University of Oregon President Michael Gottfredson announced on Thursday (April 4) the formation of a Selection Advisory Committee for Provost, which will guide the national search for a successor to Senior Vice President and Provost Jim Bean, who will return to the faculty July 1.
The 18-member committee – which includes 12 faculty members – will be assisted by a search firm and staffed by central administration. It will be chaired by Alec Murphy, a professor in the UO Department of Geography.
"The committee will help develop the position description and will work with the search firm to build and evaluate a strong pool of candidates," Gottfredson said in an e-mail message. "That process will include opportunity for the campus community and external stakeholders to provide input on key qualities and characteristics of our next provost, as well as to suggest nominees."
The president said an interim appointment to fill the provost position when Bean steps down will be announced shortly.
The provost selection committee will include faculty members Murphy; Krista Chronister, College of Education; Karen Ford, English Department; Mark Johnson, Philosophy Department; Rob Kyr, School of Music and Dance, and UO Senate president; Michelle McKinley, School of Law; Robert Melnick, School of Architecture and Allied Arts; Ken Prehoda, Chemistry Department; Eric Selker, Biology Department; Kim Sheehan, School of Journalism & Communication; Lynn Stephen, Anthropology Department and director of CLLAS; and Mia Tuan, associate dean of the Graduate School.
The remaining committee members are Abigaelle Mulligan, an undergraduate student in the School of Journalism and Communication; Jenee Wilde, a graduate student in English and folklore; Lisa Raleigh, director of communications for the College of Arts and Sciences; Chuck Theobald, an information technology consultant for the Lewis Center for Neuroimaging; Roger Thompson, vice president for enrollment management; and Mark Watson, associate librarian.
"I want to thank the committee members for their willingness to serve in this important capacity, the UO Senate and Faculty Advisory Committee leadership for providing consultation, and Professor Alec Murphy who has agreed to chair the committee," Gottfredson said.
The lead staff member for the committee will be Margaret Mahoney, assistant vice president for academic administration in the provost's office.
Bean, who came to the UO in 2004 as the Harry B. Miller professor and dean of the Lundquist College of Business, is expected to return to teaching at Lundquist. Before joining the UO, he spent 24 years at the University of Michigan, ultimately serving as associate dean for academic affairs and professor of industrial and operations engineering.
He grew up in Beaverton and after graduating from Beaverton High School, received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, Calif. He received his master’s degree and doctorate in operations research from Stanford University.
- from the UO Office of Strategic Communications