A former budget analyst at the North Carolina Legislature and adviser to the governor is now the interim chancellor at East Carolina University.
UNC System interim president Bill Roper announcedthat Dan Gerlach will serve as ECU's leader. Gerlach replaces Cecil Staton, who announced on March 18 that he would resign effective May 5.
The transition away from Staton has been controversial, with some on the ECU board of trustees saying he was forced out by Harry Smith, chairman of the UNC board of governors.
Since 2008, Gerlach has served as president of the Golden LEAF Foundation, a nonprofit which works to increase economic opportunity in North Carolina's rural and tobacco-dependent communities.
Gerlach previously served as a legislative budget analyst, nonprofit policy director and senior adviser to the governor. He has served on over a dozen commissions on budget, tax, agriculture and economic development at the state and national level.