Search committee named for UNC Charlotte’s next chancellor

Thursday, August 29, 2019

The University of North Carolina at Charlotte Board of Trustees has named its search committee to begin the process of recommending finalists for consideration to become the next chancellor of UNC Charlotte, following Philip L. Dubois’ previously announced plans to retire effective June 30, 2020.

Michael L. Wilson ’93, chair of the UNC Charlotte Board of Trustees, will oversee the search committee to find the University’s fifth chancellor. The 16-member committee represents faculty, staff, students, alumni, community members and the Board of Trustees.

“The search committee is a diverse and accomplished group of leaders who are passionate about UNC Charlotte’s mission and values,” said Wilson. “Since Chancellor Dubois announced his intention to retire a year in advance, it allows the search committee ample time to recruit and recommend high quality, visionary candidates to lead the next chapter of this great University.”

Community members can learn more about the process and stay updated online by visiting 49er-chancellor-search.uncc.edu. The committee will work with an external search firm to source qualified leaders and make recommendations to the full UNC Charlotte Board of Trustees, which will vote on candidates to recommend to UNC Interim President Bill Roper. Roper will then recommend a candidate to the UNC Board of Governors, which will elect the new chancellor.

“I am pleased that this committee has been formed with highly qualified and well-respected representatives from across the UNC Charlotte campus community,” said Roper. “I have great confidence the committee will identify the best possible candidates to lead UNC Charlotte and continue the University’s strong growth trajectory under Chancellor Dubois.”

The search committee members are:

  • Michael Wilson ’93, current chair of UNC Charlotte Board of Trustees; served on the Board of Trustees since 2012. He served as student body president at UNC Charlotte and graduated from UNC School of Law in 1996. He is a recipient of the 2013 UNC Charlotte Alumni Hall of Fame Award. He currently serves as vice president and general counsel of Northwood Ravin LLC.
  • Joel Avrin, currently serving a two-year term as UNC Charlotte faculty president. He joined the faculty in 1984 and oversaw the implementation of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics’ first Ph.D. program, one of the first three doctoral programs on the UNC Charlotte campus.
  • Celeste Corpening, has served on Staff Council for 11 years, including two in her current role as chair. She has been a member of UNC Charlotte’s Information Technology Services for 20 years, currently serving as a technology applications analyst.
  • Chandler Crean, president of the Student Government Association and an ex-officio member of the Board of Trustees. He anticipates a May 2020 graduation with a double major in finance and business management. He has served as a Niner Guide and president of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity.
  • Susan DeVore ’81, current vice chair of UNC Charlotte Board of Trustees; served on the Board of Trustees since 2015. President and CEO of Premier Inc., one of the nation’s leading health care improvement companies. She was named Charlotte BusinessWoman of the Year in 2014.
  • Mark Doughton ’80, recipient of the 2015 UNC Charlotte Alumni Hall of Fame Award and current member of the executive committee for EXPONENTIAL: The Campaign for UNC Charlotte. He previously served as president of the UNC Charlotte Athletic Foundation Board and was a member of the UNC Charlotte Foundation Board. He serves on various community boards and runs an independent consulting business focused on career development and job market preparation.
  • Theresa Drew, serves on UNC Charlotte Board of Trustees. She recently retired as managing partner for the Carolinas practice of Deloitte, one of the region’s largest accounting firms, after a 40-year career. She was recognized as the 2017 Charlotte BusinessWoman of the Year and a Most Admired CEO by the Charlotte Business Journal in 2017.
  • Nancy Gutierrez, dean of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences at UNC Charlotte. She previously served as vice provost for academic affairs at Arizona State University and chair of the Department of English. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Charlotte Museum of History and is incoming Board Chair for the North Carolina Humanities Council Board of Trustees.
  • Julie Harris ’00, serves as chair of the UNC Charlotte Foundation Board. She currently serves as managing director and head of Global Digital Banking Strategy at Bank of America. In April 2019, she was recognized by the Mecklenburg Times as one of the 50 Most Influential Women.
  • Gene Johnson ’73, is the first alumnus to chair the UNC Charlotte Board of Trustees, on which he served for eight years. He also served as chair of the Alumni Board, Foundation Board, Athletic Foundation Board and numerous other UNC Charlotte boards. He received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine for exemplary service to the state of North Carolina. He retired as chairman and CEO of FairPoint Communications in 2009.
  • Fred Klein, has served on the UNC Charlotte Board of Trustees since 2015, is a member of the executive committee for EXPONENTIAL: The Campaign for UNC Charlotte and previously served on the UNC Charlotte Foundation Board. He is a senior managing partner at Childress Klein, one of the Southeast’s largest full-service commercial real estate firms. 
  • Krista Manns ’95, president of the UNC Charlotte Alumni Board and ex officio member of the UNC Charlotte Foundation Board. She is an account manager at OpenTable. 
  • Carlos E. Sanchez, currently serves on UNC Charlotte Board of Trustees. He is currently vice president of state government and external affairs for AT&T North Carolina. He is the founder and past chair of the Latin American Chamber of Commerce. He co-chaired a successful $922 million bonds campaign for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in 2017.
  • Jennifer Troyer, professor of economics, joined UNC Charlotte’s Belk College of Business in 1999.  She is a senior associate dean in the Belk College of Business and recently served as interim dean of the College of Health and Human Services.  
  • Laura Williams, joined the University in 2009 from PricewaterhouseCoopers. She has served as controller since 2015, leading the office that provides central accounting support and oversight for the University. 
  • Teross Young ’93, currently serves on UNC Charlotte Board of Trustees. He leads government affairs for Retail Business Services, a subsidiary of Ahold Delhaize USA. He has served as mayor of the town of Troutman since 2016.