After serving as Syracuse University’s vice chancellor and provost for nearly eight years, Eric Spina said the time is right for him to step down at the end of the month.

“With a job like vice chancellor and provost, you just know when the right time to step down is, and now is the right time for me,” Spina said. “This decision is what’s fairest to myself and to Syracuse University.”

Spina, who took over as vice chancellor and provost in Jan. 2007, announced Friday morning that he will be stepping down from his tenured position at the end of this year. The Board of Trustee’s Executive Committee appointed Spina as a trustee professor after he made the announcement, according to an SU news press release. A trustee professor is a professor with an honorific title, much like an endowed chair, Spina said.

Spina said he has been contemplating stepping down for a couple of years now since his long-term goal is university presidency, or another top leadership position within higher education. Spina said he made up his mind to step down at least a year ago.

“I want to be confident in what I do,” Spina said. “Right now I want to spend time with my family and explore my career options to find what positions could possibly match best with me.”

He added that his biggest takeaway from being vice chancellor and provost is the relationships he built with students, faculty, staff and vice chancellors from other institutions.

“As vice chancellor and provost I was able to meet a lot of people on the Syracuse University campus, nationally and internationally,” Spina said. “In the labor was the love and I love my job.”

Until a new vice chancellor and provost is chosen, Liz Liddy, dean of the School of Information Studies, will serve as interim vice chancellor and provost starting Jan. 1, 2015. Jeffrey Stanton, senior associate dean for the iSchool, will take over for Liddy as the interim iSchool dean starting Jan. 1.

Liddy said as interim vice chancellor and provost she will support Chancellor Syverud and she will be specifically involved in all of the Fast Forward program initiatives.

“I’m still getting my feet on the ground, but it’s a pleasure to be invited and I am looking forward to it with eagerness,” Liddy said. “We’ve got places to go and the resources to get there.”

Chancellor Kent Syverud identified Liddy as the right person for the job after significant thought and discussion, Kevin Quinn, senior vice president for public affairs, said in an email. Quinn added that the search for a new vice chancellor and provost is still under development and no formal candidates have been identified.

Published on December 5, 2014 at 8:25 pm

Contact Sara: smswann@syr.edu | @saramswann