UNC System will soon have 3 new chancellors. A guide to how universities pick their leaders

Three UNC System universities will soon have new leaders at their helms, as they fill the roles of chancellors who have stepped down within the past year.

Searches for new chancellors at UNC Asheville and N.C. A&T State University have begun in recent months, while a search at Winston-Salem State University, where its chancellor retired this summer, is expected to begin in January, UNC System spokesperson Andy Wallace told The News & Observer.

All three searches will follow the process outlined in a revised UNC System policy on chancellor searches passed by the system’s Board of Governors in May. The policy, among other changes from the previous version of the policy, allows members of the Board of Governors to participate in the searches — they were previously prohibited from doing so — and alters some authority of the UNC System president in the search process.

Under the previous policy, passed by the Board of Governors about a month after Peter Hans became the system president in 2020, the president was allowed to nominate up to two candidates to be considered in the search process, who would automatically be included in the slate of finalists submitted to the searching university’s Board of Trustees. In written materials provided to members of the Board of Governors at an April meeting, then-member David Powers noted that such authority had “never been used” while it was in effect.

The new policy removes such authority from the president, though the system leader retains the authority to choose a chancellor from a set of finalists, with final approval from the Board of Governors.

“The president ... has the primary responsibility for ensuring there is a thorough and reliable process that reflects the needs of the institution, the System, and the state, results in a pool of exceptionally qualified candidates, and culminates in the election of the chancellor by the Board of Governors,” the policy states.

As the current chancellor searches unfold across the UNC System, here’s what to know about how the processes will work under the new policy.

Who serves on UNC System chancellor search committees?

The systemwide policy on chancellor searches requires that the committees tasked with searching for a new chancellor be made up of no more than 13 voting members. The system president appoints the committee in consultation with the chair of the searching university’s Board of Trustees.

“The members of the search advisory committee shall consist of individuals knowledgeable of the duties and responsibilities of the chancellor position and broadly representative of the interest of students, faculty, staff, administrators, alumni, and the UNC System,” the policy states.

The committee’s members must include:

• The UNC System president — currently Hans — or their designee
  
  

• Members of the searching university’s campus Board of Trustees

• The chair of the Board of Governors or their designee, as well as the Board of Governors member designated as the liaison to the searching university by the board’s university governance committee. (Prior to the policy change passed in May, members of the Board of Governors were not allowed to serve on chancellor search committees.)

• A sitting or retired chancellor from a different UNC System university, who has served as a permanent chancellor for at least two years

• Representatives from the university’s faculty, staff, students and alumni

The system president, in consultation with the chair of the Board of Trustees, will designate a chair of the search committee. The trustee chair may serve in that role.

“It is essential that the members of the search advisory committee see themselves and function not as representatives of particular special interest groups, but as members of a team dedicated to a single objective: the identification and recommendation of the strongest possible candidates for the chancellorship of the institution,” the policy states.

What is the search process for UNC System chancellors?

The search committee is responsible for:

• Gathering input on behalf of the system president from key stakeholders of the searching university regarding qualities they would like to see in the future chancellor. Such stakeholders include students, alumni, faculty, staff, members of the university’s broader community and others.

• Developing a statement that describes the desired qualities of the future chancellor. At UNC Asheville, where its chancellor search began in June, the search committee identified desired qualities to include integrity, financial stewardship and collaboration, among several others. The Board of Governors may also choose to identify “leadership pillars” desired for all chancellors across the system, which should be included in the search committee’s statement.

• Recruit “a diverse pool of exceptionally well-qualified individuals for chancellor vacancies, including candidates with leadership experience and a track record of success in the public, non-profit, or private for-profit sectors.”

• Consider the qualifications of chancellor candidates and interview them.

• Propose a list of finalists to present to the university’s Board of Trustees for its consideration.

The Board of Trustees, using the information provided by the search committee, selects at least three finalists to submit to the system president.

The system president can then interview and complete a background check for at least one of the finalists and choose one nominee to submit to the Board of Governors for a vote, or return the slate to the campus Board of Trustees with directions “for further action.”

The Board of Governors votes on the president’s nominee and the conditions negotiated for the candidate, including salary and other compensation.

The chancellor nominee is not allowed to be present at any meeting where a vote is taken on their selection as chancellor.

Searches are confidential

Chancellor searches in the UNC System are confidential. The system policy, citing state law on personnel records, states that none of the names and identities of the chancellor candidates, semi-finalists and finalists may be released to the public, even after the search is over.

Some campuses had opted to publicly release the names of finalists before a Board of Governors policy change in 2018 ended that practice and required all searches to be confidential, The News & Observer reported.

A final vote to hire a chancellor must take place in a public meeting.

Search committee members and any other individual involved in the search process are required to keep information about the process and candidates confidential.

“Conducting confidential searches is intended to maximize the quality of the candidate pool by not discouraging the interest of individuals who would not otherwise apply in the event of a publicly disclosed candidate pool,” the policy states.

Who pays for UNC System chancellor searches?

The policy on chancellor searches states that costs associated with the search are the responsibility of the university searching for its new chancellor. Such costs include any fees or payment for professional search firms or background investigation firms involved in the search.

The chair of the searching university’s Board of Trustees, in consultation with the UNC System president, is tasked with establishing a budget for the search process and identifying staff to assist with the search.

The UNC System office and its staff also contribute to the search by providing “the necessary resources and support to effectively carry out a chancellor search,” including by providing administrative support to the search committee and orienting search committee members to their task and responsibilities.