Holden Thorp, who will become the next chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is a Fayetteville native and an alumnus of the university he now will lead. But the truth is, Thorp's resume is so thick and impressive that he likely would have been a candidate for any number of leadership positions nationwide. It's great that he will stay home, where he has been a star since joining the faculty in 1993.

Thorp has done all that he has done in a relatively short period of time. He is 43 years old.

Consider: He graduated with highest honors from UNC-Chapel Hill and earned a doctorate from the California Institute of Technology. He has been an award-winning teacher, including top honors for teaching undergraduate students. He has chaired the well-regarded chemistry department and been dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

Thorp has raised millions for professorships, and for the Carolina Physical Sciences Center. An esteemed scientist and expert in the field of DNA and RNA, he's also an entrepreneur, working with private companies (and helping to form them). He holds 19 pending or issued patents.

Not bad. The only thing lacking seems to be a Heisman Trophy for football, and a Nobel Prize.

Current Chancellor James Moeser wisely moved Thorp up the ladder, and calls his successor a "supernova." Moeser got the word early on in his tenure that Thorp was special from William Friday, president emeritus of the UNC system, who named many chancellors during his 30 years of service. Thorp's youth wouldn't be a concern to Friday, who was 36 when he became UNC president.

Clearly, Thorp understands the university's mission of public service, and he understands also that the university has many priorities, including undergraduate education, which gets shortchanged at some large research universities. It stands to reason that someone who has "worked his way up" knows where improvements can be made.

As a native of the state, Thorp perhaps will have some ideas for bringing administrators and faculty members into closer, more regular contact with those they serve. Former Chancellor Michael Hooker received and deserved credit for recognizing that the Chapel Hill campus needed to reach out to constituents all over North Carolina, to demonstrate an understanding that it is the people's university. Thorp is splendidly gifted in background to continue that.

He will be tested, of course. Big-time athletics boosters will be sure to keep pounding the drum to make those already expensive programs bigger and more expensive. Legislators like to meddle sometimes. And there will be pressure for Thorp to support big increases in tuition. Let's hope he will resist.

Any chancellor must please a variety of constituencies, from faculty members to students to students' parents to alumni. That last group is large and powerful when it comes to UNC-Chapel Hill (and some members of it unfortunately formed a political action committee to get legislators' attention with donations).

But Thorp, as one mindful of the university's history, and as one who has given most of his distinguished professional life to the university, has instant credibility as its next leader. This is a pick with promise.

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