Press release from UNC Asheville:
The University of North Carolina at Asheville has named Karin Peterson, professor and chair of sociology and anthropology, as acting provost for the spring 2018 semester. Peterson will serve as acting provost following the appointment of current Provost Joe Urgo as Interim Chancellor; he will take on that role upon Chancellor Mary K. Grant’s departure at the end of the year.
“Karin has been department chair since 2012 and has played a prominent role in numerous campus projects and service assignments,” said Chancellor Grant. “There is no question in my mind that Karin has had the scope and quality of administrative experience, both on campus and externally, to make her a dynamic partner to Joe Urgo to lead the university next semester.”
Grant made the announcement after consultation with Provost Urgo and the members of the UNC Asheville Faculty Senate Executive Committee, and the Executive Committee of the UNC Asheville Board of Trustees.
“With years of experience as both a department chair and university citizen, Dr. Peterson has earned the respect of faculty, students, and community members,” said Micheal Stratton, chair of faculty senate, and chair and associate professor of management. “Faculty Senate looks forward to partnering with Dr. Peterson as we seek to continue our efforts to engage in meaningful and purposeful shared governance with our academic leaders.”
Peterson has been with UNC Asheville since 1999. During that time, she has served on the Committee of Tenured Faculty, Post Tenure Review, SACS QEP Planning, the Position Allocation Committee, and on task forces related to Tenure and Rewards, Student Rating of Instruction, and Curriculum Delivery. This semester Peterson is a UNC General Administration Academic Affairs Fellow, with a project focusing on enhancing the agency and efficacy of department chairs. With a career-long interest in the development of students as learners, she also supports faculty in the work they do. Her publications include co-authored studies of student learning in UNC Asheville’s Food Cluster; a study of women faculty’s experiences of being parents and not being parents; and co-authored essays on faculty writing groups.
The appointment of an interim chancellor and acting provost follows the announcement in September by Mary K. Grant, UNC Asheville’s seventh chancellor, that she is taking on the role of president of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the U.S. Senate. Chancellor Grant was appointed as Chancellor in August 2014.
In October, UNC System President Margaret Spellings approved the appointment of the members of UNC Asheville’s chancellor search committee comprised of faculty, staff, students, alumni and community members. The first meeting of the search committee took place on Friday, Oct. 27 on the campus of UNC Asheville.
For more information on the chancellor search, visit unca.edu/chancellor-search.
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