Education

Sources: UNC Health CEO likely to be named interim UNC system president

Dr. William Roper, chief executive of UNC Health Care, is expected to be named interim president of the University of North Carolina system on Thursday, sources have told WRAL News.

Posted Updated

By
Cullen Browder
, WRAL anchor/reporter
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Dr. William Roper, chief executive of UNC Health Care, is expected to be named interim president of the University of North Carolina system on Thursday, sources have told WRAL News.

The UNC Board of Governors has scheduled an emergency meeting for 11:30 a.m. Thursday "to consider an executive personnel matter."

UNC President Margaret Spellings announced last week that she plans to step down on March 1 after three years leading the 17-campus system.
Roper himself announced last spring that he planned to retire next May. The 70-year-old has headed UNC Health Care and served as the dean of the School of Medicine and vice chancellor for medical affairs since 2004.

He has been a candidate for UNC president during past searches.

Under Roper's leadership, UNC Health Care has expanded into a statewide system with more than a dozen hospitals, including its flagship in Chapel Hill, Rex Hospital in Raleigh and hospitals in Smithfield, Rocky Mount, Goldsboro and Siler City. The system has more than 30,000 employees and nearly $5 billion in annual revenue.

A planned merger with Charlotte-based Atrium Health, which would have created North Carolina's largest health network, fell through in March, however, because the two sides couldn't reach an agreement.

At the UNC School of Medicine, total research funding has increased more than 50 percent during Roper's tenure, to $441 million last year. He opened doors for medical students to train in Asheville, Charlotte and Wilmington, and the school now trains more than 2,400 inter-professional health care providers and medical students annually.

Related Topics

 Credits 

Copyright 2024 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.