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Press Release

University of North Carolina System President Margaret Spellings today announced that Dr. Kimberly van Noort has been appointed as the senior vice president for academic affairs and chief academic officer for the UNC System. Dr. van Noort had been serving in an interim capacity in the position since May 31, and the announcement is effective immediately.

“Kim has done an exceptional job in an interim capacity in this role, and her knowledge and guidance are invaluable to the UNC System,” said President Spellings. “She will bring passionate enthusiasm and a deep knowledge of pedagogical innovation, academic planning, assessment, and curriculum development to this now permanent senior leadership position.”

A native of rural Nebraska, Dr. van Noort was the first member of her family to earn a college degree. After graduating from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in French, she earned her Ph.D. from Boston University. An expert in French literature, her past academic research focused on the twentieth-century novel in France.

Dr. van Noort began her academic career at the University of Texas at Arlington in 1995, later becoming associate dean for academic affairs in its College of Liberal Arts in 2004. There, she was a strong advocate of study abroad, establishing the university’s first faculty-led program in France. In addition, she built new graduate student support mechanisms, developed faculty review and workload policies, and implemented a new advising model across the campus.

Promoted to associate vice provost for undergraduate studies and director of university college in 2014, Dr. van Noort developed extensive experience in strategic planning, accreditation oversight, and program assessment. In these roles, she spearheaded a redesign of UT-Arlington’s core curriculum, helped to create new degree programs, and worked to expand a general education degree-completion program. She also expanded student success programs, oversaw significant expansion of online services, and implemented new software to improve advising capabilities.

Dr. van Noort had previously served as vice president for academic programs, faculty, and research for the UNC System since April 2016.