RALEIGH, N.C. (WITN) – The chancellor of a university here in the east will be heading to the Bull City for a new opportunity.

Elizabeth City State University’s Dr. Karrie Dixon will become the new chancellor of North Carolina Central University in Durham. This decision was made by the UNC Board of Governors after considering more than 50 candidates.

Dixon will be succeeding Johnson Akinleye who has served the university for eight years. The school system says that Dixon was recommended as a candidate by UNC System President Peter Hans.

She has been serving ECSU as chancellor since 2018 during which she raised enrollment by nearly 70%, raised $24 million in private donations, and built partnerships that brought in nearly $300 million in state and federal funding. All of this, according to a release, in response to time of decline for the university.

Her skills and abilities were cited as the reason for her choosing of the position, said the UNC System.

“Karrie Dixon has been a widely admired leader in our university System for more than two decades,” Hans said. “She’s known for building great teams and taking on big challenges with honesty and optimism. I’m excited for NC Central and grateful to Chancellor Dixon for her commitment to this state.”

Akinleye will be retiring on June 30.