Embattled UNC-Chapel Hill Head Thorp To Resign

The chancellor who has led the country's oldest public university for four years will step down next year in the wake of scandals involving academic fraud, improper travel spending by fundraisers and special treatment for athletes.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chancellor Holden Thorp will step down in June after the academic year and return to teaching in the chemistry department, where he had been a longtime professor and former chairman, the school said Monday.

Thorp met privately Friday with the Board of Governors overseeing the 17-campus state university system, and several members said afterward they thought Thorp was doing a great job. Thorp's successes included the attracting $767 million in research funds last year, putting the school among the Top 10 U.S. public universities for attracting federal research funding, board members said.

Thorp said in an interview Monday that he decided to resign on Sunday, stressing that it was his choice and that he wasn't pressured by the board.