The Salisbury University community received news on Tuesday that it would lose one of its emerging leaders on campus in June.
Dr. James Buss, the dean of the Bellavance Honors College, will leave for the same position at Northern Kentucky University beginning on July 1. Cincinnati Business Courier managing editor Bill Cieslewicz first reported the news.
Buss will be the inaugural Dean of the Honors College at Northern Kentucky which oversees more than 1,000 honors students.
“Drs. Buss and Wood are dedicated to working hard over the next five months to leave the Honors College at SU on strong footing for the next Dean and faculty-director. We will work tirelessly to ensure that students in the Honors College will be well-taken-care-of by whoever takes over leadership of the Honors College,” the statement read in part.
The honors program at Salisbury saw new success under Buss over the last few years. An associate professor of history at Salisbury, Buss also led the development of the Bellavance Honors College as enrollment has grown quickly over the last few years.
Since the fall semester of 2013, honors student enrollments have more than doubled.
Before coming to Salisbury, Buss acted as a history author and head of the University Honors Program at Oklahoma City University. He also served as an executive board member for the Maryland Collegiate Honors Council and treasurer for the Northeast Regional Honors Council.
When he leaves, Buss will join the third-largest university in the Greater Cincinnati area, with over 14,000 students currently enrolled. A native of Ohio, the move heads closer to home for the dean.
In a message over student-service MyClasses, Buss told current honors students that Honors College Faculty Director Dr. Leanne Wood would be leaving with him for Northern Kentucky. Wood will teach in the university’s School of the Arts.
Potential candidates for the open positions have yet to be determined.
By CHRIS MACKOWIAK
Sports editor
Featured photo: Salisbury University and Megan Campbell images.