The first step in determining the next President of the UNC System was taken by the Board of Governors on Wednesday.

Tom Ross is scheduled to leave that position in January of next year, following a decision by the BOG.

A nine-member nomination committee was unveiled during a conference call. That committee will nominate members to three committees that will be involved in the search process.

Those committees will consist of a leadership statement committee, a screening committee, and a search committee.

The leadership statement portion will involve campus leaders to put forward a description of the qualities the board is looking for in the next University System President.

From there, the screening committee will wade through applications.

The search committee will have the most influence in the process, including hiring a search consultant.

Nominations to each committee will likely come at the next Board of Governor’s meeting on April 10 in Greenville, on the campus of East Carolina University.