Sharon L. Gaber has been selected as the fifth chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. When she takes office on July, 1, Dr. Gaber will be the second woman to lead the university.
“I am truly excited and grateful to have the opportunity to serve as the fifth chancellor of UNC Charlotte,” said Dr. Gaber. “While we are experiencing unprecedented times in our nation, I am prepared to work with the faculty, staff, students, alumni, and local leaders to navigate our new realities together and build on the University’s strong legacy of academic excellence, cutting-edge research, and community engagement. I believe in the importance of the institution’s mission as North Carolina’s urban research university, and the critical role UNC Charlotte plays in the largest city in the state.”
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte enrolls more than 24,000 undergraduate students and more than 5,300 graduate students, according to data from the U.S. Department of Education. Women make up 47 percent of the undergraduate student body.
Dr. Gaber currently serves as the first woman president of the University of Toledo in Ohio. She became president in 2015 following six years as provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Arkansas. She also served as interim provost at Auburn University in Alabama and as a faculty member and administrator at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Dr. Gaber earned a bachelor’s degree from Occidental College in Los Angeles, where she majored in economics and urban studies. She holds a master’s degree in urban planning from the University of Southern California, and a Ph.D. in city and regional planning from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.