The University's Office of the Provost will be losing one of its "leaders and best" next year. University of Virginia President John Casteen announced last Friday that James Hilton, associate provost for academic, information and instructional technology affairs, will be taking the position of vice president and chief information officer at Virginia after he leaves the University of Michigan in July.

The president's office has not yet begun the search for Hilton's replacement.

Since starting out as a psychology professor in 1985, Hilton has risen to take on two high-ranking positions simultaneously, which in the past have been held by two separate individuals - University librarian and associate provost.

"He is completely irreplaceable," said Jack Bernard, assistant general counsel for the University. "The qualities of leadership he brings are unheralded."

John Wilkin, associate University librarian, said Hilton has been a champion for using technology to complement classroom learning.

"James has articulated visions and directions at a very high level," Wilkin said. "It has been wonderful having his voice and vision."

The Google Print Library Project, which is still scanning the University library's books into its online database despite recent legal challenges, has been a chief concern for the University librarian and will continue to be an important issue for Hilton's successor until the project is completed.

Wilkin said that though Hilton has been a strong advocate for the project, his departure will not hinder its progress.

"We've set up (the project) operationally so that (it's) not affected by any change of staff in the library," Wilkin said.

Hilton asserted that his absence would not disrupt the project.

"Michigan institutionally is committed to the Google project," he said. "It's not attached to any one person," he added.

Milton Adams, vice provost for academic programs at the University of Virginia, said he was excited about the opportunity to work with Hilton because of Hilton's vast experience with information technology. Adams said the University of Virginia is developing several projects that will depend on information technology, including a digital model of the Roman Forum and a database of letters, newspaper articles and other primary documents of the Civil War.

Hilton said he's interested in working closely with Virginia faculty to use technology to enact the university's academic mission.