research at UC Davis for six years. Shelton joined the UC Davis faculty in
1987, chairing the physics department for three years. He also taught in the
physics department at Iowa State University from 1978 to 1987 and served as
assistant research physicist at UC San Diego, where he earned Ph.D. and
master's degrees. Shelton is a Stanford University graduate. Author of numerous
scholarly publications, he has been editor of the Journal of Physics and
Chemistry of Solids.
During campus visits candidates are meeting groups including the Executive
Committee of the Faculty Council, the University Priorities and Budget
Committee, the Dean's Council, the Chancellor's Cabinet as well as student and
staff leaders.
The candidates also are meeting with Chancellor James Moeser and Richard "Dick"
Edwards, dean of the School of Social Work and interim provost. In addition,
the provost's search committee held public forums with the candidates that were
open to faculty, staff, students and community members.
"Our committee plans to ensure that the candidates are exposed to people who
represent an excellent cross-section of our campus," said Jeffrey Houpt, search
committee chair and vice chancellor for medical affairs. "We will also welcome
the comments of anyone in the University community about the finalists."
The provost, who also will carry the title executive vice chancellor, serves as
chief academic officer and oversees all academic operations including 13
colleges and schools, the University Library, a variety of centers, and several
cultural and educational units.
The provost post became vacant July 1 with the retirement of Richard "Dick"
Richardson, who took the job in April 1996 after having served as an interim
for nearly a year. Last May, former Interim Chancellor William O. McCoy tapped
Edwards as interim provost. He started that assignment in July.
In April 1999, the late Chancellor Michael Hooker named Houpt to lead the
16-member search committee seeking a permanent provost. Vice chair is Richard
A. Soloway, senior associate dean in the College of Arts and Sciences and
Merzbacher professor of history.
The committee suspended its work following Hooker's death in July 1999, but
resumed its meetings after the election of Moeser as chancellor.
After gleaning feedback from campus visits, the search committee plans to
submit the names of at least three final candidates to Moeser, who will select
and present one name to Carolina's Board of Trustees for approval. Then the
nomination goes to UNC President Molly Broad and the UNC Board of Governors for
final approval.
The finalists were gleaned in a national search that generated 78 applications
and resulted in interviews with 13 candidates.
The Gazette will post a story covering the provost forums to its Between
Gazettes web page. Check http://www.unc.edu/news/gaz/between.html
TABLE OF CONTENTS |
FRONT PAGE
| NEXT ARTICLE |
PREVIOUS ARTICLE |
UNC HOMEPAGE