10:34
Brief
New video has surfaced that appears to show former East Carolina University Interim Chancellor Dan Gerlach weaving and stumbling down a Greenville sidewalk after a night that included drinking with students — and then driving away.
The video, sent anonymously to WRAL, follows Gerlach’s resignation over the weekend. He had been on administrative leave since video of him drinking and dancing with students at a bar near campus came to light early this month. The UNC System had been conducting an investigation into the incident ever since.
Gerlach initially defended himself over the incident, which he said was just being open and accessible to students. He later admitted to poor decision making but said he was the target of a those who wanted to keep him from becoming the school’s full-time chancellor. In his resignation statement, Gerlach takes full responsibility.
“As Chancellor, I had the responsibility and the duty to live out the East Carolina Creed to the
fullest extent possible,” Gerlach wrote. “The Creed states that ‘members of our academic society exemplify highstandards of professional and personal conduct at all times.’ On the night of Wednesday, September
25 and early morning of Thursday, September 26, I did not live up to these standards as well as the UNC
System standards that demand excellent judgement and discretion from the campus leaders. I did not
model the behavior that we try to teach our students and to uphold ourselves. Upon reflection and
discussion, I believe that this shortcoming was significant enough that my resignation is in the best
interest of the University.”
“Make no mistake: the responsibility is mine,” Gerlach wrote. “It is not the press, not the University or system leadership, and not anyone else who put me in this situation. It was I who made the choices that led to this action. There is no one to hold accountable for the situation except me.”
The UNC Board of Governors are meeting in special session Tuesday, including a closed-session during which they are expected to discuss Gerlach and the future leadership at ECU. The ECU Board of Trustees will also meet Tuesday afternoon.
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our web site. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of photos and graphics.
