Former Easley adviser named interim chancellor at ECU

University of North Carolina Interim President Dr. Bill Roper announced Tuesday that Dan Gerlach will serve as ECU's leader.

ECU chancellor: 'I did not initiate' decision to step down

"Dan Gerlach has been a tremendous advocate for higher education and eastern North Carolina for more than a decade," Roper said in a statement. "With his exemplary record of service and leadership, he is the ideal candidate to lead ECU going forward."

"ECU provides more opportunity for rural North Carolinians than any other institution, and I look forward to working with the entire ECU community to meet the needs of our students, their families and the communities that look to this great university for inspiration and leadership," Gerlach said in a statement.

DAN GERLACH: Lessons learned over a decade serving rural N.C.

He previously served as a legislative budget analyst, nonprofit policy director and senior adviser to Easley. He has served on over a dozen commissions on budget, tax, agriculture and economic development at the state and national level.

He earned a master's degree in public administration in state and local public finance from the Maxwell School of Syracuse University and bachelor’s degrees in economics and English from the University of Notre Dame. He previously served as an adjunct instructor of public administration at UNC-Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University.