TWO VICE CHANCELLORS ANNOUNCED AT ECU
Chancellor Steve Ballard today announced the appointment of two veteran higher education leaders to vice chancellor positions at East Carolina University, bringing to a close nationwide searches to fill senior leadership positions on the campus.
Dr. James LeRoy Smith, interim vice chancellor for academic affairs, was named provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, and Dr. Deirdre Mageean, associate vice president for research and dean of the graduate school at the University of Maine, was named vice chancellor for research and graduate studies.
The provost is the university’s chief academic officer, and the vice chancellor for research oversees research efforts and post-baccalaureate programs. Smith’s appointment is effective April 2, and Mageean will begin work at ECU on July 1. Smith’s salary will be $203,317 a year and Mageean’s will be $180,250. All arrangements are pending approval by the ECU Board of Trustees.
Ballard said, “I am tremendously excited about these appointments. We had an excellent pool of applicants, and truly exceptional campus finalists. Dr. Mageean and Dr. Smith received strong support from all campus constituencies, and I am confident we have found individuals who will truly make a difference for East Carolina. Great leaders make great universities, and these are two great leaders.”
The chancellor said, “Jim Smith represents the very best at ECU. He is known, admired and respected throughout the campus and the University of North Carolina system. He is thoughtful, articulate, fair and reasonable, and his knowledge of the university is unparalleled. His wise counsel has been valuable to me on many occasions.”
Smith said, “I am honored to have the opportunity to serve as provost of East Carolina. I have spent my career on this campus, and the university has never been a better place than it is today. We can, of course, continue to grow and serve and lead on the path toward excellence. Perhaps the most important factor on that journey is collaboration among the tenured faculty, with the junior faculty, with the students, across departments, across schools, across divisions, with the community colleges, with the public schools, and with the people of the region and beyond.”
Smith has served in the interim role since former Provost William Swart was reassigned to a faculty position in September 2003. He joined the ECU faculty in the Department of Philosophy in 1969. He has served as chair of that department; chair of the ECU Faculty Senate; chair of the University of North Carolina Faculty Assembly, which represents faculty members system-wide; chair of the committee that led preparations for the university’s reaccreditation visit in 1990-92; chair of two self-study committees preparing for NCAA certification; executive assistant to the chancellor; and assistant secretary to the ECU Board of Trustees.
He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in philosophy from Pennsylvania State University and a Ph.D. in philosophy from Tulane University.
Ballard said Mageean’s experience at the University of Maine, a land and sea grant institution, positions her well to lead ECU to greatly expanded research activity. “Dr. Mageean is an accomplished teacher, researcher and administrator,” Ballard said. “Her background with government agencies, interdisciplinary centers, research centers and graduate programs is exactly the right experience to lead our move forward in the research enterprise. I am delighted that she has accepted this appointment, and I am eager for her to get started at East Carolina.”
Mageean said, “I am very pleased to be joining ECU and the team Chancellor Ballard is putting together. I am excited about the possibilities for research and graduate studies, which are already strong.