Today the Board of Governors of the 17-campus University of North Carolina system named Dr. Jose V. “Zito” Sartarelli as the new chancellor of UNCW. Sartarelli will assume his role as chancellor July 1, 2015.

Dr. Sartarelli was the Milan Puskar Dean of the College of Business and Economics at West Virginia University prior to being elected chancellor of UNCW. Gaining a Bachelors in Marketing from São Paulo School of Business Administration in Brazil, a Masters in Marketing from Michigan State University, and a Ph.D. in Business Administration from Michigan State University, Sartarelli is said Sederburg to be “an ideal fit for the university, particularly during this time of great growth and momentum,” by Interim Chancellor William Sederburg

In a welcoming ceremony held on Hoggard Lawn, Sederburg introduced the new chancellor to students, faculty, alumni, and members of the Wilmington community.

“It is with great pleasure that I welcome Dr. Sartarelli as the Chancellor-Elect of UNCW,” said Chancellor William A. Sederburg. “Dr. Sartarelli has an outstanding record in leadership positions overseeing the development and success of numerous programs at West Virginia University.”

Sartarelli partook in creating six joint degree programs, a Ph.D. program in business administration as well as an online MBA for business administration. Sartarelli is also credited with forming an undergraduate business program that is ranked in the top 100 by Bussinessweek and for record- breaking enrollment.

In an email sent out to the student and faculty of UNCW, Michael Shivar, UNCW Board of Trustee Chair and Co-Chair of the Chancellor Search Committee, said that with all of these achievements “Dr. Sartarelli impressed all of us. I have no doubt that he will guide UNCW toward a new level of success that will benefit the entire region.”

However, the road to electing Sartarelli as chancellor was not always simple. The process began in September with the assembly of chancellor search committee. The committee was composed of UNCW faculty, staff, alumni, community members, Trustees and UNCW Student Body President Tobi Polland—the representative of the students. The pool proved to be a large one.

“We had 56 candidates, which we narrowed to 10 interviews away from campus,” Shivar said. “We then narrowed the pool to 5 candidates which we invited to campus to meet with a broader pool of university employees and students.”

After the pool was narrowed down to three candidates, these candidates were presented for interviews with President Ross, his senior leadership team, and selected Board of Governors members, and the final decision was made on April 10.

When asked about why the entire process was kept so secretive, with no indications as to who was even in the running for chancellor, Tara Romanella of the UNCW Office of University Relations said, “it

was [the committee’s] decision to keep the search process confidential and not release the names of candidates in order to have as strong a pool of interested candidates as possible.”

Nevertheless, Chancellor Search Committee, Board of Trustees, and President Tom Ross stand firm in their decision to elect Dr. Sartarelli chancellor of UNCW, especially in a time where quite a few faculty members have left for other universities.

“The moves were to enhance their careers in higher education. While we have a wonderful university, we sometimes can be a place where faculty and staff gain experience and move on to what they believe are positions of more responsibility,” Shivar said.  “The open positions we have will give the new chancellor the opportunity to build a strong team around him,” Shivar said.