CHARLOTTE-NC–UNC Charlotte Chancellor Philip L. Dubois announced today that he will retire effective June 30, 2020.
In an email to the campus community, Dubois said, “Let me say that it has been my honor and privilege to serve as your Chancellor. So, today, I bring a bittersweet message. It is now time for Lisa and me to move on to our next adventure! This was not an easy decision for us. UNC Charlotte is a special place, with wonderful faculty and staff colleagues, and talented students. And the same can be said of this wonderful city, which we have watched grow and develop in size and stature. But the time is right for us to make this transition.”
Now in his fifteenth year as Chancellor and with eight years served as President of the University of Wyoming, Dubois is one of the nation’s most experienced CEOs in higher education. He is the senior Chancellor in the UNC System.
“During his more than 40-year career, Chancellor Dubois has consistently earned the respect of his peers, and has become the embodiment of everything a successful leader should be,” UNC System Interim President Bill Roper said. “He is an innovative thinker and strategic planner who has steered UNC Charlotte through a period of significant growth to become the highly respected and nationally prominent institution that it now is. We look forward to continuing our work with him during the upcoming academic year and will wish him all the best when he steps down in June. He will be greatly missed.”
Dubois said that announcing now will give UNC Charlotte’s Board of Trustees, Interim President Roper and the UNC System Board of Governors ample time to conduct a national search for the next Chancellor. “Building on the foundation that was laid by my predecessors, and working alongside incredibly dedicated and talented Boards of Trustees, my leadership team, faculty, staff, and students, I am extremely proud of the phenomenal things that we have accomplished together,” Dubois noted.
“Under Chancellor Dubois’ visionary leadership, the University has seen unprecedented growth in student enrollment, academic programs, research funding, and expansion of the physical campus,” said Board of Trustees Chair Mike Wilson. “Phil will have served this University and Niner Nation with distinction for nearly 21 years and for 15 of those years as our Chancellor upon his retirement next July. He and his wife Lisa have selflessly provided unwavering dedication and support to our students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors, and families. As Phil and Lisa look forward to the next chapter in their journey together, we wish them well and thank them for all they have done for UNC Charlotte.”
In 1991, Dubois was recruited to UNC Charlotte and spent the next five-and-a-half years as provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs. Dubois was credited with drafting a strategic academic plan, leading the development of the university’s first comprehensive campus-wide plan for information technology, and initiating programs to better serve nontraditional adult students. Under his leadership, UNC Charlotte also launched its first doctoral programs and established the first instructional programs in Center City Charlotte.
Named president of the University of Wyoming in 1997, Dubois led the development of comprehensive academic, support services, and capital construction plans for the campus; stimulated a growing volume of new capital construction projects and building renovations; expanded UW’s role in statewide economic development; and improved the recruitment and retention of students. During his eight-year tenure, state and federal legislative support increased significantly, while private gifts to the university more than quadrupled. He was honored in 2004 by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) with its District VI Chief Executive Leadership Award.
Dubois became UNC Charlotte’s fourth chancellor in July 2005. During his 14-year tenure, he has effectively managed the UNC system’s fastest-growing and third-largest institution by headcount with 43 percent growth in enrollment since 2005 making steady and significant improvements in the academic credentials and ethnic diversity of incoming freshmen and transfers.
