Reuben E. Brigety II / Contributed photoUniversity of the South Vice Chancellor Reuben E. Brigety II has announced he is resigning to accept an anticipated appointment by President Joe Biden to serve as ambassador to South Africa.
Brigety, named in February 2020 to be vice chancellor of Sewanee, said in a news release issued Wednesday he will step down at the end of the semester, citing news stories about his potential appointment. He is Sewanee's first Black vice chancellor.
"Having concluded that I would accept this nomination if it were offered and that it would be unfair to prolong any uncertainty at the university, I have informed the board of regents of this decision and tendered my resignation as vice chancellor effective at the conclusion of this semester, on Dec. 21," he said, noting the suddenness of developments and his previous expectations of serving as vice chancellor "for a long time to come."
"Yet I also know that I would not decline my obligation to serve my country if asked by the president of the United States," Brigety said.
The vice chancellor declined to be interviewed.
The first hint Brigety might get the appointment came from a Nov. 17 report from news outlet SABC News in South Africa. Sewanee officials released a statement acknowledging the rumored appointment the same day but didn't confirm or deny the vice-chancellor's nomination.
Brigety, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy who holds a master's degree and a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge, has served as a U.S. ambassador in Africa before. Before becoming dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University in 2015, Brigety served as U.S. ambassador to the African Union for two years, according to the university's biographical information on the vice-chancellor.
Board of Regents chair Reid Funston and chancellor of the university and chair of the Board of Trustees the Rev. Robert Skirving applauded Brigety's potential appointment and his decision to put service to his country first.
In a Wednesday note to the Sewanee community, Funston and Skirving listed the university's achievements under Brigety's leadership.
"For the past 18 months, Reuben has led the university through an extraordinary time," they wrote. "He has guided Sewanee through the significant challenges posed by a global pandemic in a manner that allowed our students a safe return to the mountain for an on-campus experience in a year unlike any other. [In addition,] he has established a bold vision for student success, diversity and economic development that charts an ambitious and sustainable path for Sewanee's future. As regents, we have been proud to embrace and support his vision and initiatives, and we remain fully committed to a path forward that will best position the university to thrive in the future."
Funston and Skirving also announced Provost Nancy Berner will assume the office of vice chancellor pro tempore effective Dec. 21, according to the release.
In Wednesday's announcement, Brigety spoke highly of his time at the school, although he was the target in 2020 of vandals he dubbed "phantoms" in the darkness who threw beer cans and liquor bottles on the lawn of his campus home and left behind insulting messages.
(READ MORE: Sewanee community rattled by 'vile racial epithets' hurled at visiting lacrosse team)
A Sewanee spokesperson in 2020 said Brigety "has not characterized the vandalism as either racially motivated, or not," regarding the incidents at his home.
Asked Thursday if those incidents influenced Brigety's recent decision, Saxton reiterated via email that the vice chancellor's choice was a matter of duty.
"The vice chancellor's statement about his leaving said that his decision to leave Sewanee comes from his sense of duty to the United States," Saxton said. "He knew he would leave if he were asked to serve as ambassador to South Africa, and he forthrightly shared that with the Board of Regents. I think we can take him at his word."
Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569. Follow him on Twitter @BenBenton.