RISING TO THE CHALLENGE:
Search committee finds Thorp uniquely qualified to lead Carolina today and tomorrow

The question was perhaps inevitable.

When asked what it felt like to rise so far so fast, 43-year-old Holden Thorp gave a deadpan response: “Well, I seem to be having a problem holding down a job.”

In a little more than a decade, Thorp moved from being an assistant professor to tenured faculty member and chair of the chemistry department. Along the way, he was tasked with invigorating and redefining the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center, and a little more than a year ago, he became dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, the University’s largest academic unit, after a national search.

Then, Thorp said in all sincerity, “It’s a little intoxicating to rise this fast, but it is also exciting to have an ample runway to really think about what I might be able to accomplish with the University.”

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UNC President Erskine Bowles, left, and Nelson Schwab III, right, chair of the Chancellor’s Search Committee, laugh at a remark by Chancellor-Elect Holden Thorp during a news conference May 8.

During a reception at Gerrard Hall later in the afternoon, Thorp recounted the path that led to the runway. In 2001, he was in a car with Chancellor James Moeser and Matt Kupec, vice chancellor for advancement, for an alumni event in Thorp’s hometown of Fayetteville.

“On the way there, James told me that he wanted to help the Morehead Planetarium and that he hoped I would help him figure out how to do that. I didn’t know the first thing about astronomy. But of course, I said yes.”

The lesson, Thorp said, was, “If the boss takes you on a trip and asks you to do something, you should do it.”

During the next four years, Thorp directed a revitalization of the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center. Attendance increased by 40 percent as the planetarium expanded its traditional focus to encompass new areas of science education.

In 2005, Thorp was appointed chemistry chair, and two years later was selected through a national search to become dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. In just one year as dean, Thorp secured 27 endowed professorships, including 13 that will allow for a dramatic expansion of the college’s Honors Program.

During that period, the College raised more than $57 million for the Arts and Sciences Foundation — an achievement not lost on UNC President Erskine Bowles when Thorp’s name was forwarded to him for consideration.

Bowles said people told him this respected scientist truly liked asking for funds. “When I asked him about it, he said, ‘Erskine, it’s true. It’s easy to ask for money for a place you believe in and love.’”

That trait was noted by the Chancellor’s Search Committee as well.

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Faculty, staff and UNC friends join Thorp and his family in a reception at Gerrard Hall.

Nelson Schwab III, immediate past chair of the University Board of Trustees who led the committee, told Board of Governors members that the national search for Carolina’s next chancellor was led by Bill Funk, a consultant who heads the Dallas-based R. William Funk and Associates.

The list of applicants or nominees eventually exceeded 100, with candidates drawn from 32 states and the District of Columbia. Women and minorities constituted 31 percent of the pool, Schwab said.

The committee interviewed 20 applicants in closed sessions, which were followed by in-depth discussions of each individual’s qualifications. In March, the committee brought six additional candidates, including two African-American males and two white females, to Chapel Hill.

Thorp was one of three internal candidates invited to interview before the full committee, and on March 26, his was one of four names the committee forwarded for approval to the University Board of Trustees. The next day, the trustees approved sending that list of four finalists to Bowles.

In recounting the process to the Board of Governors, Schwab said, “It should be noted that one candidate had the unanimous support of the committee and I’m pleased to see him in the audience here today.”

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The celebration spills over into the Campus Y courtyard.

Both during his introduction to the Board of Governors and at the campus reception, Thorp expressed his deep appreciation and admiration for Moeser, who he said had been an invaluable mentor to him, as were others at the University.

Before he introduced Thorp, Bowles expressed his appreciation for Moeser’s productive, positive leadership the past eight years.

“He has accomplished what every successful CEO dreams of when they take a job and that is, he had made his institution, he has made Carolina stronger than it was when he found it and he has made it better in every single way,” Bowles said.