On his first day as chancellor of University of North Carolina Wilmington, Jose V. "Zito" Sartarelli apparently got an early start.

UNCW spokeswoman Janine Iamunno reported that the new chancellor arrived on campus at 7 a.m. and spent a "head-down, hard-at-work day." His agenda looks similar for Thursday, she added.

Iamunno said she and interim chief of staff Mark Lanier were among the first to meet with Sartarelli on Wednesday. He also sat down with interim provost Marilyn Sheerer, interim vice provost Cathy Barlow, faculty senate president Steve Meinhold and others, according to Iamunno.

In addition to meeting with those administrators, Sartarelli made time to visit UNCW's CREST campus on Masonboro Sound, where the university's MARBIONC facility and Center for Marine Science are located. While there, he met U.S. Rep. David Rouzer (R-7th District) at the CMS oyster hatchery and toured MARBIONC with director Dan Baden.

Sartarelli, who has professional experience in both global business and academia, was named to the UNCW post in April. Prior to officially taking the reins at the university, Sartarelli has met in person and by phone with a variety of campus officials. One of those officials is Ron Vetter, associate provost of research and dean of the graduate school.

"Dr. Sartarelli is very engaging and a quick study," Vetter said Wednesday in an email. "Although he has not yet had a chance to lay out his vision for the university, one area that I expect he will have strong interest in is the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and how its activities and programs can help to stimulate economic development in southeastern North Carolina."

Thom Porter, who attended a meeting Sartarelli held recently with officials at the Cameron School of Business, said Wednesday that the chancellor-elect wanted to get a "sense of the lay of the land" at the business school, especially since he has served as dean of the College of Business and Economics at West Virginia University.

"He wanted to know what we are doing," said Porter, who is the Cameron School's associate dean as well as its director of international and graduate programs. He also serves as director of UNCW's Swain Center.

"His interests touch exactly on what I'm involved with," Porter added. "He's interested in our MBA programs and what we can do with them. He did a lot more with MBA programs at West Virginia University, where he's from. He's also very interested in international issues; we've done a lot in the business school with international [programs], but there's room for growth.

"Sartarelli asked a lot of questions and has high expectations," Porter continued. "It's going to be a very challenging but exciting time for us."