University of Wisconsin Chancellor Biddy Martin announced Wednesday a search and screen committee has begun the selection process for a new provost and will be filling the position with a candidate from within the university.
“It was felt that since we really have a brand new external chancellor and since the provost is the other top administrator in the institution and because there are a lot of qualified faculty on the campus that it made sense to have an internal provost,” Secretary of Faculty David Musolf said.
Looking to fill the vacancy created when former provost Patrick Farrell returned to the College of Engineering faculty at the end of last year, a search and screen committee has been formed of 13 faculty members and two graduate students.
“This is a very important search,” Martin said in a statement. “The provost is the university’s chief academic and chief educational officer, and deputy to the chancellor.”
The provost plays a vital role in the functioning of the entire university. The indivdual has a huge range of responsibilities, according to David McDonald, UW history professor and chair of the search and screen committee.
As chief academic officer, the provost helps to determine the long-term academic direction of the university. Acting as the chief executive for internal administration, this person exercises full charge of faculty, McDonald said.
“Really, anything that goes on within the campus, in terms of internal life, the provost bears chief responsibility in connection with the chancellor,” McDonald said. “It’s really a very important and daunting job for whoever takes it on.”
Musolf agreed the decision of who will be the next provost is not to be taken lightly, explaining the position really influences the functioning of the university’s academics.
The search and screen committee is continually refining the sets of qualities they will be searching for, according to McDonald.
Musolf explained finding candidates who exemplify these qualifications has led the committee to conduct its search internally, considering Martin’s relative short track at UW.
“I think [they] felt that having somebody who understands the traditions of the university and how the institution functions is a good thing, especially since the provost is responsible for the internal functioning of the university,” Musolf said.
He went on to explain having two people from the outside occupying the top two administrative positions did not seem like a wise route to take.
Although it is not standard practice to fill positions from within the university, Musolf said it was felt it would be best to have at least one person with a history at UW and the perspective that goes along with it.
The university does provide a wealth of talented and qualified candidates for the provost position, according to McDonald.
“I think given the amount of talent, experience and commitment we have on this campus, I look forward to being able to recommend an excellent list of candidates to the chancellor,” McDonald said.
Plans call for a list of finalists to be forwarded to Martin around May 15, after which they will be evaluated before a finalist is appointed.
