Muse steps down as ECU Chancellor

Dr. William V. Muse, chancellor of East Carolina University since 2001, has resigned, effective Sept. 30. Muse’s resignation was announced by University of North Carolina President Molly Corbett Broad at a meeting of the UNC Board of Governors today (Sept. 12) in Chapel Hill.

Muse, who was president of Auburn University in Alabama before coming to ECU, also has served as president of the University of Akron in Ohio.

In a letter to President Broad, Muse said, “I am proud of the many accomplishments that have been achieved during my tenure, including significant enrollment growth, capital expansion, and the launching of important new academic programs. “However, after considerable personal reflection and in light of significant health concerns that have arisen over the past year, I have concluded that it would be in my best interests to step down as chancellor and transition back to a faculty role,” he said.

Muse will be on vacation through Sept. 30 and then on research leave until Dec. l before joining the faculty in the College of Business for the spring semester.

Jim Talton, chair of the ECU Board of Trustees, praised Muse’s work at the university. “The board appreciates the significant contributions and improvements instituted at ECU during Bill Muse’s tenure,” Talton said.

“We wish Bill and Marlene the very best,” Talton said. “We will miss his leadership.”

President Broad is expected to name an interim chancellor within the next week. The ECU Board of Trustees, working closely with President Broad will soon form a search committee of trustees, faculty, students and alumni to identify a permanent successor to Chancellor Muse.

Once the search is completed, the Board of Trustees will forward the names of finalists to President Broad for consideration. The new chancellor, upon nomination by the president, must be elected by the UNC Board of Governors. ECU’s enrollment, which stood at 19,412, has grown to 21,797 this semester. SAT scores of incoming freshmen are at a record high of 1050.

Millions of dollars in construction projects have been launched or completed under Muse, including the Science and Technology Building, which opened last month, the expansion of the Rivers Building and the construction of the West End Dining Hall.

The university’s research programs, especially in the health sciences, have received international media coverage in the last year, and the teacher-education programs have won awards at the state and national level.