Make it an inside hire: The new provost should come from UNC

Money is tight and it's only going to get tighter.

So why scour the country for a new provost when he or she is likely to be just across Polk Place?

Chancellor Holden Thorp has pledged to get a search committee in place to quickly replace Bernadette Gray-Little who will become the new chancellor at the University of Kansas.

The University must be thrifty in finding her successor and limit the initial search to internal candidates.

When then-Chancellor James Moeser announced he would step down last June the search committee paid a consulting firm William R. Funk and Associates about $100000 to solicit applicants.

Applicants were flown in and put up in hotels to be interviewed. The ultimate result? Thorp who was already working in South Building was selected.

Similarly a national search was made to replace Thorp's vacated post as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Fifty-five applicants from across the country were interviewed. Karen Gil senior associate dean of social sciences and international programs at UNC was picked.

And guess where Gray-Little was before she was named provost in 2006? Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

The provost is an important job certainly. We need somebody capable of serving as the chief academic officer at this University.

But we have a wealth of experience and talent right here at UNC.

Look at J. Steven Reznick associate dean for first-year seminars and academic experiences. Look at Ron Strauss executive associate provost.

And if UNC still can't find a replacement ask Bruce Carney for a recommendation. He's a nearly 30-year veteran of the University was the interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and will now be interim provost. He'll surely know whom to pick.

Home cooking is just fine. It's sure cheaper than dining out.