Otterbein University is looking for a new provost. Current provost Alison Prindle is only working as an interim, meaning that she is filling the spot while a search committee tries to find a more permanent placeholder.
But what exactly is a provost? Many students, and possibly even faculty, ask this question and have difficulty finding a concrete answer. According to Jefferson Blackburn-Smith, the chairperson for the provost search committee and vice president for Enrollment Management, a provost is an administrative role. “They are involved with the day-to-day things at the school, making sure things run the way they are supposed to,” he said. A provost’s responsibilities range from balancing the budget to making sure we have the faculty we need to teach all of our classes.
Blackburn-Smith said Otterbein’s provost essentially merges two different job titles: provost and president of Academic Affairs. Some campuses only have a provost, like Otterbein, and some have similar positions that are titled as dean of the college, depending on structure. Otterbein’s provost is expected to have a vision of Otterbein as an institution academically. One of the provost’s biggest challenges is being able to fairly and effectively blend liberal arts and professional studies. It is both a visionary role and a leadership role.
In the past, Otterbein has chosen to hire a search firm to find and recruit candidates.However, this time, the school relied on faculty recommendations and an advertising strategy that utilized the Chronicle for Higher Education. Otterbein had been actively seeking a new provost since October of this year, and has received 63 candidates so far. They have then narrowed it down to three candidates. Two of the candidates that have been chosen are the Dean, University College & Associate Provost for Student Success at St. Cloud State University Miguel Martinez-Saenz and Dean of Undergraduate Studies at the University of North Florida Jeffrey Coker. The third candidate will be named at a later time.
Profiles on each provost candidate will be coming soon to Otterbein360.
