WILMINGTON — A well-beloved leader of UNCW died over the weekend at age 90.
James Richard Leutze served as the chancellor of the university for 13 years but passed away on Friday, July 17, according to the university. No details have yet been revealed about funeral services.
Leutze was UNCW’s second chancellor, holding the position from 1990 until 2003. He was born in Charleston, South Carolina, but graduated from the University of Maryland, University of Miami and Duke University, studying history. Leutze also served as a captain in the U.S. Airforce from 1960 to 1963.
According to current UNCW Chancellor Aswani Volety, Leutze “helped shape the UNCW we know today.”
“Through dynamic leadership, strategic guidance and an unwavering belief in our potential, Dr. Leutze launched UNCW’s extraordinary growth while preserving the student-centered Seahawk spirit that continues to define our campus,” Volety wrote in a statement from UNCW. “His legacy will inspire generations of Seahawks to keep soaring far into the future.”
During Leurtze’s tenure at UNCW, he increased enrollment by 3,600 students and improved university retention and graduation rates. The campus expanded to house over 90 buildings including three new residence halls, the student recreation center, athletic facilities and Lakeside Hall (now named Leutze Hall). Other projects included improvements to Brooks Field and Trask Coliseum, the development of Dobo Hall, the Center for Marine Science, the university’s coastal and marine research facility, Leutze fountain and campus common spaces.
Leutze also was a supporter of technology, appointed by Gov. Jim Hunt to lead the Digital Communities Project, a pilot project focused on distance learning which started in Japan in the late 1990s. Leutze also worked on expanding internet access to the state, and was appointed in 2000 by Hunt to chair the N.C. Rural Internet Access Commission.
Leutze was outspoken for the $3.1-billion UNC System higher-education bond referendum in 2000. UNCW used the bond to fund the Sayed Education Building, the Cultural Arts Building, and Congdon Hall on Wilmington’s campus.
Additionally, under his leadership the university raised $25 million for scholarships, professorships and academic programs during its first capital campaign in 1998, doubled its operating budget and raised its endowment to almost $21 million.
Prior to Leutze’s time at UNCW, he maintained a career in academics, serving as president of Hampden-Sydney College, as well as teaching history at UNC Chapel Hill. He also acted as legislative assistant to Minnesota Sen. Hubert Humphrey from 1963 to 1964.
Leutze leaves behind a plethora of research on global affairs and security, authoring books and articles and hosting the UNCTV international affairs series “Globe Watch.” On the show, Leutze interviewed high-profile figures, such as former United Kingdom Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and former president of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev.
Leutze was passionate about the environment and conservation, producing and narrating various documentaries about North Carolina’s environment. His works include “River Run: Down the Cape Fear to the Sea” (1994), “Treasure Coast: The National Heritage of the North Carolina Shore” (1997), “Currents of Hope: Reclaiming the Neuse River” (1999), “Paving the American Dream: Southern Cities, Shores, and Sprawl” (2001), and “Troubled Waters: The Illusion of Abundance” (2003).
He also donated time as a member of the North Carolina Progress Board, the board of directors for the Kenan Institute-Asia, the Daniel D. and Elizabeth H. Cameron Foundation, the Donald R. Watson Foundation and as a trustee of the George Marshall Foundation.
He leaves behind three children; his wife, Kathleen, passed away in 2022 following a brief illness.
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