SIU President Randy Dunn says he will take over the role of Chancellor for the Carbondale campus, following the unexpected death of Interim Chancellor Paul Sarvela.
Dunn made the announcement to the SIU community Tuesday afternoon.
In the e-mail message, Dunn says he met with SIU Board of Trustees Chairman Randal Thomas, who told him the consensus of the Board was to have Dunn serve as both President and Chancellor for the short-term, while a national search is launched for a permanent leader for Carbondale.
"While a dual chancellor-president position will present its challenges, I have no doubt — thanks as much to your commitment to SIUC — that it can be workable for the period of time necessary for a thorough and comprehensive chancellor search," Dunn said.
Dunn is in his first year as President at Southern Illinois University. Sarvela had been serving as Interim Chancellor after former Chancellor Rita Cheng left for another job in Arizona. He passed away earlier this month.
SIU Trustees are scheduled to meet again in December in Carbondale. Dunn says he expects they'll have a discussion on the next steps toward the search for a new Chancellor at that time.
