Lindy Eakin, Kansas University’s longtime vice provost for administration and finance, is stepping down from that role to become an instructor in the history department.

Eakin graduated from KU in 1974 with a degree in business and started working as a budget officer in 1979. He was named budget director in 1989 and then associate executive vice chancellor for administration and finance in 1991. He started working in his current position after a staff reorganization in 1996.

KU spokeswoman Lynn Bretz said no exact time has been set for Eakin to leave his position, but it’s expected to be sooner rather than later. With the university’s budget year ending in about a month and next year’s budget nearly complete, it seemed like an appropriate time to make a transition, she said.

A search for Eakin’s successor will take place. He will be replaced on an interim basis by university comptroller Diane Goddard. Goddard has been at KU since 1984.