Terry Magnuson, founding chair of the department of genetics at UNC, has been appointed as the vice chancellor for research.

He was approved by the Board of Trustees and will begin July 1.

“Dr. Magnuson is a national leader in his field and one of our deeply trusted colleagues,” said chancellor Carol Folt. “We are so honored that he will guide the basic curiosity, passion and creativity inherent in our faculty and students to help unleash the innovation potential of this great University.”

He will succeed Barbara Entwisle, who will return to her role as a distinguished professor in the Sociology Department .

During her five years as vice chancellor, Entwisle led UNC to a national top-10 ranking for research universities in both overall and federal expenditures for the first time in the university’s history.

UNC attracted nearly $1 billion in contract and grant funding in fiscal 2014.

“We have a lot of room to maximize our research efforts,” Magnuson said. “As technology develops, we can incorporate disciplines and bring researchers together in ways we have never thought of before.”

He came to UNC in 2000 to help found the department of genetics. Magnuson also founded the Cancer Genetics Program in the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and has been vice dean for research in the School of Medicine.

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