Virginia's Superintendent of Schools Billy K. Cannaday Jr. will leave his post leading the state's K-12 schools this fall to become a dean at the University of Virginia.

A replacement has not been named for the veteran educator, who starts Oct. 1 as the dean of U.Va.'s School of Continuing and Professional Studies.

Cannaday, 58, served as superintendent of Hampton Public Schools from 1994 to 2000 and then for Chesterfield County schools until 2006, when Gov. Timothy M. Kaine appointed him to the state superintendent spot.

"I think it's a tremendous loss for the state," said State Board of Education member David L. Johnson. "Dr. Cannaday was one of the finest state superintendents that I've ever known, and that goes back for 40 years."

Cannaday told the Board of Education and senior staff about his plans on Wednesday and broke the news to the rest of the staff yesterday morning in an e-mail sent out by his assistant. He was out of the office yesterday and unavailable for comment.

"This decision is a bittersweet one for me for I have immensely enjoyed the opportunity to serve as the State Superintendent of Public Instruction and play an important role in the education of our young people across the state," the message reads.

"Over the next several months I will be working with my executive team to ensure a smooth transition and to bring to closure key work under way. The challenges of a slowing economy will require us to work more closely as a team to serve school divisions and find creative ways to support each other in doing so."

In his time as the state's top school administrator, Cannaday promoted career and technical education, pursued Kaine's desire for greater access to preschool for 4-year-olds, and sought ways to increase academic opportunities for students at all academic levels.

In 2006, he took the unprecedented step of creating a chief academic officer post in Petersburg schools to improve some of the lowest-performing schools in the state.

Kaine will appoint a new superintendent before Cannaday leaves, said Gordon Hickey, Kaine's spokesman. Board President Mark E. Emblidge, who learned a couple of weeks ago of Cannaday's opportunity, said he has spoken with Kaine about the looming vacancy but declined to share details.

"There is a plan," he said.

It's not uncommon for agency heads to seek new opportunities near the end of a governor's administration. Kaine begins his final year in office in January. Virginia is the only state in which a governor cannot serve consecutive terms.

Emblidge praised Cannaday's work at the local and state level, as did William C. Bosher Jr., a former state school superintendent who now serves as executive director of the Commonwealth Educational Policy Institute.

"He understands the business of education, but he has a great feeling for people and those who interact with him tend to know that very quickly," Bosher said.

Cannaday was named Virginia Superintendent of the Year in 2005, while he was leading fast-growing Chesterfield schools. Under his direction there, all of the county's comprehensive schools reached full accreditation.

He did rouse protest there in December 2002 when he directed students to attend school on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday to make up for a snow day. And in 2003, he drew fire from some county residents for trying a method of building new schools using a public-private system.

The move to higher education is a natural step for many state superintendents.

"What is the way that you can use that journey you've been on to influence the next generation of educators?" Jo Lynne DeMary, former state school superintendent and now director of The Center for School Improvement at Virginia Commonwealth University, said of the thought process.

"You kind of come full circle, and now you are in a position to influence the quality of educators in the future."

Contact Olympia Meola at (804) 649-6812 or omeola@timesdispatch.com.

Staff writer Holly Prestidge contributed to this report.