North Carolina Central University Chancellor Akinleye announces retirement at end of academic year

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- North Carolina Central University Chancellor Johnson Akinleye announced Friday his plans to retire at the end of the 2023-2024 academic year.

Akinleye made the announcement during a NCCU Board of Trustees meeting.

"I am deeply grateful to have had the opportunity to lead this esteemed university through a period of growth and innovation, a period when the institution was primed for transformative change. I am immensely proud and truly gratified to have worked with very talented executive staff, a supportive Board of Trustees, a dedicated faculty and staff, and thousands of caring and dedicated alumni across the nation and worldwide during the past eight-plus years," Akinleye said in a statement to the community.

Akinleye was appointed as the 12th chancellor in 2017. He joined the university as provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs in 2014, before he took on the role of acting chancellor in August 2016 and interim chancellor in December 2016.

"During his nearly eight years as chancellor, Dr. Akinleye has helped the university increase its academic offerings, enrollment, research funding and capital infrastructure," said UNC System President Peter Hans in a release. "The chancellor also helped to elevate the university's national presence, prioritizing access, affordability and student success."

The university said a national search is underway to find a successor.