Western Carolina Provost To Serve As Acting Chancellor

The provost of Western Carolina University will serve as the school's acting chancellor when the current chancellor leaves for medical treatment.

Alison Morrison-Shetlar will lead the Cullowhee university starting Jan. 1. The president of the University of North Carolina system, Margaret Spellings, made the announcement on Tuesday.

Chancellor David Belcher, who's been at the helm since 2011, announced Monday that he'll go on medical leave at the end of this year for further treatment of a brain tumor.

Belcher says he doesn't expect to return to the job.

Scotland native Morrison-Shetlar has been at Western Carolina since 2014, and is also a tenured biology professor. She previously served as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Elon University.

Spellings says she'll work with the chairman of the university's board of trustees to begin a search for a permanent chancellor.