UNC Asheville names new provost following announcement of $6M deficit

Asheville

UNC Asheville has selected Yvonne Villanueva-Russell for the position of provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs, effective July 1. The UNC Asheville Board of Trustees Executive and Governance Committee unanimously approved her selection on March 28, following a nationwide search that began in December 2023. Villanueva-Russell will succeed Interim Provost Herman Holt. UNCA’s last permanent provost was Garakai Campbell, who held the position from 2019 to 2022. UNCA’s website says some of Villanueva-Russell’s primary duties will be to work collaboratively with direct reports to recommend academic priorities and oversee appropriate resource allocation. The gross annualized salary for Villanueva-Russell will be $225,000.

Villanueva-Russell currently serves as a founding dean of the College of Innovation and Design at Texas A&M University-Commerce, a doctoral-granting comprehensive university of 11,000 students in East Texas outside of the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. Villanueva-Russell said in a recent news release that she was drawn to the size, location and liberal arts and sciences mission of UNCA. “After meeting the campus community, the senior leadership team, and hearing about Chancellor (Kimberly) van Noort’s vision, I am convinced the University of North Carolina Asheville is poised for innovation and ready to bring new energy to impact the campus, the community, and the surrounding region,” Villanueva-Russell said in the release.

Enrollment Increase Vital for UNCA

Among her accomplishments as the dean of the College of Innovation and Design at Texas A&M-Commerce, Villanueva-Russell helped to set a record 92.5% fall-to-spring freshman retention. The College of Innovation and Design has also seen a 264% increase in enrollment over the last five years, now enrolling 2,000 students as the second-largest academic college at Texas A&M-Commerce. Such an enrollment increase would be key for UNCA. On Feb. 6 UNCA announced a $6 million deficit which, if not addressed by the end of the 2024 fiscal year, will grow to $8 million by 2025. According to van Noort in a previous interview with the Citizen Times, the primary cause of the deficit was a five-year enrollment decline faced by the school. This decline resulted in a 25% overall decrease in the size of the student body, over 900 students in total.

Though 2023 brought UNCA their highest number of incoming students since 2019, it remains a crucial mission to continue increasing enrollment. While the school has not yet released any specific information on what cost-cutting measures will be taken to repair the deficit, van Noort also told the Citizen Times that the first action they will take is to “draw down non-critical spending.” “We are making sure that people are only traveling if absolutely necessary,” van Noort said. “We are asking people to take a hard look at everything that they’re going to be spending for the rest of the year, we’ve stopped any hiring that we’re doing right at the moment, except in very, very critical areas, just to make sure that we keep a rein on that budget. We’re looking at everything.”

No Impact on Academic Programs Expected

A dedicated webpage says that UNCA administration expects no changes to academic programming, services or other student resources. Tuition rates are also expected to remain level. Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Meghan Harte Weyant served on the search committee for UNCA’s new provost. She expressed a strong belief in Villanueva-Russell’s ability to help improve UNCA’s situation, enrollment decline included. “I am confident that Dr. Villanueva-Russell will be an excellent partner with student affairs and enrollment,” Harte Weyant said in the news release. “She recognizes the intentionally designed connections that are critical to assuring student success both in and outside of the classroom.”