Holden Thorp, PhD, chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) and a highly respected research scientist and academic leader, will become provost of Washington University in St. Louis on July 1, 2013, according to Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton. He will succeed Edward S. Macias, PhD, who has served as chief academic officer for the past 25 years. Macias announced in September that he would step down from his position as provost and executive vice chancellor at the end of the academic year, on June 30, 2013.
“Holden Thorp is one of America’s most highly respected leaders in higher education. He is a great scientist with an excellent track record of achievement and a reputation for his commitment to student success, academic excellence and professional integrity.”
—Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton
“Holden Thorp is one of America’s most highly respected leaders in higher education,” Chancellor Wrighton says. “He is a great scientist with an excellent track record of achievement and a reputation for his commitment to student success, academic excellence and professional integrity. He is an entrepreneur who has founded two companies and understands the importance of innovation and technology transfer.
“He will help lead us into the next phase of our development and will be an effective colleague in working with our academic leaders to develop our university-wide initiatives. Holden has valuable experience in all aspects of a diverse academic enterprise, from medicine to music.
“The theme of our current fundraising campaign is Leading Together, and I am grateful for the commitment that Holden has made to work with me and our leadership team to build the quality and impact of Washington University. Holden has high academic standards and accomplishments in areas central to our future success: preparing the leaders of tomorrow, advancing human health, stimulating innovation and entrepreneurship, and enhancing the quality of life for all.
“I am fortunate to have in Holden Thorp a strong partner in sustaining Washington University’s momentum. I am also thankful to the members of the advisory committee who assisted in bringing to our community an outstanding new member of the university’s senior leadership team,” Wrighton says.
Thorp, 48, who announced in September that he planned to step down as UNC’s chancellor, will hold an endowed professorship in the Department of Medicine at the School of Medicine and in the Department of Chemistry in Arts & Sciences. He says he was attracted to WUSTL because of its leadership and reputation for setting high standards and expectations.
Steve Givens is associate vice chancellor, Public Affairs.
For more information, visit the Washington University Newsroom: http://news.wustl.edu/news/Pages/24969.aspx.
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