Search nearing close for Ort’s replacement

Three candidates are still in the running to replace Shirley Ort, who is retiring July 31, as associate provost and director of scholarship and student aid.

Terry Rhodes, senior associate dean of fine arts and humanities and chair of the search committee, said the University wants the position filled by the time Ort leaves office.

“We had a big pool of applicants, we had Skype interviews and now we have three people coming in for campus interviews,” Rhodes said.

Rhodes said the committee is made up of 18 people from departments across campus, such as the School of Medicine, Diversity and Multicultural Affairs and the athletic department. She said it was important for the committee to be comprehensive because Ort’s position affects the entire campus.

“It’s just a lot of places where the office of scholarships and student aid interact with so many different parts of our campus,” Rhodes said. “It’s really an important position.”

Vice Provost for Enrollment and Undergraduate Admissions Stephen Farmer said Ort’s retirement will not affect the Carolina Covenant, the program that helps students from low-income families graduate without debt.

“The Covenant has never been a financial aid program alone,” Farmer said. “It’s really been an institutional program and an institutional priority. I cannot foresee that changing in the slightest. I think the University as a whole and Shirley’s office are completely committed to making sure that the covenant continues to serve students well.”

Farmer said Ort’s replacement will have big shoes to fill, but understands he or she doesn’t have to be exactly like Ort.

“The new director, the new associate provost, will need to have enough sense and enough self-confidence to know that she needs to be herself or he needs to be himself and I think that will give us the best result,” Farmer said.

Ort said she feels the committee is working hard to find a qualified replacement for her.

“They honored me by inviting me to come and speak to the committee before they started with their process,” Ort said. “That was a really great compliment because usually the outgoing person doesn’t have that opportunity and we’re taught not to expect it.”

Ort said her replacement has to understand student needs outside of tuition, like enrichment opportunities, co-pays for medical care and unusual circumstances. She said it is important to be good at aid delivery, getting aid to the right student at the right time.

“The person in this role, I think, has to have a good understanding of the current needs of students and the future needs, and those needs encompass a broader view of the student experience than just how much money you need for this semester or for this academic year,” Ort said.

Ort’s retirement begins on July 31 — the committee hopes to fill the position soon.

“The work that Shirley and her office, that they do together, is so critical for students and for the University as a whole,” Farmer said. “We just want to make sure that the office is well provided for and the students are well provided for. We’re hoping for no vacancy or at the worst, for a very, very short vacancy.”

university@dailytarheel.com