AFTER FOUR YEARS at the helm of Uni High, Kassie Patton will step down as director/principal effective Aug. 8. Patton’s departure was announced Monday afternoon in an e-mail sent to Uni High faculty and staff by Associate Provost Keith Marshall, who is Uni High’s liaison with the University of Illinois.

The Provost’s Office intends to appoint an interim director/principal “in the next few weeks,” Marshall said in his e-mail.

“Until then, Assistant Director Sue Kovacs has agreed to provide day-to-day oversight of the school,” he noted. “We will launch a national search for a new principal/director in the coming months.”

In his message, Marshall did not give a reason for Patton’s departure. He said Patton will “continue to work with the university in another capacity” but did not specify what that job would be.

Patton is currently out of town. Her father, William Moroney, died during the weekend at his home in Phoenix. He was 82.

“On behalf of Provost [Linda] Katehi, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Kassie for her service to Uni over the past four years,” Marshall said. “Provost Katehi and I are committed to maintaining Uni’s excellence and unique community during the transition period, and to place Uni in the best possible position to continue to excel in the future.”

A native of Chicago, Patton succeeded John Hedeman as director/principal in the summer of 2003. She came to Uni after almost two decades of experience in Chicago-area schools. Beginning her career as an English teacher, she held several administrative positions before arriving at Uni.

In an interview with Gargoyle editor Andrea Park, Kovacs discussed some of the new responsibilities she will have until an interim replacement is named.

“I assume her [Patton’s] job in all of the state stuff, i.e. forms,” she said. “I’m not going to head foundation stuff because I have no time. Also, I will be in charge of running the faculty. Of course, I’m already in charge of taking care of the students.”

Looking ahead, Kovacs said Patton’s permanent successor would not necessarily come from the high school ranks.

“The new principal does not have to have high school or public school training or background,” she said. “What they have to have is a familiarity with the U of I system and working well with faculty members.”