Today, Barbara Altmann was announced as the new provost at Bucknell University. She will begin Aug. 1.
Altmann joined the UO in 1989 as an assistant professor of French and was later appointed department head of romance languages. She continued to call romance languages home as she became the director of the Oregon Humanities Center in 2007 and when she joined Academic Affairs in 2012, where she is currently senior vice provost.
“My career at the University of Oregon has been a long, wonderful adventure, and I am grateful to have worked with such outstanding students and colleagues. I’ll be using all the lessons learned here in my new position,” Altmann said. “My children are Eugenians, and I have deep roots in the community. Part of me will always call Eugene home.”
In academic affairs, Altmann’s responsibilities include curriculum development, non-tenure-track faculty matters, program review and the ongoing implementation of the collective bargaining agreement between the university and United Academics.
Her area of academic research is the language and literature of late medieval France and the phenomenon of “medievalism” in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. In addition to winning teaching awards, including the Ersted and the Herman career awards, she has published critical editions, literary criticism and edited volumes on the literature of medieval Europe.
The leadership experience, in addition to her career as faculty, will be key foundations to the provost position at Bucknell, a private liberal arts university in Pennsylvania.
“Barbara is a wonderful faculty scholar, incredible colleague and a friend. She has been a great mentor and partner to me in my position,” acting Provost Frances Bronet said. “She will take her invaluable abilities as a listener, solution finder and inspirational leader to contribute to success at Bucknell. Her calm, steady grace and intelligence will be deeply missed. I wish her all the best.”
Bronet indicated that an internal search will begin as quickly as possible for a new senior vice provost in academic affairs.
—By Julie Brown, Public Affairs Communications