Former dean and marine scientist returns to UNC Wilmington as its new chancellor
Marine scientist and former UNC Wilmington dean Aswani Volety is returning to campus as the new chancellor, effective July 1.
Volety rejoins the UNC System after serving as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Elon University since 2019. Before leading Elon as a top administrator, Volety spent five years as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and executive director of the Center for Marine Sciences at UNCW.
“I have a lot of sweat equity in UNC Wilmington, and I’m excited to return to the university,” Volety said in a statement. “I know the institution well, know the people, know the challenges and opportunities. I know how we can do our part to help the entire region grow.”
Volety said he wants to ensure UNCW students have the same opportunity to achieve their ambitions, just as his education allowed him to live the American Dream.
“I came to the United States because I knew that education here is the best in the world, by far,” Volety said. “I’m even more convinced of that after 32 years in this country.”
He said university leaders must help students see how much they can accomplish and how far they can go if they work hard and pursue an education.
‘A new era of excellence’
The UNC System Board of Governors unanimously approved the new chancellor and his contract with a vote at its meeting Thursday. Along with a tenured faculty position, Volety’s annual salary will be $385,000 and he will be provided a house and a car.
Volety replaces Jose Sartarelli, who is retiring in June after seven years at the helm of the university.
UNC System President Peter Hans said he is confident that Volety will “guide the Seahawks into a new era of excellence.”
As a first-generation college student and native of India, Volety has “devoted his life to building and serving this country’s public institutions,” Hans said.
“It should make us all proud that someone as talented and ambitious as Dr. Volety has chosen to build a life in North Carolina and return to Wilmington,” said Hans, wearing a Seahawk-inspired teal and navy striped tie.
UNCW was to host a special campus ceremony to welcome Aswani on the lawn of Hoggard Hall at 2 p.m. Thursday, also livestreamed on Zoom.
Academic leadership at universities
At Elon, Volety served as the chief operations officer and chief academic officer, managing administrative operations and leading the direction for the university’s planning and budget.
At UNCW, Volety served as chief academic, fiscal and administrative officer for the College of Arts and Sciences, which is UNCW’s largest academic unit and awards about two-thirds of the university’s academic credits in 25 departments.
He enhanced professional development opportunities for faculty and staff to increase retention and advocated for diversity. At UNCW, 60% of the faculty hires he made were either female or minority candidates, according to his bio.
UNCW started its first engineering program, Coastal Engineering, under Volety’s leadership. He and his colleagues also implemented other academic programs at the doctoral, master’s and undergraduate level to meet regional needs.
Volety also helped shape and lead the university’s research at the Center for Marine Science. He focused on building partnerships with international universities and enhanced UNCW’s fundraising efforts. He also created the Dean’s Student Leadership Council, giving students a voice in the college’s governance.
“He has played a key role in building Wilmington into one of the strongest and most student-focused public institutions in the state,” Hans said.
Volety’s eagerness to return and the enthusiasm of the university community to welcome him back, speaks to the goodwill and good work the system is expecting from him as chancellor, Hans said.
Hans selected Volety as the finalist after a national search by an 18-member UNCW committee that included trustees, faculty, staff, students, alumni and community members.
His emphasis on the student experience, his connections to the university and his professional experience at private and public universities bolstered the committee’s support, according to Gidget Kidd, chair of the UNCW Board of Trustees and the search committee.
“Dr. Volety impressed the committee with his understanding of the complex challenges facing universities today,” Kidd said in a statement. “He has the experience and vision to guide UNCW into its next 75 years of success.”
Marine science researcher
In addition to his administrative career, Volety spent several years teaching and researching marine science.
He spent 15 years as a professor of marine science and later as interim dean for the College of Arts & Sciences at Florida Gulf Coast University before joining UNCW. There, he helped the state understand how environmental policies impact people.
Volety has researched marine organism diseases, physiology, immunopathology, toxicology and the management and restoration of marine habitats, according to his bio. His work focuses on how natural stressors and human pollutants affect shellfish.
As a scholar, he has received funding from federal, state and private agencies, including the National Research Council, National Science Foundation, Environmental Protection agency, Sea Grant, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration.
In India, Volety started school at 2 years old and graduated from college at 18. He earned master’s and bachelor’s degrees in zoology from Andhra University in Visakhapatnam, India. Volety came to the United States to pursue a doctorate degree in marine science from the School of Marine Science at the College of William & Mary. He also received a Graduate Certificate in Management Development from the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University.
This story was originally published May 26, 2022 at 12:23 PM with the headline "Former dean and marine scientist returns to UNC Wilmington as its new chancellor."
