Stepping down as chancellor in summer 2017

Colleagues,

Recently, I shared with the Kansas Board of Regents my intention to step down as chancellor next summer.

During the past seven years, we have made tremendous strides as a university and positioned KU for even greater achievements in the future. We have completed many critical initiatives, and many more are nearing completion. We successfully concluded the $1.6 billion Far Above campaign, and our transformational Central District redevelopment project unfolds around us. I am proud to have had the privilege to lead these initiatives, and I’m grateful to the entire KU community for believing in our mission.

Now is an ideal time for the University of Kansas to identify a new leader to guide the next chapter in the university’s history. By announcing my decision now, we give state and university leaders a full academic year to conduct the important work of recruiting the next chancellor.

Sometime toward the end of the spring semester, Shade and I will have opportunities to share our appreciation for how you welcomed us into your community and for all you have done to make this a remarkable experience for us. However, we have much work to do as an institution between now and then, including improving our retention, persistence and graduation rates; enhancing our research enterprise; growing further our faculty scholarship and sponsored inquiry; and continuing to attract investment in our people and programs.

KU always has been a special place with remarkable people and an instinctive spirit to change our world for the better. It has been an honor to lead the University of Kansas and serve as your chancellor.

Bernadette Gray-Little

Chancellor
University of Kansas