In a surprise move, the chancellor of the State University of New York, John Ryan, announced yesterday he will resign at the end of this month. He will leave to become the president of the Center for Creative Leadership, a research institution headquartered in Greensboro, N.C.

Mr. Ryan served two years as chancellor after serving as president of Maritime College and as interim president of the University at Albany.

A statement released by a SUNY spokesman, David Henahan, praised the chancellor for securing the strongest operating budget in two decades for SUNY, which educates more than 417,500 students on 64 campuses.

In the statement, the board of trustees chairman, Thomas Egan, said the board would choose an interim chancellor this spring and begin a national search for a replacement.

Mr. Ryan’s departure may allow Governor Spitzer to play a larger role in shaping higher education policy in the state, as he has power to appoint SUNY trustees when they finish staggered seven-year terms. Except for a student and a faculty representative, the board currently consists of Governor Pataki’s appointees.

A SUNY trustee, Candace de Russy, said that at a time of long-needed reform, Mr. Ryan consistently avoided rocking the boat and failed to curb over-spending.

News of the resignation came as something of a surprise to the director of the higher education project at the Albany-based Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government, Joseph Burke.

He said the search committee might likely look at candidates who have prior experience running a large public university.