Pitt provost and senior vice chancellor James V. Maher will retire from his position and return to the faculty for the 2010 academic year, or as soon as a successor is appointed.

Maher, who has served in his position since 1994, said he decided to step down to help “make sure the University gets new leadership in place at the right time.”

He said he’s proud of what he’s accomplishments as provost, citing improvements in the undergraduate experience and in research.

During Maher’s tenure as provost, the University has reported an increase in undergraduate applications and in the credentials of those applicants. The University has also expanded upon its research, creating programs for the commercialization of technology, according to a University news release.

Maher said in the release that he is “optimistic that the University of Pittsburgh will continue to elevate itself among the nation’s best research universities, and I only regret that I cannot go on indefinitely in pursuit of that goal.”

Maher said in a separate interview that he hopes to return to teaching in the physics and astronomy department, where he began teaching in 1970.

“I think physics is a field that really helps students to learn how to think very clearly, and it’s just fun to help students to develop themselves,” he said.

Chancellor Mark Nordenberg said in the release that he will miss working with Maher on a daily basis.

“I certainly could not have had a more capable and committed professional partner than Jim Maher,” he said.

The release said that during Maher’s tenure, the University increased admissions applications, elevated admittance standards, added on-campus housing and reached out to alumni and donors more effectively.

Maher said he felt proud to work with Nordenberg and other University officials and that he felt optimistic about Pitt’s future.

“I am deeply grateful to the chancellor and to all of my colleagues in the University community for the teamwork and dedication to the University that have characterized our years together,” Maher said in the release.

Randy Juhl, Pitt’s vice chancellor for research conduct and compliance, will chair a search committee to recruit a successor.

Maher is one of four senior vice chancellors of the University whose positions are directly under Nordenberg’s.