Charlotte Area

UNC Board Of Governors Chair To Step Down

WUNC | By Will Michaels

Published September 24, 2019 at 3:55 PM EDT

File photo of UNC Board of Governors Chairman Harry Smith and former UNC system President Margaret Spellings responding to questions about the aborted Western Carolina University chancellor search at a July 27, 2018 press conference.

Credit Lisa Philip / WUNC

WUNC

File photo of UNC Board of Governors Chairman Harry Smith and former UNC system President Margaret Spellings responding to questions about the aborted Western Carolina University chancellor search at a July 27, 2018 press conference.

The chair of the UNC System's Board of Governors is resigning after a little more than a year at the position.

A spokesman for the system said today Harry Smith is stepping down from the chairman position on October 1st. He did not indicate a reason for the decision.

Smith has been on the board since 2013, and was named its chair last July. Since then, the board has grappled with issues like what to do with a Confederate monument that was toppled at UNC Chapel Hill, and the resignation of high-profile leaders, including system president Margaret Spellings.

Smith will remain on the board until his term ends in 2021.

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.