Dean Jim White to leave CU Boulder for position in North Carolina
Provost Russell Moore announced today that Jim White, acting dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, has accepted the position of dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. White will remain at CU Boulder through June 30.
“I’d like to thank Jim for his five years of distinguished service as the acting dean of our largest college during a time of tremendous challenge and transformation,” said Moore. “As we are in the final stages of interviews for a candidate to succeed him, I will soon begin discussions on appointing interim leadership to serve until we complete the process of appointing a new dean.”
Jim White
Moore recognized White for his many outstanding achievements, which include:
Maintaining budget integrity for the college under difficult circumstances caused by COVID-19.
Presiding over the implementation of a new governance structure for the college.
Establishing new standards of openness and transparency in communicating with faculty and staff in the college.
Advocating tirelessly for the value of a liberal arts education and for a redoubled focus on diversity, equity and inclusion.
“Jim’s essential decency, strong capacity to listen and ability to make difficult decisions served the College of Arts and Sciences at a critical moment, providing steady leadership and positioning the college to receive its new dean this fall. Jim is an exceptional leader who will serve North Carolina well and who will be greatly missed here at CU Boulder,” Moore said.
White has been at CU Boulder for 34 years, five of which have been as acting dean for Arts and Sciences.
“I am excited to continue the work of supporting, leading and advocating for higher education and especially a broad liberal arts education,” White said. “The University of North Carolina is a prestigious institution, and I am very thankful to them for giving me the opportunity to lead the College of Arts and Sciences.
“It will be sad to leave CU Boulder. I am thankful and grateful to the many people here who helped nurture my career, gave me opportunities to succeed and became great friends along the way.”
White is a former director of the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research at CU Boulder. He is an internationally known climatologist who focuses on paleo-environmental reconstructions from ice cores and past and modern controls on the carbon cycle.