Dear Faculty, Staff and Students,

I am pleased to announce that I have appointed Dr. Neva J. Specht to the role of Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost, effective May 1. Neva has held the position of acting provost since April of 2024.

In this role, Neva will continue her responsibilities as provost, advancing the academic mission of the university in collaboration with faculty, chairs, and deans, and, as I shared in my message to campus on March 21, she will also oversee all aspects of Enrollment Management, the Student Affairs departments that support students and student success, and Arts Engagement and Cultural Resources. This combined division will allow all student success efforts, which have been housed across the three divisions of Academic Affairs, Student Affairs and Enrollment Management, to provide continuity of support for our students. From the first interactions as prospective students, to academic programs and advising, clubs and organizations, health and well-being, commencement and career services and support, students will be supported within a single division, under Neva’s leadership.

In the last month, I have met with all of the academic deans, members of the Chancellor’s and Provost’s Councils, Council of Chairs leadership, Faculty Senate leadership, senior leaders in Student Affairs and members of the Provost's Office staff. In each of these meetings, I have heard broad-based support for Neva. Her colleagues describe her as an honest, entrepreneurial, solution-oriented and visionary thinker who understands the challenges before us and the metrics we use every day to measure our success. I couldn’t agree more.

Neva is currently working on building a team that will allow her to develop a strong, collaborative division, one that cultivates a supportive university community and is focused on advancing student success and faculty and staff excellence — two key elements of our university’s strategic plan. This will include conducting a national search to hire a Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management.

In October of 2021, at the conclusion of a search process, I named Neva as vice provost for faculty policies and development, then promoted her in 2022 to senior vice provost. She served as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences from 2017-2021 and has been on faculty in the Department of History since 1996. Prior to becoming dean, she served as assistant chair in the Department of History (2007-09), then associate dean (2010-13) and senior associate dean (2013-17) in the College of Arts and Sciences. During her time as associate and senior associate dean, she worked closely on meeting enrollment management goals for the college.

Neva’s service work includes six years as the university liaison to the Blue Ridge Parkway. She has been a trustee and board chair for the North Carolina Humanities Council. Locally, she has served on the Blowing Rock Art and History Museum’s Board, Blue Ridge Parkway 75 and on the Town of Boone’s Cultural Resource Advisory Board.

Neva earned her Ph.D. in United States history and material culture studies from the University of Delaware, where she also earned her Master of Arts in United States history with a certificate in museum studies. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Grinnell College, where she double majored in history and American studies.

Please join me in congratulating Neva on her new appointment to the position of Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost.

A press release is forthcoming.

Heather Norris
Chancellor