Duke University President Richard Brodhead will step down in 2017.

The university announced the move on Thursday. Brodhead’s tenure will end at the conclusion of his current term on June 30.

A release says Brodhead told the Board of Trustees and the Academic Council on Thursday.

Brodhead then sent a message to the Duke community that said, in part:

“With many critical initiatives nearing completion, it seems the right time for Duke to recruit a new leader to guide the next chapter of its progress. Meanwhile, there will be plenty to do in the year ahead. Nothing in a university is the work of a single person, and in the year to come, I’ll look forward to chances to thank and celebrate with each of you who have helped build the Duke of today.”

The 69-year-old has been President at Duke since 2004.

Chair of the Duke Board of Trustees David Rubenstein stated that the board would appoint a committee at its May meeting to begin a search for Duke’s 10th president. He added, “But we will do so fully recognizing that Dick’s vision, work ethic, intellect, and eloquence will be extraordinarily difficult to match.”

Brodhead, who is also the William Preston Few Professor of English at Duke, will take a year’s sabbatical before returning to teaching and writing, according to the release.

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