RALEIGH N.C.
Facing a financial audit and criticism over a new nursing
program, Fayetteville State
University’s chancellor announced
Monday she will resign this month.
“I am stepping down as chancellor so that the
university may pursue its core mission of educating students,” T.J. Bryan
said in a written statement. A message left by The Associated Press for Bryan
was not immediately returned Monday.
Bryan, who became chancellor in July 2003, will step down
July 23, according to the statement released by the university. The statement
said Bryan accepted that “the time has come for her to move on,” but
gave no details about her decision to leave.
The announcement comes after the state Board of Nursing
delayed full approval for a new program at the university that awards a
bachelor’s degree in nursing. The board accused school officials of failing to
comply with rules aimed at helping students understand standards and graduation
requirements.
The university’s finances also are being reviewed by state
auditors, who will release their findings likely by the end of the month,
auditor’s office spokesman Chris Mears told The News & Observer of Raleigh.
Joni Worthington, a spokeswoman for the University of North
Carolina system, declined to comment on whether system President Erskine Bowles
asked for Bryan’s resignation. An interim chancellor has not yet been named,
she said.
