UNC Wilmington chancellor to retire in 2022. Here’s why he says the ‘timing is right’
UNC Wilmington Chancellor Jose Sartarelli is retiring in June after seven years at the helm of the university.
“Serving as chancellor of the University of North Carolina Wilmington has been an honor and a privilege for me,” Sartarelli said in a campus-wide announcement Friday. “Thank you for making it the most exciting, interesting and rewarding journey I’ve ever had.”
In the announcement, Sartarelli said he “realized that the timing is right” for a new chancellor as he looked ahead to next fall, which will be UNCW’s 75th anniversary.
Since he became chancellor in 2015, the university has grown, developed new academic programs, and weathered multiple hurricanes that cost millions in damages.
UNCW set enrollment and graduation records; publicly launched a fundraising campaign that’s closing in on its $100 million goal; and expanded and improved its on-campus and online education programs.
He helped UNCW achieve a new research designation in “Doctoral Universities: High Research Activity” — R2 institution — by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education in 2018, according to UNCW.
UNCW has been one of only three UNC System institutions ranked among the “Top 100 Public National Universities” by U.S. News & World Report for the past three years, according to the university.
“The success that our students, faculty, staff and alumni have achieved in recent years has been nothing short of outstanding,” Sartarelli said. “I am immensely proud to have served UNCW during such a pivotal time in history, and I want to thank the Seahawk community for making this great university so special. Leaving UNCW and the City of Wilmington will not be easy for my wife, Kathy, and me, but we are looking forward to a new adventure.”
Criticism from some campus stakeholders
Sartarelli also led UNCW through the COVID-19 pandemic and racial and political issues on campus, including the high-profile death of professor Mike Adams. He’s been criticized by some campus leaders regarding those issues.
In December 2020, UNCW’s faculty senate voted to censure Sartarelli because he “egregiously failed” in his obligation to support UNCW values of diversity, community engagement and integrity. They also said he violated the trust of the faculty and criticized his response to the nationwide social justice movement during the summer of 2020.
Sartarelli came under fire that summer after the university removed Black Lives Matter banners from campus buildings. Student leaders said he told them “all lives matter.”
He’s also faced criticism about the university’s openness to conservative viewpoints.
UNCW board member and alumnus Woody White announced his resignation from the board on social media this week, sharing a long post about how the university “punishes conservative voices.”
White directly criticized Sartarelli in the post saying, “Despite his successes in enrollment growth and student housing, his neglect of the real issues that matter in the long run is Sartarelli’s true legacy.”
An influential leader
During Sartarelli’s tenure, Business North Carolina recognized him as one of the state’s most influential leaders, while Wilmington Biz Magazine said he is a “Power Player” who has played a role in the region’s business and economic landscape.
Sartarelli is a native of Brazil.
“Chancellor Sartarelli has taken UNC Wilmington to new heights, leading with ambition all while handling serious challenges posed by hurricanes and the pandemic,” UNC System President Peter Hans said in a statement.
Hans noted that UNCW has increased its student population by nearly 40% in the past decade, the largest growth in the system, and expanding campus facilities to meet that growth.
“I’m so grateful for his steady and visionary leadership, and I know all Seahawks join me in thanking him for his service to UNCW and the state,” Hans said.
Sartarelli’s last day will be June 30, 2022.
The UNCW Board of Trustees, Hans and the UNC System Board of Governors will have about nine months to conduct a national search to replace Sartarelli. Hans and UNCW Board Chair Gidget Kidd will work on next steps in the search.
This will be the first chancellor search under a new, controversial UNC System policy that allows Hans to add two finalists to each chancellor search process and then to select a final candidate from that list.
