CHAPEL HILL – Former Clinton Administration Chief of Staff and two-time U.S. Senate candidate Erskine Bowles was named Monday the 16th president of the University of North Carolina system.
Bowles’ appointment will become effective Jan. 1, when he will then succeed current President Molly Broad, who announced in April her plans to retire at the end of the 2005-06 academic year or when a successor had been named. His appointment was unanimously approved during a called special session of the Board of Governors.
Bowles, a Democrat who lost to then-Rep. Richard Burr in the November election, will receive a salary of $425,000 annually and will donate $125,000 of that amount to a need-based scholarship fund.
During his remarks to the Board of Governors following his appointment, Bowles said that he was excited about the opportunity to lead the UNC system. He also said the system faces a number of challenges during the coming months and years, most of which surround the global economy.
“Today’s global economy relentlessly punishes the uneducated,” Bowles said. “… We must meet this challenge and meet it head on.”
Bowles’ appointment was announced by the presidential search committee on Thursday. Board of Governors Chair Brad Wilson, who led the presidential search committee, said Monday that the committee was prepared to narrow the search down to a group of finalist after interviewing five candidates. Those plans changed, Wilson said, when committee members felt that Bowles was the most qualified candidate and opted to advance his name for final consideration.
Wilson did say that the other four candidates interviewed were leaders in higher education.
“There is no other job in our state quite like the presidency of the University of North Carolina,” Wilson said when nominating Bowles. “It requires a rare blend of experience, skills, character and passion. We searched nationwide for a leader who possessed all four, and no one embodied that combination more fully than one of our own, Erskine Bowles.”
Bowles, a 1967 graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, served as the director of the Small Business Administration during the Clinton Administration. He later served as deputy chief of staff and chief of staff. He recently served as a deputy special envoy with the United Nations to assist with the tsunami relief efforts in Southeast Asia.
However, Bowles also lost in the 2002 election to Elizabeth Dole for the seat to succeed Sen. Jesse Helms, and last year lost to Burr. When asked if he had any intention to seek public office again, Bowles simply said, “No.”
“I cannot imagine having another job that would offer such an extraordinary opportunity to positively impact the lives and livelihoods of the citizens of our state for years to come,” Bowles said.
This is not the first time Bowles had been approached about becoming the UNC president. Bowles said it wasn’t the right time when he was considered previously for the job because of his work as chief of staff with the Clinton Administration.
“The experiences that I’ve had since then have so prepared me for this job,” he said.
In the days leading up to Jan. 1, Bowles said he will visit all 16 campuses to meet with the chancellors, faculty members, and students. He also said he plans to meet with members of the legislature — both Republicans and Democrats — as well in the coming days. Bowles said he hopes to find a common ground among the different sides on any issue to develop solutions to problems.
“I need to spend time listening,” Bowles said. “I want to listen to what everyone’s ideas are.”
Though Bowles is the president-elect of the UNC system, Wilson said Broad will remain on board and will continue to lead the system until Bowles officialy assumes the post.
“She is our president and we will look to her for that kind of guidance,” Wilson said.