Official announces vice provost will no longer hold position

Vice provost for Student Affairs Kemal Atkins will no longer hold his position in the Division of Academic and Student Affairs, Marilyn Sheerer, provost and senior vice chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs, announced Wednesday in a meeting of university officials.

The reason "is a personnel matter so it can't be discussed," Sheerer said.

Atkins served as vice provost since February 2008 and lead 12 departments with 500 staff members and provided "leadership and vision on issues related to the undergraduate experience and student retention," according to his academic vitae available on the ECU Web site. Prior to coming to ECU, Atkins was the assistant vice president of academic and student affairs for the University of North Carolina General Administration.

Sheerer will act as vice provost until an interim is found.

The Office of the Vice Provost oversees all student affairs activities including Student Health, Campus Living, Campus Dining, Student Media and Student Transit.

"I don't know who will come in as interim, but as it gets closer I will seek your input and talk to you," Sheerer said told officials including the director of Campus Living Aaron Lucier, associate dean of students Laura Sweet and about 20 representatives from campus offices that deal directly with students.

Staff and officials wanted to know if Atkins would be staying with ECU or leaving altogether and who would serve as interim provost.

"I think that it's a natural response out of concern for him. I just think people are concerned," Sweet said later in a phone interview.

At a subsequent meeting with SGA the first question after the announcement was whether Atkins would be staying with ECU.

"I asked more so because I was thinking 'Kemal Atkins was a great guy.' He may have been over his head in something, but he was well liked and usually you try to keep your good people on," said SGA chief of staff Josh Martinkovic. SGA is a part of the Student Services Department of Student Affairs.

"Changes are always going to happen, but what we have to do is be resilient," Sheerer said during the meeting with SGA.

With the Fall semester ¬¬-- and the busiest time of the year -- starting in less than a month, part of that resilience includes not rushing to make any "major changes" in policy and eventually finding someone for the position, she said. Sheerer said when choosing an interim the school usually looks for someone with a background and experience in student affairs.

Operations are expected to continue as normal while offices wait for further information about the change. Sheerer said she will meet with each office individually to address any concerns and provide guidance during the transition.

"As of right now there won't be any effects. If we have any questions Kemal would have answered it will go directly to Dr. Sheerer," said Martinkovic.

Aktins was reached by phone but would not specify any details on the decision. He said he hasn't decided yet if he will be staying at ECU.

An official statement from Chancellor Steve Ballard was expected to be released later Wednesday afternoon or Thursday.