Two high-ranking administrators at the University of Toledo will be stepping down.

Rosemary Haggett, main campus provost, will become the chief academic officer at the University of North Texas System, and Douglas Ray, dean of the college of law, is leaving because his contract is not being renewed.

Ms. Haggett will be based in downtown Dallas in her new position, which carries the title of vice chancellor for academic affairs and student success. She starts June 1.

"In many ways, I'll be doing the same things I did here," Ms. Haggett said of her new duties. At UT, the main campus deans report to her.

The University of North Texas System, with 37,000 students at the graduate and undergraduate levels, "has existed for seven years," she said. "It is a relatively young system, and I'll be the first chief academic officer."

Mr. Ray said he didn't know why his contract, which expires at the end of June, won't be renewed.

Ms. Haggett declined to shed light on the matter, saying only: "We just decided it was time to move in a different direction."

Mr. Ray said he either would rejoin the teaching faculty, where he spent 17 years, or take a dean's position at another law school where he is under consideration. He declined to name the school.

Ms. Haggett joined UT in 2007, coming to the Bancroft Street campus from the National Science Foundation, where she was acting deputy assistant director of the education and human resources directorate and director of the division of undergraduate education.

Before that, she was dean of the West Virginia University College of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Sciences. She holds a PhD in physiology from the University of Virginia. At UT, she is paid $236,385.

Ms. Haggett said she was particularly proud of UT's Learning Collaborative, which was established during her tenure and is intended to enhance a student's education through remedial work, study abroad, internships, and undergraduate research.

She said she accepted the new job because "it was a good offer and it was an opportunity for me to grow in my profession. I leave with really warm feelings about the University of Toledo."

Mr. Ray, who is paid $228,124 as dean, assumed his position in 2006.

His contract expires at the end of June. He cited the law school's student volunteer legal services program, which enables students to do pro bono work with the Toledo Bar Association and Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, as a proud achievement.

With his departure and Ms. Haggett's, "you could say this is a time of transition" at UT, Mr. Ray said.

Contact Carl Ryan at

carlryan@theblade.com

or 419-724-6050.

First Published April 28, 2010, 11:23 a.m.