Below is the email Dean Rhodes sent to College faculty and staff.
Dear College of Arts & Sciences colleagues,
Many of you know that I have called UNC-Chapel Hill my home for 34 years, so this news is bittersweet to share, although it has been my plan for some time: I am writing today to let you know that I will be retiring as dean and as a faculty member of the College of Arts & Sciences at the end of this academic year.
June 2022 has been my target faculty retirement date for many years, and I informed Provost Robert Blouin of my plans when I accepted the permanent deanship position in early 2020, after serving as interim dean the prior year. It has been an honor — and distinct joy — these past few years to lead the school from which I graduated. In my three-plus decades at Carolina, I have served as a tenured faculty member, director of UNC Opera, chair of the department of music (2009-12), faculty marshal, senior associate dean of fine arts and humanities (2012-2019), and, finally, since February 2019, the first dean from the fine arts since the College took its modern-day name in 1935.
I am also a proud parent of a UNC grad and have had the profoundly gratifying experience of seeing how well my daughter’s Carolina education prepared her for graduate studies, just as it had done for me.
This great university has shaped and inspired me: I’m a Tar Heel born and bred, a Raleigh native who graduated from Carolina with a bachelor’s degree in music in 1978. What I value above all are the people with whom I have worked and students I have taught: my leadership team in the Dean’s office, the College’s department chairs, faculty, staff and students, and my colleagues across the University. You are all such brilliant, dedicated and generous people, and together you make Carolina the special place that it is.
Chancellor Guskiewicz and Provost Blouin will be sending out a university-wide announcement shortly, including plans for a search for the next dean. My successor, whomever she or he may be, will be fortunate to call you colleagues.
Sincerely,
Terry Ellen Rhodes, Dean
College of Arts & Sciences
Read the campus-wide message from the provost and chancellor.